How To Use An IEP?

[Anonymous]

We're coming into this a bit late in the game. Our DD did reasonably well in ES, then in the early years of MS. The last two years of MS they started to struggle. Then came the pandemic and the nightmare that was "remote learning." They had an extremely difficult time of it--basically became withdrawn, depressed, and were finally hospitalized for a couple of weeks. The ensuing couple of years have been us trying to rebuild our relationship and their mental health via therapy, SSRIs, trying to cobble together various evaluations. All while trying to get them to refocus on schoolwork.

They were diagnosed w/ anxiety/depression/ocd in the hospital, but last year we were able to add a diagnosis of ADHD as well. Then we were able to secure an IEP for them. So....

Are there any resources people here can recommend re: how to "use" your kid's IEP? We're really kind of clueless, and have been buried trying to address the underlying mental health challenges which seem like they're slowly getting more manageable. But the school has been pretty uncommunicative when it comes to how they're doing in general, progress they're making towards their stated IEP goals, etc...

Thanks for any recommendations, and apologies if I come across as the clueless idiot I am.

[Anonymous]

You should get a report when report cards come out. Parentvue will give you a handle on grades. You can also try to build in weekly or monthly reports from the case manager. I had good success with that.

[Anonymous]

Wrightslaw.com helped me learn about IEPs and other things related.

[Anonymous]

An IEP entitles your child to accommodations and services in order to access the curriculum. What do you think is needed to be successful? Additional time on tests, preferential seating, frequent breaks, reduced paper and pencil tasks, a “lunch bunch” social group, check-ins with a counselor, etc. are common in IEP’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An IEP entitles your child to accommodations and services in order to access the curriculum. What do you think is needed to be successful? Additional time on tests, preferential seating, frequent breaks, reduced paper and pencil tasks, a “lunch bunch” social group, check-ins with a counselor, etc. are common in IEP’s.

Thanks, really that's the question I had: it's hard to reconcile the IEP process and all the paperwork with what are the "bread and butter" things that we should be asking for. We have an IEP that specifies preferential seating, time on tests, etc... but our kid's personality is a tough combination of a) fierce independence; and b) really, really struggling with executive function issues. They're doing so much better with their depression and anxiety but they have a limited ability to get their workload in order, and have almost zero tolerance for parental involvement. So we're trying to find ways to have the school support them in things like calling them out when they get behind, more direct feedback vs just dumping things into Instructure/Synergy online portal. Just hard to know what's appropriate to ask for.

[Anonymous]

You don't need to know what to ask for. The school team is good at identifying the things you're child needs to be successful in the classroom. Please contact your child sped coordinator or teacher with questions they are happy to help you.

[Anonymous]

Does your child have resource? That is the place where the accountability you are seeking happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your child have resource? That is the place where the accountability you are seeking happens.

I’m not the OP, but the resource class was awful for my child. I think it depends a lot on the kid, though. Mine absolutely hated being in the “special ed” class in middle school. After 1 semester, he begged to drop it in favor of another elective. Teachers like it because it’s easier on them as they can provide legally required service hours to multiple kids in a group setting, but it means that kids have to give up an elective in something they may really enjoy - like art, music, or theater. My 2e kid was in mostly advanced classes and was very sensitive to fitting in with peers. He thought the class was “babyish” and resented all the attention. Changing to counselor check ins during an advisory period worked out best. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child have resource? That is the place where the accountability you are seeking happens.

I’m not the OP, but the resource class was awful for my child. I think it depends a lot on the kid, though. Mine absolutely hated being in the “special ed” class in middle school. After 1 semester, he begged to drop it in favor of another elective. Teachers like it because it’s easier on them as they can provide legally required service hours to multiple kids in a group setting, but it means that kids have to give up an elective in something they may really enjoy - like art, music, or theater. My 2e kid was in mostly advanced classes and was very sensitive to fitting in with peers. He thought the class was “babyish” and resented all the attention. Changing to counselor check ins during an advisory period worked out best. Good luck!

My MS kid loves resource. He calls it his break class. He does nothing on the class but listen to music. I’m ok with it since it seems to be what he needs to get through the whole day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: You don't need to know what to ask for. The school team is good at identifying the things you're child needs to be successful in the classroom. Please contact your child sped coordinator or teacher with questions they are happy to help you.

In what school have you had this experience? This seems very unusual that the sped coordinator would assist with something like this. In my experience you are given very limited, boilerplate language in the IEP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child have resource? That is the place where the accountability you are seeking happens.

I’m not the OP, but the resource class was awful for my child. I think it depends a lot on the kid, though. Mine absolutely hated being in the “special ed” class in middle school. After 1 semester, he begged to drop it in favor of another elective. Teachers like it because it’s easier on them as they can provide legally required service hours to multiple kids in a group setting, but it means that kids have to give up an elective in something they may really enjoy - like art, music, or theater. My 2e kid was in mostly advanced classes and was very sensitive to fitting in with peers. He thought the class was “babyish” and resented all the attention. Changing to counselor check ins during an advisory period worked out best. Good luck!

Thanks, this is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Our kid absolutely hated "Connections" (which I think is the same as "resource"?) since it meant they had to forgo electives they were interested in.