Having my initial IEP meeting this afternoon...

[ArizonaGirl]

Hi all,

I have posted before about my DS and his struggles, we finally received a diagnosis at the end of April.

He just started Kindy yesterday and I have already spoken with the school and have been in contact with the Resource teacher and the school psychologist to get the services he needs. They seem very helpful and when we were talking they agreed that they thought he would qualify for services without any problems and could I just bring over any copies of evaluations and diagnosis that I have.

I did and they called me back and said they would likely want to do testing themselves and wanted to schedule an initial meeting this afternoon with the "team" including his teacher the resource teacher, the OT, the psychologist, and the district behaviorist.

I guess I am just looking for some advice and suggestions about how this is going to go and what if anything do I need to know before going in for the meeting. I am not really sure what services he will need exactly and just want to make sure that we do the best we can to make this transition the easiest it can be for him.

Oh. His diagnosis include Autism and ADHD.

TIA

[JustMe]

Good luck, I hope it goes well!

I would just bring copies of the evals you did with you..although they may do their own testing, they cannot completely ignore outside testing (as long as its from a reputable source of course). Look over the evals, and if there are any recommendations written, pay close attention to those. Definitely give the people at the meeting a chance to do their own good job, but if any recommendations you think are important are not mentioned, I would bring those up.

[ArizonaGirl]

Thanks so much. I am nervous, but trying to be optimistic about the situation.

[JCat]

Bring someone with you if you can. Sometimes they say a lot fast at these meetings and its easy to overlook something important.

[inmypjs]

Well, in my state they can (and frequently do) ignore outside evaluations. In my state, a diagnosis does not mean a child qualifies for special education. Here, the school does their own academic achievement testing, and if your child is in the bottom 10-12%, they are considered to have a disability and are entitled to special education. Otherwise they are not considered discrepant enough from their peers to warrant special ed. Not saying this is how they do things where you are, as even though federal IDEA applies to all states, all states have their own interpretations of it.

I would contact your federal advocacy agency and ask for an advocate to go with you - just a good idea, and they can be really helpful navigating the process. Every state has one. If you can't, or don't want to have an advocate with you, I would take a friend or family member and ask them to take notes. It can be hard to really listen and engage and write everything down as well. Prior to the meeting, I would also write down a list of questions that you have. I would give a copy of that list to each person at the meeting, either at the meeting or ahead of time via email. It helps to have your 'agenda' in writing IMO.

Good luck!