Welcome back to the student involvement in the IEP Series, where we are exploring different ways of involving students in their own Individualized Education Plan, in the context of the official IEP process and throughout the school year. 

In Part 1, we covered some of the different forms student involvement can take, and in Part 2, we are taking a closer look at the process of preparing for the IEP meeting with student involvement in mind (note that students are required after a certain age - most states by age 14/16 - to be invited to attend their IEP meeting!)

There can be a lot to think about going into an IEP meeting, from measuring progress on previous goals to deciding how to organize a new plan to figuring out what goals should be in it. 

In the process of working through all the necessary steps to prepare for the IEP meeting, there is also plenty of opportunity for student involvement, whether they wish to directly participate in the meeting or not. 

Let’s talk about a few ways we can involve students in the preparation process and making sure we are using their feedback to inform our own plans. So let’s take a look at some helpful starting points!

One reality of goals is that they evolve and change over time, and beyond that sometimes we find out we are just plain wrong about the things that are most important to us! 

It’s nobody’s fault that goals can be such a complex thing but it does make it incredibly important to check in before any meeting related to setting goals in stone to ensure that you and your student are still on the same page about the goals you have been discussing. 

It may turn out that nothing has changed, or that they have a more refined idea of what they want to do, or that setting that particular goal was a big mistake, and they want to focus on something else. The most important thing is that you are working with the most current information going into the meeting.

Right before an IEP meeting also happens to be an excellent time to go over the accommodations your student currently receives and make sure they are sufficient to meet that student’s needs. Some questions worth considering when reviewing accommodations:

• Do you find [accommodation] helpful? Would you like to keep using it?

• Does [accommodation] solve the whole problem, or could it be better? Would you want to try to find a better version of [accommodation]?

• Where do you need more support?

• What things about school or class make it hard to learn and do work?

Answering some of these questions can help to establish whether it may be necessary to revisit the student’s current accommodations list and try to implement new or remove old accommodations if necessary.

One crucial way you can support your student in an IEP meeting context is to make sure to check in on any boundaries they wish to express around certain types of learning activities or means of measuring particular IEP related goals. 

As a teacher, you have the context to understand what is and isn’t possible in such situations and do your best to advocate on your student’s behalf to make sure that their goals and ways of measuring progress are aligned with activities in which the student in question feels comfortable and supported.

If your student wishes to attend the meeting, it can be helpful to discuss ahead of time the extent to which they want to advocate for themselves versus the extent to which they would prefer that you take over on their behalf. 

Having a sense of what that dynamic will look like ahead of time can make a big difference in navigating the conversation with other stakeholders who may not have the same understanding of your student’s feedback and stated goals and needs. 

In addition to establishing student preferences, it is also important as part of this process to make sure that the student in question understands what the process of an IEP meeting might look like and the role they may play in it.

If you are interested in hearing more on teaching students about their involvement in the IEP process, then stay tuned for Part 3, where we will be covering exactly that! And in the meantime, if you have feedback related to involving students in IEP meetings or want to share your experience, then drop us a line at hello@autismgrownup.com!