The author, Juliet Hiznay, is a special education advocate and attorney in private practice in Northern Virginia. For information about her practice, visit https://jdhiznay.com/
Do you want to have a successful meeting with school staff? Sometimes caregivers can be overwhelmed with frustration knowing that the child they love and support are suffering at school, for whatever reason. Children are astute. They know when they are liked and they know when others view them as capable, or not. How should we approach special education meetings to avoid having anger and frustration derail the collaborative process? Here is a mental exercise – my top 10 assumptions going in to an IEP meeting.
TEN: YOU ARE YOUR CHILD’S BEST ADVOCATE
NINE: PARENTS ARE NOT NEUTRAL . . . AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT
EIGHT: THE ENTIRE SCHOOL-BASED TEAM WANTS YOUR CHILD TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND WANTS TO DO A GOOD JOB
SEVEN: YOUR CHILD MAY NOT FUNCTION THE SAME AT SCHOOL AS THEY DO AT HOME
SIX: MOST PROBLEMS CAN BE RESOLVED THROUGH GOOD COMMUNICATION AND HARD WORK: DEVELOPING GOOD WILL, IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM, SHARING INFORMATION, AND COLLABORATING ON A SOLUTION
FIVE: EVERYONE LIKES A COMPLIMENT; NO ONE LIKES A CRITICISM
FOUR: NO SCHOOL IS PERFECT
THREE: NO IEP IS PERFECT
TWO: THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT – HOW HARD DO YOU WANT TO WORK? IT IS ALL ABOUT BALANCE.
ONE: FOR MOST EVERYONE, WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF LITIGATORS, COLLABORATION IS MORE FUN THAN CONFRONTATION
Revised on August 1, 2024; originally published on August 15, 2012; All Rights Reserved Juliet D. Hiznay
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