/? 210510" Writing Smart Goals For Ieps

It is important for parents of deaf and other special needs children to understand what an Individual Education Plan is and how to ensure your child's education needs are being met in his or her IEP.

In this article, I will discuss:

What is an IEP

Give tips for having an effective IEP that meets your child's educational needs

An IEP is a document that details the special needs services for special needs students. The IEP includes any modifications that are required in the classroom and any additional special programs or services. In the USA an IEP is mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004). The IEP will address your child's educational needs, and contain specific, measurable short term and annual goals for each of those needs.

This written statement is developed by your child's teachers, and is reviewed and agreed to by your child's special needs education funding organization and you, the parents. The IEP describes the goals the team sets for your child during the school year, as well as any special support needed to help your child achieve his or her educational goals. /? 210510" Writing Smart Goals For Ieps

In our case with our deaf son, Larry, we lived in Marlboro, MA and Larry attended school at The Learning Center for Deaf Children in Framingham, MA. The town of Marlboro funded the cost of his education. So we dealt with the special needs education supervisor in Marlboro and Larry's teachers in Framingham.

The IEP meeting is usually attended by the child's classroom teacher, the child's department supervisor, the funding special needs education supervisor and the parents.

The IEP document can be very daunting lots of pages with a lot of official sounding documentation.

Here are tips based on our experience on ensuring your child has an effective IEP that meets his or her educational needs:Writing Smart Goals For Ieps

Tip#1: You as parents need to be proactive and take an active role in developing the goals for your child's IEP. You need to have regular interactions with your child's teachers and school supervisors to understand what your child is being taught, how your child is progressing and what your child will be taught next. This will help you in 2 ways: firstly you will be able to understand what is being stated in your child's IEP and you can make sure which educational needs will receive the most attention. Secondly your child's teacher will realize that you are interested in your child's education and they will make extra efforts on behalf of your child. I firmly believe that it is always good to set high expectations for the people working with your child.

Tip#2: Usually your child's special needs education funding organization will have meetings a few times a year to discuss their plans etc. Attend as many of these meetings as possible and develop a relationship with the supervisor for your child's special needs education. This relationship will allow you to discuss and make requests suited to your child's educational requirements. /? 210510" Writing Smart Goals For Ieps