- Kate Hood
IEP My Way
An IEP is designed to help you, the student, but are you ready to attend your IEP meeting?Get ready for the new school year with our IEP Guide!
Individualized Education Plan (IEP):
Action steps for you and your teachers to help you achieve your goals.
IEP Meeting: A yearly meeting to discuss your progress, set new goals, and plan accommodations.
IEP team: A group of people that meets to create and update the IEP, typically including your parents, teacher of the deaf, case manager, and school principal or director of special education. Other teachers and service providers, such as your audiologist, may be included.
When you were younger, you may not have attended your IEP meetings. However, YOU are the most important member of your IEP team. Talk to your teacher/parent about the right time to start attending your IEP meeting.
Accommodations: Changes in how you learn, not what you learn. Some of the most common accommodations for students with hearing loss include:
preferential seating
FM system
live captioning (such as CART)
audio/video must be captioned
no oral tests
provided notes
teacher must write homework assignments, not just announce them
resource room/learning center time
1. Before the IEP Meeting:
Create a list of questions.
Create a list of possible solutions to problems you have experienced in class.
Create a list of accommodations including:
Accommodations you’ve used in the past and want to keep
Accommodations you’ve used but haven’t found beneficial
Accommodations you would like to try this year
2. During the IEP Meeting:
Introduce yourself with a friendly smile. Thank everyone for being there.
Make sure you can hear and see everyone’s faces. If not, demonstrate your self-advocacy skills by speaking up and moving your seat.
As decisions are made, repeat and rephrase to make sure you understand. Try this: “So, what I understand is that we will do a trial of CART in one class to begin, then add more?”
Ask questions. The people in the room are your biggest supporters and will be proud to see you take part in the meeting.
Give a copy of these notes to your case manager
3. After the IEP Meeting:
Ask for a copy of the meeting notes.
Read and review the new IEP.
Follow through by using the accommodations you selected and reminding teachers about the accommodations when necessary.
If a teacher isn’t following the IEP, ask your case manager for advice.
Always remember: Ask for what you need politely (without accusing), and you will find that people are more willing to accommodate you !
Meet the Teach: Guest writer Kate Hood is a middle school math teacher from Alabama. Mrs. Hood wore hearing aids from kindergarten through college and now has cochlear implants.
Did you attend your IEP meeting this year? Send in your tips! info@hearingourway.com
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