VISIT
WWW.HEARTANDSOULADVOCACY.COM
CALL
404-692-4334
Many students don't actually get the services written in their IEP consistently and/or effectively regardless of how professional or caring the educator seems when speaking with you. Keep in mind, the integrity and quality of services depends on the school district, child's school and SPED Rep. A parent must be vigilant about their child's services, while being careful not to risk annoying educators who often will take frustrations with you out on your child. Its sad but true.
Trust your instincts as a mom who knows your child and their needs, parents often have the answer their searching for but just want confirmation that they unfortunately may not receive accurately or truthfully by school reps. As a School Psychologist I made it a point to value the parent and teachers opinions and concerns. While working as an Intern I remember a parent who kept insisting that her daughter did not have Autism or Mental Retardation as previously documented within her most recent IEP as her eligibility label. At the time, I was administering her 3-year evaluation. Because of information provided by her mother I decided to explore alternative assessments further to possibly validate her mother's beliefs. Unfortunately, many school psychologists and educators don't take the time to explore inconsistent findings. Since I put forth the extra effort, sure enough I discovered that this child did not have either disability. Instead, she had a very severe Speech & Language Impairment (i.e., almost no memory for verbal information), which caused educators to think she had other disabilities because she was unable to remember the names of simple words and letters. However, this little girl had a visual memory like a genius. Therefore, she couldn't possibly be mentally retarded and her display of autistic characteristics were actually the result of her S&L Impairment. Can you imagine how relieved and validated this mother felt after not being heard and disregarded concerning her thoughts and feelings for several years?
In addition, many parents think that it is best for their child to not miss any classroom instruction due to being pulled out for sped services in a small group setting. Depending on the needs of the child, remaining in the classroom might be the best choice. However, sometimes having all sped services provided in the primary classroom are not as effective as being pulled out because the child does not get the individual attention they need to work on certain skills. This option sounds good but often times is not, such as collaborative settings offerred in Middle/High school. In collaborative settings some teachers use that service option as an opportunity to tag teach where they alternate days for teaching and breaks instead of helping your child by focusing on their individual needs written in their IEP.
To help avoid these neglectful practices, ask your child if they received services on specified days and what they worked on, do classroom observations, and volunteer at school. Do what it takes to get to know the type of educators and environment your child is working with. These strategies will help you determine the integrity of services provided, which is most important to your child's success.
