GUEST SPEAKER: Erin Lucas and Terri Bercham, Beginnings
TOPIC: IEPs and advocating for your child in the school system.
Erin and Terri kindly represented Beginnings for what is becoming a crucial yearly conversation about IEPs meetings. They reminded us of several key points for successful meetings:
1. Bring someone with you. It may be a spouse, a friend, or a professional, but there is strength in numbers. Your companion can witness the discussion, and can be there to support you or even step in when needed. Beginnings parents educators are available and willing to join you at these meetings as your advocate!
2. Be sure everyone who is supposed to be at the meeting is, in fact, there.
3. Prior to the meeting be sure to:
a. Know your child’s hearing loss, including type, degree, hearing age, and performance of Ling sounds, etc
b. Know his/her assistive hearing device
c. Know where he/ she is on the Audiory Learning Guide
d. Know his/her expressive speech ability and articulation skills/ delays
e. Know where he is on the Bloom and Lahey guide of nl developmental sequence of expressive language
f. Know his procurers to reading an where he is.
4. You can call a meeting anytime. Due to the experiences of some members, we discussed the “appropriate time” allowed for this meeting to be called. No official rule was known, but they recommended to move up the chain of command if the meeting was not called within a reasonable time.
5. Show the school system that you are an effective advocate for your child. Make a notebook with all important information, including audiograms, previous IEPs, report cards and evaluations, etc, and bring it to all meetings so you are prepared (and they know it!). Keep a written copy of all calls, emails, and other transactions in the notebook as well so you have documentation if needed at any time.
6. Do not assume everyone at the meeting will know anything about hearing loss, how to read an audiogram, and what a given hearing loss means to your child. Bring a familiar sounds audiogram to help you explain.
Terri and Erin provided information regarding IEP meeting agendas, Hearing and Listening in a Typical Classroom, Extended School Year services, hearing impaired and deaf eligibility criteria, beginning preschool. They provided a worksheet for creating a “positive student profile” prior to the meeting so that you know going in what your child needs and what your goals are. They also included a copy of a blank IEP form as a guide of what is included.
The discussion turned to enforcing the IEPs and working with teachers. There were many good suggestions regarding this, including meeting with teachers prior to the school year along with your child, the audiogram, his/her amplification devices, and explaining the specifics of how the hearing loss affects your child in the classroom.
All of these resources and more can be made available. Just contact us or beginnings for assistance.
Parents/Others Present:
Leslie Wolfe
Marty and Leigh Reeves
Arthur & Tracy Tastet
Loretta and Matthew Slozer
Pam Bensimhon
Crystal Rierson
Charisse Whittum
Llanely Sanatuario-Vargus and husband (Sorry!)
Sandu Burnette
Ashley Synan Willett (speech therapist)
Rebecca Marks (speech therapist, Guilfrord Co)
Children Present:
**A big thank you to the UNCG Auditory-Oral Birth-K program students!!**
Collin and Hannah Tastet
Angeleah Reeves
McKenna, Joshua, Marissa, Shalynn and Jared Slozer
Audrey Whittum
Angel Vargus (and brother)
Zack Bensimhon
Thanks to Crystal Rierson for bringing refreshments for the parents and children.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, May 27, 2008. Topic TBA.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
24th Annual Spring Camp Cheerio: A Weekend For Deaf and Hard of Hearing children, their families, and professionals May 16-18, 2008
AGBell Convention: Somethin' BIG is Brewing in Milwaukee, June 27-30, 2008
Pam Bensimhon & Crystal Rierson
Co-leaders, Triad HITCH-UP
www.triadhitchup.com
