Submitted by: René Tomey, M.A., BCBA

Have you ever attended an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting? Or maybe you are the parent of a young child preparing for your first IEP meeting, and you’re wondering what to expect? As a former special education teacher, I have a unique perspective on IEP meetings, and have attended these meetings as both a public school teacher and a private provider. In this post, I’d like to share with you some tips and suggestions for making the most out of your child’s IEP meeting.

Let’s begin by explaining what exactly the IEP is. An IEP is a document developed for every child attending public school that requires special education services. IEPs are developed to ensure that any child with a disability as defined by law receives the services, accommodations, and/or modifications that he or she may need to access the curriculum. When a child first enters public education, a team of professionals, such as a teacher, psychologist, counselor, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, and so on, comes together to develop an IEP based on that child’s individual needs. Every year, the child’s current team will reconvene to update the IEP and set new goals and objectives.

When it comes time for your child’s IEP meeting there are many things you can do before, during, and after the meeting to ensure that your child is receiving the appropriate services to meet his/her needs.

Before the meeting, you can…

• Ask what type of IEP meeting it is! Is this the annual update, a meeting to request permission for testing, a meeting to discuss extended school year services, or an addendum to the current IEP?
• Talk to your child’s teachers, therapists, and any others that play a role in his/her day-to-day education. Ask for a draft copy of the proposed services and goals so you can review them before the meeting and prevent surprises.
• If applicable, review previous IEPs and progress reports so you know what has already been mastered and where your child should be performing.
• Write down any thoughts and questions you may have.
• Let the team know if you will be attending the meeting. By law, you are required to receive 7-10 days notice prior to a scheduled meeting.
• If you have a trusted friend, relative, outside provider, etc. ask him/her to accompany you to the meeting to help paint a complete picture of your child.

During the meeting, you can…

• Participate and collaborate – you are a part of the team, too!
• Be prepared to hear about both successes and challenges, as well as areas for improvement.
• Ask questions! If you don’t understand an acronym or term that is used, ask for clarification. If you don’t know why a specific goal has been chosen, ask about that, too.
• Stay calm and courteous, and try to understand everyone’s point of view. If skills are not educationally relevant (meaning they are not applicable and/or functional within the school setting), then teachers and therapists may not be allowed to address them.
• Know that there is no time limit. If you are not ready for the meeting to end or comfortable with what is being presented, do not feel rushed.

After the meeting, you can…

• Ask for a follow up meeting if you need more time to review documentation or process what is being presented. Hopefully, if you received a draft of the IEP before the meeting, this won’t be necessary. However, you don’t have to sign the IEP that day if you are uneasy.
• Keep a copy of the final IEP somewhere safe.
• Continue to build and maintain a relationship with your child’s teachers and therapists.

Hopefully this information helps give you a better idea of how the IEP process works and what you can reasonably expect from your child’s educational team. Remember, you can always ask us for help and support if you need it!

The post Making the Most out of Your Child’s IEP Meeting appeared first on Reaching Milestones.

Submitted by: Stacey Francesconi, BCBA

There are big things happening for Reaching Milestones in 2017! Already an established agency in the Southern Region (Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina), Reaching Milestones strives to bring high quality ABA services to families in need. In the new year we are broadening our services to cover a new region: New York! New York state is a mandated insurance coverage state but with a lack of providers in the Upstate Region quality services are hard to come by. The following is the process that lead to the Capital Region getting its very own Reaching Milestones clinic!

My name is Stacey and I joined the Reaching Milestones team in 2012. I am a certified Special Education teacher who needed a change of pace. Once joining the team as a behavior technician I was hooked on ABA. I worked my way up to lead behavior technician, BCaBA, BCBA, and supervising BCBA in my 3 years at the Richmond Hill Georgia clinic. This was the best time of my life but I wanted to move back to my home state of New York to be with family. Once arriving home I realized the immense shortage of clinics who were like Reaching Milestones. Who am I kidding I was shocked at the lack of ABA in this area all around! I showed a need, met with lots of influential people, and proposed an offer to the leaders at Reaching Milestones. I was unsure if they’d be willing to expand that far or to give me a chance. After reviewing my hard work and the NEED in this area they decided it was time for Reaching Milestones to give these families in need the high-quality services they both needed and deserved. Now it was my time to make it happen!

We have had a lot of help along the way from doctors, families, other practitioners, and others in the field. Dr. Bentley from Developmental Pediatrics in Latham has been instrumental in getting our mission statement out to parents and believing in our contiguity of services. Janine Kruiswijk and the Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region have let us host parent trainings on toilet training and food acceptance. They have welcomed us to many of their events where we could spread the word on ABA. The amazing ladies at ABC Nursery School in Clifton Park have been the most welcoming and open hosts as we await our own building. They have let us use space to see a small amount of kids while we develop a client base and determine the perfect building space for our own clinic. There have been many others on the journey, too many to name, and we thank them all!

At this point we are credentialed with multiple insurance agencies, have a small group of clients, and have been hosting workshops and events. The future holds our own building with what I know will be an amazing staff. The process has been tough, and the hardest parts might not be over for me but in the end I know it will be worth it to help the families that need it right here in my hometown. I am so thankful for all who have helped and cannot wait for the next leg of this journey! Stay tuned on the Reaching Milestones Facebook page to see what NY is doing and feel free to contact me if you’re in the area and would like to be a part of this amazing journey.

Let’s do this NY!

The post New Year…New Region! appeared first on Reaching Milestones.