Do you struggle with how to describe your child to a new teacher?
Do you worry they might not read the full IEP or 504 plan and want to provide a condensed ‘summary’ at the beginning of the year?
As a special need’s parent and a therapist often asked to advocate for my clients at IEP meetings I am always looking for resources to best support diverse learners. I attended one of Nancy Brown’s workshops in which she presented an approach she uses called Person Centered Planning which she used successfully at IEP meetings across her now adult daughter’s educational years.
This workshop inspired me to create condensed handouts about children in advance of each IEP meeting, including parent goals and concerns clearly outlined to be given to each participant of the meeting. As a parent, preparing these handouts has helped me both acknowledge and condense my own goals prior to these meetings. Having the summary in hand helped me walk in with a lot more confidence and a lot less anxiety. I have found the handouts to be well-received by my child’s school support team.
Building off this, we decided to create a standard format inspired by Person Centered Planning we could use at IFC as a whole. We launched this just in time for back to school so parents could have an easy, quick read to give to teachers in advance of the first day back. This collaboration with our clients and their parents has been so helpful in assisting everyone’s planning for the first day, and helping the family feel that they are giving the teacher the tools and support needed for a successful school year.
An example of a plan we might create for a child with a history of developmental trauma might look like this:
If you are an IFC parent and haven’t completed one with your therapist yet, schedule a parent session to create a tailored version for your child’s teacher.
Even if you can’t make it in for a back to school session with your therapist to create one together, we hope you will take some time to put together a summary to prepare your child’s teacher to best support your child.
When you’re able to walk into a new school year or your next school meeting with a clearly outlined understanding of what your child needs to succeed, we hope both you and your child will feel confident and a lot more at ease.
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Wondering if you should have your therapist talk to your child’s teacher? We have a blog post on that!