Image source: cft.vanderbilt.edu
It’s easy for parents and educators alike to get lost in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process and the numerous Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) regulations. In an IEP meeting stuffed full of lawyers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, educators, and administrators, where exactly does your child fit in? Sure, the entire meeting is about his speech disorder and particular needs, but in a sea of acronyms (ESY, FAPE, S/LI, and TSS, to name just a few) it can be easy for the IEP team to forget that there is an actual child at the heart of all that jargon. No one knows your child and his speech therapy needs better than you and your partner. You’ve looked after his health from conception onward and made sure he had everything from healthy foods to speech therapy tools. So when it’s time to advocate for him in an IEP meeting and elsewhere at school, make sure that the people who are discussing his education actually know who he is.