Leaderboard

I may have lost track of whether or not the second meeting has taken place yet, but either way, you need to start requesting that the meetings include members of the high school team (sometimes personal is not known until right before school starts, but they can at least invite those who would be part of the team if the next school year started tomorrow). If you've already had the second meeting, request another meeting so that these future team members can be included. It's nothing official in the IDEA, but these meetings are usually referred to as "transition meetings" (transitioning from elementary to junior high, junior high to high school, etc.). It is a very common and reasonable request to make before your child enters high school. If the junior high team refuses, make sure you reach out to the high school so that a meeting can be set up with your child's new IEP team as soon as possible after the school year starts. Maybe even try to get it on their calendar now.

My state doesn't have a set requirement for when a PWN must be issued after an IEP meeting. It's just a within a reasonable time. You may check your state's regs, and if there is a time requirement that has passed in your case, you could file a state complaint. If they issue a PWN that's incomplete, respond right away letting them know all the things that weren't included in the PWN and ask them to send you an updated PWN.

The post about the extraordinary burden of IEPs on Moms got me thinking today that the biggest burden I carry is the awareness of the extent of my child's challenges. He presents typically which creates an illusion of competence. The reality is that he is falling further behind grade level at school, and further behind his peers socially and with ADLs. I am holding him together in multiple ways and if something were to happen to me I have no idea what would become of him. Given his skill set I cannot imagine him living independently or supporting himself financially. I'm not worrying unrealistically. I worked with his age group for over 10 years and can see how far outside the norm he is, and how he continues to fall further behind. He'll be an adult in just a few years, the window to turn things around is rapidly closing. His school doesn't see it. They alternate between not seeing his disability and blaming all the signs of it on him. Even his father doesn't see it. The other day he said he could picture our child becoming an engineer. My child cannot do a simple jigsaw puzzle and fails every single math and science test in the lowest level of class his school offers. While we cannot know the future I am not seeing engineer without some significant intervention. I'm the one who does all the IEP correspondence, pays for the tutors, finds and pays for the advocates, while my child's father naively assumes everything will be just fine and does (and pays for) nothing. I feel so alone. I'm not looking for advice, I have an advocate helping me with his IEP. I just want to feel less alone.

Sometimes it is difficult to get the school district to be specific about services other than "for behavior" or "for specialized instruction in reading" and the minutes. But the goals and measurement of progress on the goals absolutely cannot be vague. The goals must be specific and measurable. They should include direction of behavior (increase, decrease, or maintain), area of need (reading, writing, social skills, etc.), and level of attainment (reading level, without prompts, etc.). If you don't know what the goal is or how it will be determined as met, it is worthless. You should not let anyone "shut you down" in an IEP meeting. As a parent, you have a right to "meaningful participation" under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), so point that out to anyone who doesn't let you finish speaking. As far as identifying triggers, if that is the main goal for the school psychologist, then that goal should be specifically mentioned. I have copied and pasted Lisa's suggestions for self-regulation IEP goals below. Perhaps something similar to number 7 would work for this student? And you absolutely should have a goal(s) to help her from leaving class. Some of the ones listed below might work for that, as well. If the school psychologist wants to have year-long goals, that's fine. But you need to have a specific way the goals are measured and determined as met. Then once met, the goals should be dropped - even if it's midway through the school year. If the school psychologist just keeps meeting with her because she likes spending time with her, that is not putting the student in the least restrictive environment - also a requirement under the IDEA. She should only be pulled from the general education setting when it is necessary to meet her needs and provide specialized instruction. I'm not an expert on FBA's or FBP's, but the one-time situation you refer to seems more appropriate for notation on the FBA rather than the actual plan. Finally, when the school district won't do something you ask for such as remove an item from the behavioral plan or wants to put something in the IEP you don't agree with, make sure you get that on a Prior Written Notice from them. Asking for that might help them to change their mind. Also, I don't know what state you are in, but you might have the option to write on the IEP signature page what you don't agree with (call your state department of education and ask about options in this situation). You should also follow up all IEP meetings with a detailed email of what occurred, especially the items in disagreement. Self-Regulation IEP Goals The student will demonstrate appropriate skills in identifying emotions, behaviors, and triggers. Demonstrate appropriate skills in responding to various emotions and situations. The student demonstrates skills that they know when or how to ask for help in regulating their emotions. Describe personal student strengths accurately and how to effectively use those to self regulate Explain the kind of strategies needed for a situation. (set the stage for weekly situations) Communicate/Identify strategies or compensation skills that work best for him/her in self-regulatory situations Explain and communicate one or two environmental needs that may trigger inappropriate regulation responses Identify specific environmental modifications and tell why they are needed to help with self-regulation Can demonstrate skills that they can communicate how and when to ask for help to prevent an unfortunate situation List possible antecedents to their own behaviors (“I get upset when…..”) and list possible acceptable alternatives to their negative behavior. In the classroom environment, ______ will utilize positive self-talk and coping strategies to handle stressful situations or work demands in which he/she manifests anxious or withdrawn behavior (i.e. putting head down, saying he/she can’t do something), demonstrating by engaging in the 30-minute activity or situation in a calm and positive manner with one prompt on 2/3 occasions. In counseling sessions, _______ will accurately identify feelings and appropriate coping strategies when presented with real or imagined situations with 80% accuracy on 4 out of 5 trials. When _____ becomes upset, frustrated, or angry, he will use a self-regulation/coping strategy (movement break, deep breathing, quiet space break, deep pressure/heavy work activity, etc.) to avoid engaging in unexpected behavior, with one reminder, on 4 out of 5 opportunities, as measured by observations and documentation. __________ will improve his self-regulation skills as demonstrated through utilizing a tool (e.g. inner coach, sensory support, calming break) to aid in regulating to an expected emotional state (e.g. green zone – which is when we feel calm, happy, content, and focused) with one adult reminder on 8 out of 10 instances in a small group setting, as measured over two week period ______ will improve insight on regulation as demonstrated by identifying the instances where he/she could have benefited from utilizing a tool to aid in regulation and determine what tool would have been beneficial for each instance with 80% accuracy. When presented with a problem (non-preferred task, frustrating situation, criticism/correction), ______ will accurately determine the size of the problem (big problem, little problem) and determine the appropriate emotional response (take a break, talk with the teacher, take a deep breath, replace frustration with good thoughts, etc.) and return to the task at hand in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher charted data. When given a frustrating situation (i.e. undesired task, demand, and/or undesired peer behavior), with one prompt ________ will utilize coping strategies (i.e. take a break, deep breaths, etc.) and return to and remain on task for a minimum of 10 (use baseline number + improvement) minutes with an average of 95% over 8 consecutive school weeks, across all classroom environments. When presented with a situation known by ______ to be anxiety or frustration-producing for him (i.e. non-preferred task, an unexpected obstacle such as ______, tasks perceived as too difficult, unfamiliar adult, and non-preferred adult), he will independently demonstrate an appropriate emotional response through finding a solution to his problem or using a strategy to regulate back to an expected emotional state (take a break, talk with the teacher, etc.) and return to the task at hand within 2 minutes, for an average of 80% of instances both throughout all environments and within each environment.