All Together Now ...?Have you ever attended an Individual Education Plan (IEP IEP In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Irish Punt. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ) meeting and experienced the following: * When you walk in, everyone is talking and no one looks at you? * The professionals tell you their names and their titles in alphabet alphabet [Gr. alpha-beta, like Eng. ABC], system of writing, theoretically having a one-for-one relation between character (or letter) and phoneme (see phonetics). Few alphabets have achieved the ideal exactness. soup? * They hand you assessment reports in rapid fire? * No one seems to realize how scared or nervous you may be? * No one asks about your family or how your child might be at home? * Everyone speaks in jargon jargon, pejorative term applied to speech or writing that is considered meaningless, unintelligible, or ugly. In one sense the term is applied to the special language of a profession, which may be unnecessarily complicated, e.g., "medical jargon. ? The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act  Some statements may be disputed, incorrect, , biased or otherwise objectionable. put differently , they are to function as a team. There are a variety of factors that should be present within a team. They include: social support, proximity, distinctiveness, fairness, similiarity, and communication. The following checklist is an informal way for you to evaluate your IEP team atmosphere. Answer the following questions with a "yes" or "no." Score 1 point for each "yes" and 0 points for a "no." CHECKLIST Social Support: An atmosphere where people can share and be offered understanding, compassion compassion, n a profound awareness of another's suffering coupled with a desire to alleviate that suffering. and encouragement. 1. Does your school have a parent support group for parents of special needs children? 2. Do your meetings start with a list of your child's strengths? 3. Has the district informed you that you may bring anyone you like to your IEP meeting for support? 4. Has your district given you information about the local family resource center? Social Support Total-- Proximity: The more time that people spend with each other, the more likely they are to develop a relationship. 5. Has the school invited you to observe or volunteer in your child's class? 6. Have you received positive comments from your child's teacher either in person, by phone or E-mail? 7. Do the team members at the IEP meeting stay focused on your child? 8. Has the school invited you to watch the therapy or other services that your child receives? Promixity Total-- Distinctiveness: A sense of unity or purpose. 9. Have you shared information about your child's home life in writing or with photographs? 10. Have you presented past reports from other sources (e,g., doctors)? 11. Have the teachers shared their goals for your child before the meeting? 12. Do the school personnel seem to really "know" your child? Distinctiveness Total-- Fairness: The ability to work together for the child in a spirit of camaraderie ca·ma·ra·der·ie n. Goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends; comradeship. [French, from camarade, comrade, from Old French, roommate; see comrade. . 13. During the IEP meeting, do you feel free to stop and ask for clarification Clarification The removal of small amounts of fine, particulate solids from liquids. The purpose is almost invariably to improve the quality of the liquid, and the removed solids often are discarded. or for a definition of a word or phrase? 14. Do you feel as if your concerns are being considered? 15. Has your school provided you with information about the IEP process? 16. Have you received the results of your child's assessment tests before the meeting? Fairness Total-- Similarity Similarity is some degree of symmetry in either analogy and resemblance between two or more concepts or objects. The notion of similarity rests either on exact or approximate repetitions of patterns in the compared items. : Sharing things in common with each other. 17. Do you feel like you and others on the IEP team are all working toward a common goal? 18. Do you feel as though you are listened to when discussing your child? 19. Do you think your information is seen as valuable to the other team members? 20. Do you feel like you are familiar with the curriculum and goals for your child? Similarity Total-- Communication: The process of sharing information, ideas, and feelings in three different ways. These forms are written, verbal, and nonverbal non·ver·bal adj. 1. Being other than verbal; not involving words: nonverbal communication. 2. Involving little use of language: a nonverbal intelligence test. . 21. Have you been given notice 10 days prior to the IEP meeting? 22. Have you given written permission for your child to be assessed? 23. Have you been given a copy of your legal rights as a parent? 24. Are you receiving information about your child's progress at the same intervals as the general education program (i.e., when report cards come out)? 25. Are controversial issues discussed prior to the meeting so there are no surprises? 26. Does the individual who facilitates your IEP meetings allow everyone to talk? 27. Is the atmosphere of the IEP meeting friendly and supportive? 28. Did you make a list of any questions you have and bring copies of it to share at the meeting? 29. Does everyone seem focused on the matter(s) at hand? 30. Is there a sense that all participants want to work together to meet your child's needs? How did your IEP team do? Total each of the following section scores Social Support (out of four points) -- Proximity (out of four points) -- Distinctiveness (out of four points) -- Fairness (out of four points) -- Similarity (out of four points) -- Communication (out of ten points) -- GRAND TOTAL -- 24-30 awesome team cohesion 18-23 somewhat cohesive team 12-17 can work on cohesive team strategies below 12 reevaluate the team process If your team scored 18-30 points they are doing quite well. If your team scored less than 18 points you might want to look at the areas where your team scored poorly and consider sharing this information with the team. Working as an effective team is not an easy process, but it is one that should not be overlooked, as it is imperative imperative: see mood. imperative - imperative language for the benefit of the child. Issues Critical to Parents Some key points from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (Public Law 105-17) * Parent participation is mandated in initial eligibility and placement decisions. * Voluntary mediation mediation, in law, type of intervention in which the disputing parties accept the offer of a third party to recommend a solution for their controversy. Mediation has long been a part of international law, frequently involving the use of an international commission, is set forth as a means of resolving parent-school controversies. * Modifications and accommodations must be made when children participate in IEPs. * Before a child can be reevaluated, parents can participate in a review of the data and must provide informed consent. * Parents help make all eligibility decisions. * IEPs must include statements of how parents will be regularly informed of their child's progress toward IEP goals. * The IEP team must review existing evaluative data provided by the parents. Judy Judy is most commonly a female given name, as well as a shorten form of Judith. It may also refer to:
1. ^ "California State University, Chico", Yahoo! Education, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. . She has experience working with families in Head Start and other parent education agencies and consulting with state community care licensing agencies. She is the mother of two grown children. Rebecca Rebecca or Rebekah (both: rēbĕk`ə), wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob. One day, as was her custom, she drew water at the city well; while there she showed kindness to Eliezer, Abraham's servant. K. Lytle Lytle can refer to: People
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