PrintBefore Your IEP Meeting
© istockphoto.comPrioritize your child’s needs. Before the meeting, write down your child’s academic, social, physical, and emotional problems, in order of priority. Request that the top three problems in each area be addressed. Some things may need to wait, but don’t budge on the ones that are most important now.
Write everything down. Keep a daily log of time spent and of the specific activities you do at home with your ADHD child to support his needs in school. For example, monitor the time spent on homework, or on completing daily organizational tasks. This will show the team how hard you work. It will also make it easier to set up programs at school that can work in conjunction with routines at home.
Do advance work. Find out which teachers will attend the IEP meeting. If you know that the speech therapist will be there, e-mail questions to her ahead of time. If you prepare well, the meeting time, about an hour in most school districts, can be used more effectively.
Make it personal. Nida Parrish, a proud parent of seven-year-old Collin, always brings along two items to IEP meetings: a photo of her son and a piece of his artwork. “Collin is artistic, and it may be a side of him his teachers don’t know about. Bringing something personal sets the tone for the meeting and allows everyone to be on ‘Team Collin,’” she says.
