2 IEPs in one day? Well isn’t that just cruel and unusual punishment! Not to mention today is a half day so I will barely see my little kiddos. I’ll keep my opinions to myself about how much I hate don’t really mind that bad writing IEPs. Are we supposed to enjoy writing these never ending documents of joy? I get it that they form our curriculum but maybe it’s my love of efficiency and organization that cause my less than stellar feelings towards writing IEP. The ones in our state our not organized well, incredibly redundant, and the most time consuming parts are the ones I use the least. Goal writing isn’t my problem. Heck I can write a goal with an impeccable mastery criteria in my sleep. It’s IEP writing that’s my nemesis. And checking all those dang boxes…
In the spirit of IEPs I wanted to share to parent notes I send home prior to the IEP to get the goal writing conversation started. As a wide eyed undergrad I learned that parents and teachers write IEP goals together as part of this magical time. And then I quickly learned in the real world – there is not time for that. The parents have a say of course but goal writing isn’t so team based. I like to try to bring part of the mentality in and typically send home this reminder to parents about their child’s IEP meeting (it’s also a nice excuse to remind of day/time without sounding like a jerk):
I have found that this form is difficult for some parents to fill out and can be challenging for parents of students who are lower functioning and may not work on academics in the traditional way. I also like to use this form because it can give some great insight.
Downloads: IEP reminder and 5 good/5 bad. Anyone share my IEP ‘”love”?
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7 Responses
I love your forms! For the last 2 year I had a form I sent home with the invitation that asked the parents what they thought their students strengths were and what they had educational concerns about.
I haven’t had any AR meetings yet this year, but I know I’ll need a more detailed form with this group of students as their needs are higher. I love your 5good/5bad form!
I totally get what you are saying about IEPs being redundant! It’s awful!
I feel your love. I have started using a form I made that asks parents/guardians to reflect on three questions prior to a parent-teacher conference I offer to all parents about two months prior to each annual review meeting:
1. Think about your child one year ago today and list at least 5 skills/things (important to you, as her parents),that he/she did not do independently. Does he/she independently complete these activities on his/her own today?
2. Think about your child one year from today. List least 5 skills/things (important to you, as her parents),that he/she is not currently demonstrating independence with.
3. Picture your son/daughter three years from now. List 5 skills/things (important to you, as her parents), you envision will be crucial for him/her to develop maximum independence.
I teach grades 4-6 currently, but have taught all levels (K-age21), and find this helpful,
I LOVE that! That is such a great way to put things into perspective for parents that would work well with all types of children. Thanks for the great ideas – I will be stealing this! 🙂
Thanks Erin! Happy you understand my IEP pain 🙂 Good luck with all yours this year!
Your words are too kind- thank you. I love your blog!
As a Special Ed teacher, here’s how I hladne the amendment process:1) Determine change that needs to be made2) Call up parent, explain to them the change I would like to make3) Ask if they have any questions4) Ask if it’s OK to make the change5) MOST IMPORTANT: Ask the parent if they would like to come in for a meeting to discuss the change further, or if they’re fine with me making the change and then sending the paperwork home to them afterwards.I want the parents to be well aware of their right to have a meeting to discuss any changes to the IEP, but I’m thankful as the person who has to organize the paperwork and meetings for the ability to make simple changes to the IEP without convening a complete team meeting. If I do a good job of explaining what change I would like to make and can adequately answer any questions, that’s going to be enough for almost all situations where I would want to change an IEP in mid-stream.This completely saved me last month, because we made ESY determinations. Once we got the list of programs available, I had less than a month to add ESY to 11 IEPs. If I had to schedule meetings for each of those, especially with the wacky weather we had, I think I would have spontaneously combusted.
Do you have any generic ideas/goals for a lower functioning autistic 18 year old. He is nonverbal and working on using an ipad to make a choice.