Have you ever had an IEP meeting where you felt overwhelmed? Unprepared? Scared? Nervous? These are all natural feelings when entering an IEP meeting. Read below for some tips and tricks to be ready for your next IEP meeting!
Review the Prior Information
Upon receiving your student on your caseload read through their file and previous IEP’s, testing history, amendments and more. This will give you base knowledge of the student and their abilities. It can also give you insight to what the parents have seen before and agreed upon to their child’s annual document.
Peer Reviewer
Another tip to be IEP meeting ready is to have another staff member read through your document prior to sending it home. Words like is, if, at can be easily confused or spelled inaccurately. Having another set of eyes read through you document can catch unintentional errors.
A peer reviewer also can give goof insight to rewording a goal or inquiring about a section of the document. They can suggest adding more information to certain areas of the IEP. It can seem “odd” as adults we are asking someone to read through a document, but this is a legal binding document! It is important to be accurate.
Speak to the Family
Prior to the meeting call the family and discuss the goals you are considering adding. Ask the family their opinion on what they want to see added into the IEP. This has prevented discussions at the meeting because parents had time to process and think about any additional questions or concerns. Parents may ask questions you do not know the answers for. This is the perfect time to say “I am not certain at this time, but I will have additional information for you at our meeting.” You can then inquire about information or get the ball rolling per say to get that answers needed.
Practice
This was a tip my professor in college told me about. I first thought it was silly, but in reality it helped me feel more confident heading into my meeting. I would practice reviewing the IEP in front of the mirror. Much like preparing for a speech. I did not want to feel like I was reading right off the paper. I wanted to have the confidence that I could openly speak with the families and share the knowledge I know about their child.
Agenda
Have an agenda ready! Grab this one here that I have used in the past. This will give you easy talking points to remember and give you the confidence that to know what is coming next in the order of the meeting. Make sure you add to the agenda to introduce everyone! Parents may not know the Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Social Worker etc. I always do introductions just to reiterate everyone’s names and roles.
Remember, IEP’s are not always going to go without a hitch. THAT IS OK! This is normal. Have an open conversation with your administration if you think a parent might have a question you do not know the answer for.
I know you will do great things in your meetings. If you are looking for advice on co-teaching. Check out my blog on that here.
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