IEP

IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan

An IEP exists for many different types of children. As far as I know it is mostly for special needs children. I realize there are exceptions to that.

Yesterday was our second official IEP meeting for Brody. His preschool teacher and the speech language pathologist for his classroom attended. Also the school psychologist came because she was reviewing test results and evaluations done for Brody. This meeting was to help review the results the psychologist had and it would help with the transition to kindergarten as well as a normal IEP.

If you ask most parents of special needs children, an IEP meeting is HUGE. It is one of the single most important annual meetings about your child. An IEP is an academic and legal document with many details and information about the child. From the details of transportation on the bus to the background about the child's family life. The school district, teachers and elementary school has to follow what is on an IEP. The main focus of an IEP are goals that the child's schooling is based around. The teacher, aids and therapists use those goals as a way to set the standard for how to teach the child and what goals the child should work towards.

Before the IEP was the review of the results of the evaluations and assessments on Brody. This was a necessity in order to place Brody in an appropriate program for kindergarten (and possibly other years of elementary school). Unfortunately (but not unexpected) Brody is low functioning on the autism spectrum as well as severely delayed in multiple developmental areas. With Brody's severe lack of speech and understanding of communication we knew this is probably what would happen. Though it is always difficult to hear the harsh labels associated with your child. I know what Brody is capable of and how intelligent he is. I was happy to hear the psychologist say that some of the areas he was evaluated on were difficult to come up with a real result because she did not know if Brody is unable to complete a task or if he is just unable to understand a task. It is nice to know she is logical enough to know that the barrier to knowing Brody's true intelligence is his lack of communication

The results of the first part of the meeting was that Brody is eligible for special education program that is a self-contained autism classroom for the kindergarten year. The second part of the meeting was a review of the current IEP goals and a couple news ones. This IEP will be honored for the rest of his time at his preschool and in whatever kindergarten class he is in for next year. We know what program but the school district will place him at a school that has that program.

The whole process can be very technical and there are many things that have to be signed by law and it protects Brody as well as the school district. It was a 2 hour meeting in a conference room at our local elementary school.

I am so jealous of parents who can just send their child to school when they turn 5 and that is it, they just need to check up and make sure homework is being done and the education just naturally comes! But I am trying to be positive and instead I have tried to be grateful for an amazing school district with incredibly capable and caring professionals. As a team they all have Brody's best interest at heart and truly care for my beautiful boy with the wonderful smile. I am grateful that there is special education and that an IEP exists.

I know that this is not the process of sending my oldest child to kindergarten as I imagined when I first gave birth to Brody but it is what it is and I am constantly hoping and praying that with the help of wonderful professionals in the school system that Brody advances and progresses to be the capable and smart child that I know he is.