IEPs from A-Z: A Step-by-Step Guide to Advocating Effectively

The curriculum is broken into 10 steps:

I. Your child is struggling in school. What do you do first?
Defining your goals. What are the specific action steps you take? What kind of testing do you need? Includes a simple checklist.

II. What is an IEP? What is the difference between IEPs and 504 Plans?
Uncover the diabolical myths and lies frequently told about qualifying for an IEP. Do you have to wait until your child is failing to qualify for an IEP? Learn why getting an IEP is far superior to a Section 504 Plan.

III. You’ve decided your child would benefit from an IEP. What do you do now?
How do you request a meeting? What can you expect during the first meeting? How can you get the school to pay for comprehensive testing for your child? Why should you get an Independent Evaluation? Who should do the testing? Should you get a diagnosis? Includes a simple checklist.

IV. How do you know if your child qualifies for IEP services?
What are the different categories under which a child can qualify? What is needed to qualify? Which disability labels should you avoid? Do some give your child more services than others? Which have the highest success rate?

V. How do you prepare for the IEP Eligibility Meeting?
What is the best way to influence the school? Do you know how to tell your child’s story in an effective way? We’ll demonstrate how powerful this can be. What should you bring to the meeting? What if you don’t handle conflict well or are not assertive? Should you bring an attorney? Should you plan to record the meeting?

VI. How do you ensure your child qualifies for services at the Eligibility Meeting?
What can you expect at the Eligibility Meeting (being surrounded by ten professionals)? How do you assert your rights and take ownership of the meeting? We’ll show you how to understand the scary testing percentiles—critical. What do you do when you encounter resistance (schools generally will try to deny, delay or discourage)? Includes a simple list of DO’s and DON’T’s of Eligibility Meetings.

VII. What do you do if your child is denied eligibility?
What are specific action steps you can take if your child is found ineligible? What recourse do you have? How long do you have to wait to ask for another meeting? Is there alternate testing you can provide? If your child is eligible, how do you prepare for the next meeting?

VIII. Meeting to Create the IEP Plan.
What specific special education services are necessary for your child to succeed? We will provide a list of over 200 accommodations. What do you say when the school says, “Oh, we don’t need to do that.”? What leverage can you use to get more time or services (i.e. extra Occupational Therapist time, reading aid)? Should you sign the document at the meeting? Includes a list of 5 Mistakes to Avoid.

IX. Execution of IEP in Classroom.
How do you make sure the school executes the plan? What if you discover they aren’t executing it as agreed? What recourse do you have if a new teacher didn’t read the IEP Plan? What do you do if the plan needs to be revised? Are there certain times you can ask for a meeting? How soon do they have to convene a meeting? What are your rights? Includes a list of DO’s and DON’T’s.

X. Q&A, Resources & Forms
We will include an extended live Q&A Session and case studies so you can see how other parents have used this curriculum successfully. How do you enforce the IEP as you transition from Elementary to Middle School? What happens if you move to a new district? What do you do when a school works from the least expensive solution to what finally works? How can we know what we should have as opposed to what the school offers? Plus many other common questions. Includes helpful checklists, forms and sample IEPs.