I've done this before. I wrote my observations and thoughts. I edited it so that it did not go on and on but came right to the point (as much as possible). You can insist that this be put in his files or attached to the IEP. I think it's a great IDEA. Make enough copies for all the IEP members. Since the school is required to get you all the written reports 5 business days before and IEP meeting (should you request them), I think it would be considerate to send YOUR report to THEM 5 days before the meeting, too. Good luck.
Hi,
Our son is turning 3 in January. Our initial IEP assessments are Nov 30, and the IEP meeting is Dec 14th. We want to make sure that our thoughts about our son are properly considered by the team so we want to write up a "parent report" that describes our sons needs and our recommendations based on what has been working for him in the past.
Has anyone done this before? I have 2 questions:
1. Do we make copies to distribute at the assessment meeting or at the IEP meeting?
2. How specific should we be and can anyone give me ideas on how to word the report for a 3 year old(anyone already drafted one that I can use for ideas?)?
His areas of need are: - expressive language - tactile sesory problems - vestibular and propioceptive problems - participation problems in his current preschool - problems with playing with peers
Thanks! Sara
Thanks for the reply. Would you feel comfortable sharing a copy of your parent report with me so I can get an idea of how specific to be and so I don't miss anything that might apply to us? Please let me know.
Great advice. In answer to your question about when to do it, wait until they give you the copies of his evaluations and you can look them over to make sure you have noted all your concerns. Like Tzoya said, you can send them your list prior to the meeting, but you don't have to. I would for sure present it to them at the IEP meeting. That first IEP meeting will likely be a lengthy one, especially if you are talking about the eval results too. So I would keep it to a minimum so that you aren't rushed to get it all in. If you feel there isn't enough time to talk about everything, you can always ask for the team to schedule another meeting to continue the discussion. Having just gone through this and every school district is different, the
assessment meeting was to assess my child and in my SD it was actually
two meetings about an hour each, with a ST, OT, teacher, nurse,
psychologist, and PE teacher present. Plus I had many forms to fill out in
between meetings- around 20 pages of questions about my child. After
the assessment, we all met again to go over their reports and at that
point I added a few concerns and stated my agreements and
disagreements with their reports. With the info from these reports and
my knowledge of my child, I made a list of things that needed to be
addressed in my child's IEP. I brought this list with me to the IEP meeting
and whatever was on my list that was not addressed in the meeting, I
brought it up.
I am just thinking that perhaps many of the things you are presently
concerned about they will already ask you about or observe in you child
during the assessment. They should also be obtaining reports from any
speech therapists, OTs and teachers your child currently has plus hearing
tests and vision tests results if you have them. I also gave them copies of
his diagnostic reports for autism when I got them from the hospital.
It can't hurt to have a list of concerns at the assessment, in case they do a
brief assessment but in my case the SD gave a pretty good assessment of
my child in many different areas.momtowill39034.9511342593Sara -- I never kept any parent reports -- they were mostly just for the individual meetings. What I'd do is simply write what YOU , as the parent, know about your child. All the tests they do will tell the Team a lot. If you disagree with the results of any of the tests, you can ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation at District expense. I doubt you'll have to go that far, but you CAN ask for this second opinion. After the IEP meeting, it is usually a good idea to write the chairperson a little note letting him or her know what YOUR take on the results of the meeting are. Then ask that they respond to you in writing if they disagree. These are the letters that it's IMPORTANT to keep. Honestly, most IEP meetings are not contentious and they make sense. Please come back and let us know you yours goes.
Thanks! You are putting my mind at ease. Maybe their assessments will cover everything my son needs. Let's hope so.