I am seeking advice on how to best prepare and manage an upcoming school meeting. The meeting is to discuss DS's (2nd grade) potential needs due to learning disability. He is 2e.
There are several recent posts and resources which may be of interest.
In the event that school personnel are not familiar with these diagnoses, here is great information from
Irena. Information from the
NCLD may also be helpful.
qualify when below grade level
Not so. For LD and 2e issues, you will want to be familiar with
wrightslaw, which informs on many aspects of advocacy, including
IDEA. The book From Emotions to Advocacy is helpful.
important to have, even if you choose not to share.
exploratory meeting? ... I assume the purpose is to discuss if he should even be evaluated. So my job is to present the case and their job is to describe the evaluation process?
There is really not a standard as to how many meetings, who attends, and what is discussed. To manage your expectations and make best use of everyone's time, you may wish to request an agenda. While a school or district may proceed based on a phone call, a formal process usually starts with a written request by a parent.
Do we discuss his enrichment needs at all or only focus on his needs based on disabilities/challenges?
Many find that focusing on LD needs first is helpful to the child, others term this a "deficit" approach.
How do I know if we are being evaluated for 504 or IEP and does it make a difference at this point? No one has used those terms.
The child is being evaluated to assess ways in which access to education may be impaired. Depending upon the results, an IEP, 504, or both may be put into play. Previous post on IEP or 504 - here's a great description by
polarbear As a friendly "heads up", you may wish to know that many schools bristle at the use of "we" when speaking of a child's education (we are being evaluated, we are going to an ivy league college, etc) as it may imply parents who're overly involved/invested/identified with their child. Standard tips for meeting prep include:
- Research state laws and the school or district policies and practices. This information is often found online. You may wish to print and put this in an advocacy ring binder to refer to over the years as the laws and policies/practices may change over time.
- Have any test results and other pertinent facts available to share (milestones, reading lists, other accomplishments/achievements)
- It is good to have them speak first. If asked to speak first, you may simply wish to thank everyone for attending and summarize that you are all here to share information and ideas about how to best meet your child's educational needs... and that you would like to hear from them.
- Agenda
- Know who is in the meeting, and their role(s)
- Stay calm
- Know what you are asking for
- TAKE NOTES including Who-What-Where-When-Why-How of differentiation, so you can summarize in an e-mail afterward [Some families announce they plan to record the meeting and then do so, rather than taking notes.]
- Use active listening (rephrase what has been said, and put it in a question form) to clarify understanding
- Be open to receiving the school's data/observations.
- Listen to any proposals they may make, ask appropriate probing questions, such as how a proposal may work, how the proposal may help your child, the schedule/frequency of service delivery, etc
- Do not be forced to make a decision if you need time
- Summarize next steps & time frames, and/or need for a follow-up meeting
- Thank everyone for their time & interest
- After the meeting, write a summary (points of agreement, etc) and share it, possibly by e-mail
General advocacy information/resources shared in this
recent thread .
