Milestones Magazine Fall Issue

What setting the child will be placed in
((e.g. special education school, special
minutes) daily, weekly, or monthly to devote
to occupational therapy.
education (self-contained) classroom, or
regular classroom))
Once all the evaluations have been finished,
a date will be set for an IEP conference. A
What services/staff will be provided for
the child (e.g. special ed. teacher,
instructional aides, occupational, physical,
speech therapists, psychologist, social worker,
transportation)
letter will be sent to the parent specifying the
date of and reason for the conference, and
who has been invited (e.g. parent, teacher,
psychologist, speech therapist). The parent is
asked to confirm the meeting date or request
a date change. The parent has the right to
Where the services will be provided
(e.g. classroom, resource room,
therapist’s or counselor’s office)
bring others along with her to the meeting, but
is asked to inform the school about how many
he/she is bringing (generally one or two people
only, for space reasons). Usually, a couple of
What accommodations or adaptations
will be made to the curriculum (e.g.,
more time for child to complete assignments,
weeks or so before the meeting, the parent will
receive a proposed IEP to review and come
prepared to discuss during the meeting.
alternative teaching methods, or assistive
technology)
At a typical IEP meeting (at least every
one I have participated in), each invited
The IEP process starts when a parent requests
testing of their child for possible special needs
that impede his/her learning; or when school
staff recommend a child for testing and the
parent agrees. The classroom teacher and
other school staff, as appropriate, will evaluate
the child and write a report. For example, the
participant goes over his or her report with
the parent. The reports typically specify goals
to be reached and how progress toward
those goals is to be measured. At the end
of the conference, the parent has the
opportunity to agree with the goals as written
or request changes.
occupational therapist will evaluate the child’s
fine motor skills (e.g. use of his/her hands for
writing, drawing, etc.), recommend activities
to address the child’s difficulties in that area,
and suggest the amount of time (number of
Most parents are involved with their children’s
education and want them to be as successful
and happy as possible. Children with special
needs add another wrinkle to the educational
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