“A memorandum is written not to inform the reader but to protect the writer.” ~Dean Acheson
… the IEP must include a statement that the child has been informed of the child’s rights under Part B of the Act … ” ~U.S. Department of Education
A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals designed to:
- Meet the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum; and
- Meet each of the child’s other educational needs that result from the child’s disability;
And today an interesting comment was left on this post.
I am working on a post on IEPs, a topic close to many of us, and will be close to others of us in the years to come! I am sure it will generate lots of input from Cinda and Barbara, and hopefully everyone on both sides of the table.
But, I need help. PLEASE leave a comment or email me with bullets bullet items on concerns or what you like or don’t like about IEPs. Please not discuss such, that will come later. I am just looking for simple concerns, or (what is the antonym of “concern” ?) unconcerns. If you want to be anonymous, just make up a name in the comments or use the contact page.
So, on to my research, and thinking about your concerns and unconcerns. And is every child teachable? Is school appropriate for every child? How do you set goals for one who is degenerative? Again, discussions later, now just give me ideas for my research, if you are so inclined. Thanks.
Oh, and pray for our washing machine. It died this weekend and I do laundry daily to keep up with Pearlsky. You should see the heap of clothes … it’s always something, no?
Concerns
Why do goals have to be measurable?
Why are goals set usually based on “normalisation”?
Is normalisation always appropriate?
I avoid the question of whether all students are “teachable” because it just ends up being fodder for those who want to cut spending in the area of special ed. The question should be, is school a useful, valuble, worthwile experience for all students, and what makes the experience so?
As they are, schools are not appropriate for all students.
May your washing machine be revived with all due haste.
Yes, stopping in with hope that your washing machine blues are soon ended. And a promise to come back later with bullet items as requested.
Talk about being called-out. Ahem.
-An IEP is not a contract in the legal sense that the school district is legally responsible to be sure the child attains the goals.
-An IEP comprises goals and is not the lesson plan. (Talk about teach to the test.)
-Did you know that OT and PT and ST are related (to the IEP) services? Did you know that transportation (the school bus) is also a related service?
-Is an IEP represetative of a civil right?
-It makes more sense to me that the most involved children should have the fewest goals.
So what is everyone else waiting for? Single Dad asked for help!
PS I do not leave anonymous comments.
I will withold all comments and try to develop bullet points for research. Hmmm.
I*DEA, therefore IEPs, have evolved since 1978…for better or worse? *Least restrictive environment, means what and to what extent?
*Has the funding followed the increase in services?
*What about hospital based or home based services?
*Can IEPs include the replacement or repair of washing machines so that a child can come to school?
And, seriously, is yours the only district and state in the nation that asks parents to come up with goals?!?
Stay tuned for more. Once you have all the work done and the post written I will have my grad students read and comment (if you want!). Thank you for your work.
My situation is different – I’d just be happy to get one. My daughter has repeated one grade and is again failing halfway through another grade. Her IQ is 112, we are involved and attentive parents and she is our only child. We are being penalized because we have worked hard to help her with her challenges and b/c their scoring system doesn’t get it.
So they say none of her issues met the criteria for an IEP or 504. I’m sorry, I thought maybe being only 11 and having diagnosis of ADHD, a processing delay, early bi-polar, PTSD, anxiety, depression and being a survivor of abuse/neglect and then going through foster care/adoption might have someone be willing to give help her some.
Silly me I thought someone would be bright enough to ADD everything UP instead of just looking at one thing at a time. She’s on four to five meds a day. We have a therapist that says she’s be in a group home if it wasn’t for our love, advocating and hard work. Don’t get me wrong, my daughter is worth it. I’ll never give up, I’d just like some help from the school.
Our insurance doesn’t cover much. We pay sums for outside resources and the therapist she loves. Her psych is covered thank goodness and her meds are too.
All we want is the school to wake up and stop pretending everything is normal. It isn’t and the quicker we all get real, the better. If a child continues to struggle year after year and has parents who are doing their all, developmental and peds neurologists, therapists and psychs all involved, why can’t the SCHOOL get involved too and help modify how she is learning.
I’m single with no kids, but I read this blog because I know SD, care about him and Pearlsky, and find the writing and the topic fascinating.
One thing that frustrates me sometimes when I read the blog is that, while SD makes it clear what the school is doing wrong and the ways that certain policies might be hurting Pearlsky, I don’t have a clear idea of what you (SD) WANT the school to be doing.
In your ideal world, when you send Pearlsky to school, what would she be doing during those few hours? How would the teachers address her? What would they do with her, or encourage her to do, or expose her to? What is YOUR goal for her schooling, and how do you suggest the teachers help you and Pearlsky reach those goals?
What should they do to document their activities, to a) prove they aren’t just leaving her in a corner and ignoring her and b) to document what seems to help her and what doesn’t? How should they do that in a way that would be satisfying, or ideal, for you, as Pearlsky’s advocate?
I want to know because if I, who reads your blog regularly, can’t figure out what you WANT, only what you DON’T want, then maybe the teachers and policy-makers can’t figure it out, either – which makes it harder to help you.
Until our society decides to pay adequately for professional services (teachers, therapists, etc) instead of football players, there will continue to be a paucity of resources for (our) kids. In the school system, the therapists have an unmanageable caseload, are paid crappy wages and spend a whole lot of their own money on materials because they care about their clients. Unfortunately our society places its’ value in Hollywood, the Superbowl and the like. Therapists have to set goals as a requirement for the educational system to pay for their services – they often follow guidelines unrelated to a “real” potential outcome. Sad but true…
I think I need some goals for myself. Like not getting pinched and losing skin first thing in the morning, remembering to not bend over in front of my daughter, which makes it oh so easy for her to grab a handful of my hair and trying to remember that she doesn’t understand the tsunami of emotions that rip through her body, leaving her crying and filled with remorse.
I have absolutely no experience with IEPs as Izzy is only 10 months old, so I’m not in the position to give invaluable input on this topic. However, if or when we get there, I would want goals for her that are attainable and realistic and I would not want to be the (only) one responsible for writing them. Unattainable goals are not goals, but rather dreams. And if IEP goals are only set to meet some regulation or a political agenda, then teachers should write them while involving the parents, but not making them responsible. It should be something that helps parents, not frustrate them. But again, what do I know? We are still working on sitting up and rolling over.
The following are concerns gathered from graduate students in school psych, school counseling and special education. A few of the students are currently teaching special ed while working on their masters. They were all “concerned” about an absent of goals. A teacher in the class who has a student at the “awareness level” (sorry if the term offends anyone). age 14, said that the goals kept her, para-professionals, substitutes, and classroom assistants developing, implementing and assessing strategies and activities for this student every day. Example of a goal was: the student would turn her head toward the light (shape, voice) from 1 to 3 times during the six hours of class time. They are working towards the student using a switch to indicate likes and dislikes. The other thing that came up in the discussion (completely unsolicited!) was that they would never ask a parent to come up with annual goals unless this was offered. They would talk about dreams and fears and hopes with the parents and then present suggested goals at a pre-IEP meeting and ask for feedback. Goals would be finalized after that meeting with parent input. Another concern was assuring that there was documentation so that if/when the student moved to another school the program, supports, etc. could continue as seamlessly as possible. I gave them all an A and sent them home from their last class of the quarter. Good discussion although none wanted goals eliminated for any child/student.
I would advise anyone who is unhappy with their child’s IEP (or has a child who needs but does not have an IEP) to work with a professional advocate. They can be expensive, but they’re worth every penny.