Ultimate Guide to Your Child’s IEP Meeting
If your child qualifies for speech-language therapy in public school there will be an individuated education plan (IEP) meeting at least one time every school year. Service needs and school district policies vary, but the meeting participants will certainly include you, the speech therapist, and a school representative, with input from the classroom teacher collected beforehand if they cannot attend.
IEP reports are long and dense. That’s the way it is. The professionals that run the meeting all have their own style, with some slowly reviewing every word and others breezing through information without sufficient explanation.
As a parent, it’s most important that you pay attention to speech-language therapy current performance, progress, new goals, and service amount / frequency. This tells you what the speech therapist observes, what steps will be taken to promote communication skills in the academic setting, and how often your child will be pulled from class. If you agree than the meeting will go smoothly, which is fantastic! If you disagree with observational reports, goals, or service time than be sure to voice your concerns.
Advocate for your child’s needs (since you are the expert when it comes to your kiddo) and let the educational team know you will work in conjunction with them (not just put all the responsibility on them) to help promote the most positive change.
Formal re-assessments occur every three years, so if your child has been in speech therapy for longer than three years you may have more meetings on the horizon. First, there will be a meeting to discuss current performance and obtain permission to test. Then, a second meeting will occur to review test results and either continue or discontinue services.
When I worked in the schools I had a caseload of 65-85 students. I couldn’t give much personalized care to any one student outside of scheduled group sessions, meetings, and documentation time. When you engage with your child’s speech therapist ask them about their caseload, schedule, and ideas to help your child be more successful. And say “Thank you!” Your interest, collaboration, and gratitude will make big, happy impacts.
