Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional IEP question

For those of you who have an IEP, I have a question-
if you find something new that you would like added to the IEP during the school year, how do you do that? Do you have to have another IEP meeting or can it be added via email consensus?
My son is hearing impaired and has an IEP for that. As usual, the teacher doesn't really believe that (although he wears a hearing aid!) since he is so bright and verbal.
Anyway... She gives the spelling and vocab words in class only 2-3 days before the test. He still does well, but it would help if we could get the words a week before and have time to go over them at home. He is obviously a visual learner, and spelling words are tougher for him since he is hearing impaired.
How can I get that added into the IEP? Thanks for any advice!

This may be something you can address without changing the IEP if the teacher is reasonable. I would start by asking her directly - she may be willing to just agree to do this. If not I would contact the director of your team and ask for the modification. We have had a number of things added without a formal meeting. As long as there is consensus the IEP coordinator just writes it up and we sign off on a paper indicating that we agree to the change without a meeting. If they don't agree then request a meeting to amend the IEP. You can do this at anytime.

Last year was a rough one for my son, and we started with the teachers but explaining what wasn't working, why it wasn't working, and what we thought would resolve the problem. For some, that was all that was needed. For a couple, it was like we'd thrown down the gauntlet. The only remedy was going to the Special Ed Chair and asking for a meeting. She was very supportive and wrote out an IEP addendum on the spot. We signed, she signed, she had the principal sign, and it was part of the IEP.

Hope this helps.

My personal favorite way of accomplishing that sort of thing is to email the teacher and the case manager and say "Herschel is having difficulty with XXXX. I believe that YYYY would be of great help to him. It seems to be a fairly low-impact accommodation, so I wasn't sure if this required calling a full IEP update meeting. What is the preferred procedure?"

Since our school staff would generally rather gnaw off their arms than call an IEP meeting (especially since ours have taken anywhere up to three and a half hours), we get a lot handled through less-official channels.