How to Know if your child’s IEP is truly Individualized

Have you ever read part of your child’s IEP and thought to yourself:  that does not sound like them? 

Do you ever wonder if your child is actually getting the services they need every week AND for the appropriate amount of time?  If the reading intervention they attend is truly the best fit?  Or if the classes they are taking in the later grades are really setting them up for success?

Looking at your child’s Individualized Education Program can be incredibly overwhelming. Sifting through all of the pages (sometimes 20-30) can leave you wondering if it is actually working.

There are a couple of key areas that we recommend you look at and ask questions about to make sure that the IEP developed for your child is truly meeting their needs. 

Vision Statement:

We have been talking a lot lately on the Podcast and blog about including student voice in the IEP process. We have discussed a crucial piece of the IEP during these conversations:  The Vision Statement. And this is the best place to begin to see if your child’s IEP is really individualized.  For older children, is the Vision Statement in their own words with their goals for high school and post secondary success?  Does it include their career goals and/or interest areas? For younger children, does the vision address their strengths?  The activities they like to do?  Their interest areas?  These are some questions to ask when reviewing the IEP and meeting with the school team.  Make sure that both your and your child’s vision are reflected early on in the IEP and that they are driving the development of the rest of the IEP.  For more on the Vision Statement and including Student Voice, also make sure to check out our five part series on our Podcast.

Current performance:

The IEP team (including school staff, caregivers, etc.) must develop an Annual IEP (or Initial or Reeval) based on the child’s current performance.  In other words, the team must take into consideration where the child is at right now in the areas of academics, communication, behavior, etc. From there, the team can build the goal areas, determine appropriate interventions, and service delivery times, as well as ensure that accommodations are not outdated or inappropriate.  We recommend heading to the section of the IEP where your child’s goals are addressed.  Read through the Current Performance Level and ask yourself if this sounds like your child.  If not, do not be afraid to ask how the current performance was identified and how the team decided what goals were appropriate for the current year. 

Service Delivery:

We get a lot of questions about the Service Delivery portion of the IEP. Parents and Caregivers often wonder how the team determined how much time their child would receive a certain service/intervention over the course of the year.  And while that is a longer conversation for another blog, it IS important to not just skip over this page.  There is so much information you can glean from the Service Delivery: how much time your child is inside a general education classroom receiving support (B grid), how much time your child spends in a separate setting receiving services (C grid), who consults to your child’s team about their goals and services (A grid).  The Service Delivery page also lets you know if your child receives Speech services once or twice a week, if they get pulled out of their class for a specific reading intervention (like Wilson) or if they are receiving their ancillary services individually or with a small group.  Paying attention to all of these parts can help you determine if the services are truly individualized to your child’s needs.  Remember it is not what the school can offer your child BUT what your child truly needs.

Goals:

Lastly, taking a look at your child’s annual goals will help you to think about the ways your child’s IEP has been specifically tailored to them and their needs.  Are the goals based on areas of need?  Are they challenging yet attainable?  Are there ways to clearly measure the goals and collect data to make sure the interventions are working and that your child is making progress? IEP goals can be one of the most tangible ways to ensure that your child’s IEP is meeting their needs!

Still have questions about your child’s IEP? Schedule a complimentary call with us today!