5 Must-Know Tips to Start a Successful School year on an IEP. #1 is an easy trick that goes a long way.
Maybe you just want to get a jump start on things to start the school year on the right foot. Maybe last year had its hiccups. Or, maybe last year was downright awful. No matter the reason, you’ll do anything for this year to go well. You’re in the right place. Check out these 5 tips and tricks to proactively set you and your child up for success in special education.
1. Email teachers early. The biggest surprise? You don’t even really need to talk much about the IEP.
Say it with me and louder for the people in the back. Email. Teachers. Early. When you email, let them know anything you think is important, but two things specifically. First, tell them about your child! Your child is amazing. You know this; they should too. Tell them about your child’s strengths, interests, and hopes. Then let them know the areas where they struggle and how to best support them. Second, and equally as important, make it clear that you understand their perspective as the teacher and thank them. A little genuine acknowledgement goes farther than most of us realize. Your child’s teachers are going to work hard. Like, really hard. Not many people are in the field of special education for any other reason than to see your children do well. You may have had experiences with your school that make you think otherwise. I get this. That is a terrible feeling. With the idea that teachers are well-intentioned as your starting point, though, you are going to have a much smoother start than starting with a foundation that they don’t care. Let them know how appreciative you are for their support and how they’ve dedicated their life to doing everything in their power to make sure your child does well in school. This is really special when you pause to think about. Say thank you before they have even done anything. Because, the truth is, they have already done so much just by showing up. They will take that thank you to heart and remember it when they are supporting your child.
2. Review your child's IEP and know what to expect
Whether you keep every document you’ve ever received in an organized binder or you can’t quite remember where that book-like stack of paper is, dust off that IEP and give it a read. If you haven’t forgotten a single detail from your child’s IEP from last year to this year I would be shocked. It just happens. You are living a full life over there! And that is totally okay. Make sure you know all the main features (e.g., accommodations, modifications, services, etc) so you are ready to go to be supportive to your child and ready to communicate productively with your child’s special education contact when the questions, concerns and homework - oh, the homework *visibly shivers* - starts coming in.
3. Plan a progress review meeting instead of waiting for the annual review
Your child’s annual review meeting for their IEP (a yearly meeting held to go over the IEP and update goals, accommodations, and modifications as needed) may be early in the year or it may be late. This all depends on when your child was originally evaluated for special education and when their previous meetings took place. If the meeting is due very early in the year, lucky you! This is an easy way to check in to make sure everything needed is in place. If it isn’t due until later in the year, go ahead and request a progress meeting sooner! There is nothing in the rulebook that says you can’t meet before the set annual review. This gives you a chance to monitor progress, ask questions, and make sure that the best plan is in place. At the end of the day, regardless of the timing of your child’s IEP meeting, you can call a meeting any time for any concern. An IEP is a document about a real human being (your amazing kiddo) made by real human beings (your amazing teachers and special education professionals). That means that things change from year to year and it may not be reflected in the IEP the way it needs to be. Just ask!
4. Check in with the special education teacher to ask about skills you can work on at home to support school
This is SO important. Your child is likely going to be working on so many wonderful skills at school where they will learn specific activities and language used that will start working for them. This is fantastic. The problem? If you are not sure what these things are it is much harder to support your kiddo at home. Let your teacher(s) know that you’d love to hear about what they are working on so you can support them with consistent language at home to help their skills cross over environments and get stronger faster. This is great for your child on so many levels. Again, it will help their skills become more robust. It is also a great rapport builder. Your teachers will love to hear that you are taking interest in and value what they are doing with your child. This is a team, remember? You are such an important part of the team, too.
5. Talk to your child about their IEP and how they're feeling!
This one is near and dear to my heart. So often, we get caught up in the process of developing the IEP which can take a lot of time, patience, thought, and wading through jargon that it seems impossible that we would include our kiddos in the process. But, they are the most important part! Talk to them about their IEP. Ask them if they know what it is, what it is for, what their disability is, and how it is meant to help them. Ask them how they’re feeling about starting another school year and how they hope the year will go. The power of hearing a child talk about their hopes and dreams and how we can all support them to achieve those cannot be understated.
There are so many other ways you can help set your child up for success this coming year. It is not a one-size fits all approach. These 5 tips are a great place to start. After that, trust your gut. You know this amazing kiddo better than anyone. They are yours, after all *heart hands emoji*.
TL;DR
Honestly, I don’t blame you. Here are your bullet points for how to start the year off with a bang:
Email your child’s teachers early to build rapport and be on the same page about how to best support your child.
Review your child’s IEP at the start of the year. That thing is dusty and boring. You forgot some things that were in it. Does that make you a bad parent? No. It makes you a human.
Plan a meeting before your child is due for their annual review if you think it’s needed. There is no harm in checking in to make sure your child’s needs are being met.
Ask your child’s special education teacher how you can support their skill development at home. This helps build skills faster and keeps you connected to your child’s teachers in a thoughtful way.
Talk to your child about their feelings about their IEP and the start of a new year to make sure their voice is heard.
Have more questions or need some help navigating all of this? Consider checking out The Dream Team Community. It is packed with real, compassionate parents and educators supporting each other to help these amazing kiddos live their best school life.