Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional IEP Goals - Wording Suggestions?

I am preparing for our last IEP meeting of the year and our advocate has suggested totally redoing the goals to include more specifics. I am hoping that some of you would be willing to share wording that has proven especially effective for your 2E kids.

For example, last summer we worked through our district's central office in designing the original IEP. We discussed in detail concerns about DD's anxiety and how to address it. I said she needed to be seated away from "troublemakers" because she both takes on responsibility for their behavior and had frequently been injured because of her proximity to them during their behavioral outbursts. They indicated that "Seating with positive role model peers" was the appropriate and accepted IEP language for this. I pointed out that DD was usually the "positive role model peer" but was assured that all would understand this as "IEP speak". Needless to say that didn't happen. The SW assigned to work on her anxiety issues scheduled her for social skills training and she continues to be seated with troublemakers during small group "tier time" sections and at lunch.

Another example, DD totally shuts down (or if it's really bad melts down) if she is in a room with a teacher who yells, scolds, threatens, punishes or uses a "public shaming device" like a color chart. I was told "Positive Reinforcement" was IEP speak for she should not be around this behavior or teachers who use these types of classroom management techniques. Her main classroom teacher is great but she still had exposure to this sort of thing during tier time in other classrooms and with substitutes, both with predictable results. As I posted on another thread they took drastic punitive actions against DD following an anxiety induced meltdown which is continuing to cause major problems. The district has written a letter acknowledging that they violated her IEP but I want to keep it from happening in the future, not just go after them when they fail to do the right thing. Any hints regarding anxiety goals or techniques you have found to be effective?

With suggestions from members here (special thanks to Aculady) I think I have a good idea of how to frame things for some of her LD issues but am interested in anything that you may have found especially helpful. We are dealing with LD's (dyslexia, dysgraphia, possibly dyspraxia or something similar - we are redoing neuropsych testing later this year), fine motor deficits and anxiety. She is currently in pull out for reading, math, OT, speech and anxiety. I have managed to finally get them to introduce some scribing which is helping to provide some enrichment in her writing curriculum. Even though the IEP indicates “explore enrichment opportunities” no other enrichment is being provided other than what we do on our own. (A lot of audio books, nature and ecology, history, etc. Also for things like writing sentences using 5 specific words a week for her homework she writes a paragraph on a theme she selects rather than just writing 5 unrelated sentences as the assignment reads.) I am hoping to convince them to focus on assistive technology and keyboarding but may not be able to until we get the new neuropsych reports, probably not until next school year is already underway. Her current IEP reads “oral responses and testing when needed” which I would like to change to something allowing ALL responses to be oral or scribed unless they are meant to measure handwriting skills. Any other suggestions? She will be in 2nd grade next year so I wonder if something similar for spelling may be needed.

So, what have you found that works? As IEP season is in full swing hopefully this can help others as well. Thanks.

Pemberley

Hi Pemberley - It sounds like you are on the right track and have all your duck in a row. Good luck on your specific IEP goals!
Grinity

Hi, Pemberley.


Good. Make them not only specific, but also observable and measurable, so that one can tell through simple data taking and observation whether they are being followed. If you look at the goal and you can't make a checklist about it, or can't figure out even how you'd begin to measure it, it's not a good goal.


Was the seating mandated, or suggested? If it was mandated, they were in violation (and I know they've had trouble following the IEP before).

I don't have wording, but I know you need to make it clearer, and enforceable. If you can spell out (in the "present levels" or intro to the IEP) what situations make her anxious, that is a good start. The present levels are really an important place for describing all the current problems and challenges; that gives you leverage to address them through services and accommodations in the IEP goals.


Consider writing (with the IEP team) a very specific plan (either as a BIP or as part of the IEP) that mandates how discipline is to be handled. A BIP spells out step by step what teachers should do in various instances, including meltdowns-- it tells them how to prevent the behavior, and how to respond if it occurs. There's no guarantee it will be read by a sub, but having the appropriate response spelled out in detail is your best hope.


"Explore" is vague and unenforceable. I'd suggest that the IEP team needs to nail down, as a team, what enrichment opportunities will be provided, when in the day, and through what approaches.


I hope you can get it into place; if you do it now, it can be scheduled effectively.


"when needed" is meaningless unless it's spelled out with precision in what cases it's needed. I think your suggestion is good; make all testing oral or scribed (even spelling) unless it's handwriting.

HTH,
DeeDee

One bit of wording I like in my son's plan is for certain accommodations to "fade with success." This can help bring educators on board with an idea that they might have been hesitant to agree to, like accepting late work.

I work as a substitute for our school district and I have never had a teacher leave in the plans which child is on an IEP. If a child is pulled out for services the sped/ssn/etc just show up and say they are taking so and so for whatever it is they are receiving.

The most I've ever seen is "please allow 'John' as much time as he needs" or "positive reinforcement works really well for 'Sarah'" or "'Eric' will need repeated reminders to follow along with the rest of the class or to stay on task".

And then at some schools if the students have any life threatening medical conditions or allergies they are on a master list (usually middle schools or high schools). The majority of the elementary schools are peanut and pet free schools so I don't think that is as much of an issue.

So you will need to perhaps stress that the IEP goals or accommodations will be communicated to the sub in the sub plans. A lot of it will depend on the sub, there are many good subs out there, but there are also a fair number of burnt out or cranky subs and there may be no way around that unless you can get your teacher to find a sub(s) that works well with the class in a positive way that she can request for absences.

Of course I can only speak for my district and places I have worked. This may not be true or possible for every area.

ETA: The only time I've seen an IEP list of students is when I subbed for a special ed teacher so it was to be expected I knew who was on an IEP and for what.