It is also important for families to be aware of what is taking place with their child’s education. To achieve this, information should be shared with both teachers and parents prior to IEP meetings so that each member of the team has time to review, process, develop questions and reflect before the meeting takes place. Parents should never be caught off guard by information during a meeting.
DEC recommended practices states that goals should be developed during the IEP/IFSP meeting and not prewritten and reviewed at the meeting. Unfortunately I often times find that goals are prewritten because of limited time for meetings. It is very important for families to be involved in the writing of goals. This will help parents be more on board with working on the goals at home if they have had input in them.
I think most all professional recognize that family involvement is extremely important in the individualized education plan; I think the hardest part is figuring out how to get them involved and keep them involved throughout their child’s education.
References:
Sandall, S, Mary, H, Barbara, S, & Mary, M. (2005). Dec recommended practices. Missoula, MT: Division for Early Childhood.
I agree that parents should be given time prior to the IEP meeting to decide on what goals they want to be added to their child's IEP. IEP meetings can be overwhelming and are not the best time to brainstorm for IEP goals.
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, as soon as families realize the importance of their impact on their child's education, the sooner child can better reach their goals. When a team is established between the families and the professionals, the child has a much better chance of obtaining goals that are set for them because of the fact, they were created to meet that child by the people who know them best.
ReplyDeleteErin, I agree that it is vital for the family to be involved in the development of their child's educational plan. I agree that it is best practice for the family to be involved in the writing of the IEP goals. However, I also agree that time constraints often make it difficult (impossible?) to actually write the goals at the IEP meeting. Sooo, the solution? Perhaps the best compromise is for all parties to share information among each other prior to the meeting so that as you said, no one is caught off guard during the meeting. If parents and educators are in good communication with each other and share their concerns and ideas about the child ahead of time, then a draft of goals reflecting the strengths and needs of the child as seen through everyone's eyes could be presented at the meeting. The meeting could be a time for adjusting, adding and deleting goals as deemed appropriate by the team.
ReplyDeleteYou are right! Family involvement makes a lot of difference. Who knows a child better than a parent. The children are much more successful if the parents take an interest in their education.
ReplyDeleteHaving parents present so that they can give some input will be helpful when planning these goals for their child.There may be a few parents that may think that what they may say is not important,but their voice is very important and should be considered as much as the teacher,psychologist,or any other team member.
ReplyDeleteI think that parents and specialists should write down concerns and possible goals before the meeting. Then all of the people involved can work together to develop goals for the child. Parents may need more information from a specialist about setting goals depending on the area of development that is being worked on.
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