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  3. Transition To Adulthood
  4. What The School Can Do To Support My Child's Disability Needs

Follow The IEP

Your school should follow what's written into the IEP and meet with you anytime you want to talk about it.

  • These are legal requirements for the school.

  • You should keep track and make sure that your child is getting all of the services and accommodations that they are supposed to be getting.

  • The school should let you meet with the IEP team anytime you have a concern, and at least once a year.

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Here are some examples of what the school might offer if it's in your child's IEP:

  • Therapies like Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy (OT) or Physical Therapy (PT)

  • Job exploration counseling

  • Job readiness training

  • Work-Based Learning Experiences (internships)

  • Study skills classes

  • Self-advocacy training

  • Social skills groups (helpful for students with autism)

  • Accommodations for classroom time and taking tests and assessments.

Accommodations are changes in the classroom or test environment to give a student with a disability a fair chance to participate.

  • Examples:

    • a specific desk placement or private room

    • equipment to help reduce distraction (like headphones)

    • more time to take tests or do assignments

    • audio or video supports

 

Monitor your child's experience and progress to keep track of how things are going.

  • Talk to them and their teachers about what's happening in the classroom

  • Read their grades, assessments and progress reports

  • Questions to ask:

    • Are the IEP services and Accommodations being followed?

    • Are they working?

If not, here's what to do:

  • Talk to the IEP team. You can ask for a meeting at any time.

  • If that doesn't change things, ask the school principal.

  • If that doesn't help, call your school district and ask to talk to the person in charge of special education services.

It may be hard, and you may feel pushy. But it's ok to ask for what your child needs, and it's ok to insist that the school follows the IEP. Remember, it's a legal document!

The IEP should reflect your child’s goals and abilities — even as they change.

Things change as your child gets older. They might have more trouble as things get harder in high school, or as they start to go through puberty. Or maybe they'll have a new goal of going to college.

Keep up with these changes as you look at your IEP. You can sometimes increase your child’s services if you think it’s needed.

And even though you only have an IEP meeting once a year, you can ask to meet with the team anytime.


If you think your child needs more — ask for more!

During transition, the IEP Team should include: 

  • You, as the child's parent or guardian Image of many people at a meeting table

  • Your child (age 16, or earlier if appropriate)

  • At least one general classroom teacher

  • At least one special education teacher

  • Other specialists--for example, the school psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist, speech therapist, reading specialist, etc.

  • Your child's Guidance Counselor and Transition Coordinator if they have one

  • A representative from any outside agency that will be providing transition services (Like LRS: Louisiana Rehabilitation Services)