Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Gifted/Asperger's and School Testing

Does this mean the school has completed their testing?


I actually read this as a good sign - each of these people plays a different role, and if eligibility *testing* has been completed, and each of these people is attending the meeting, in many districts that would be a sign that your dd is eligible for services and the team will be writing up the draft IEP at the meeting.

If testing hasn't been completed and this is just a meeting to determine whether or not to proceed with testing to determine eligibility, that's a slightly different type of meeting to prepare for - but I don't think that's what's up here. If it is, let us know.

Re what to do to prepare - I would ask for a copy of all test results that the school conducted. It's helpful to ask to have them 5 days in advance so you can review them before the meeting; this might not happen, but at least ask. In our case we received the reports the day before the meeting but even that was helpful - we weren't walking in "blind".



I think this is probably enough, unless you have reason to expect an adversarial meeting. In reality, it's difficult to prepare for bringing in your own expert when you don't have results from the school yet. I wouldn't ask the psychologist or other people to attend at this point, but instead wait and call them in to a follow-up meeting if you realize once the meeting starts that you need them.

Remember that it's ok at any point in time to stop the meeting and say you have a concern and want to reschedule for a time when "professional x" can be present.

There is one other person I'd consider bringing though - either a spouse or a supportive friend, someone who can listen with a separate set of ears. These meetings can be both very overwhelming in the amount of information that is discussed, the discussions can move quickly, and sometimes the meetings can be very emotional for a parent. Having that extra person who is there just to be your support can help. They can take notes, and they can also listen with an independent set of ears.


I really don't think you're walking into an ambush. I think that your school recognizes your dd qualifies for services and they are going to offer up a plan. It might be a great plan, or it might not be. That's where your advocate can really jump in and help. And also remember - you don't have to sign anything at the meeting. You can always wait and sign after you've had time to think about it.

My last piece of prep advice - you might want to record the meeting. There are pros and cons to recording, and policies re what's allowed and what you have to do to get the ok vary from state to state and district to district. I personally usually don't record meetings but instead send a follow-up email to the group of people who attended where I write down a summary of everything that *I* perceived was discussed and we agreed to, and give the group a chance to verify they also agree that's what we discussed and agreed upon. In our situation, I felt that making a request to record would put off the school or raise a concern re why I wanted to record the meetings, but we were already in a very contentious situation with the school trying to fight us tooth and nail every step of the way. I do wish I had recordings of several of our meetings, for two reasons: first reason, there were occasions where something was said in a meeting that was later denied, and second reason, there was just so much info discussed, I would have liked to be able to listen through the meeting again to be sure I hadn't missed anything or forgotten anything after the meeting was over.

Hope some of that helps!

Best wishes,

polarbear