Gausen,+Scott+IEP's



Hello. My name is Scott Gausen. I am 29 and a graduate of Southern Oregon University with a degree in history. I went to four different schools before I finally decided that Ashland was the place for me. During the course of my convoluted work history I have been an assistant in the Special Collections Department of the University of Oregon Library, Pepsi vendor, garbage man, ranch hand, fence builder, dishwasher, prep chef, and a ski-park chair lift operator. I also worked for the Forest Service for nine seasons, ending that career as a squad boss on a fire-use crew. Crew 7 to be exact. (see above) I love backpacks and maps and have a bit of a collection of each. A collectory if you will. I also enjoy collecting postcards but I usually do not send them to anyone. I keep them as a memento of the places I have been to. I plan on receiving my Masters in Education and becoming a social studies teacher. I also have vague ideas of working for the State Department. I like to travel and meet new people so either way I go will most likely bring me happiness. On that note, traveling brings me joy. I also enjoy new and historic arms and armor. Wherever I go, I try to find a museum that contains these interesting treasures. I want to be able to interest students in history and geography. I sometimes fear that I will not be able to do this. I do not want to be the "boring teacher". This is what I fear. In high school, I had problems understanding math. I could never quite "get" it, no matter how hard I tried. I always felt stupid in math class and it was very uncomfortable for me. I think that this will help me to understand how students feel when they do not grasp something in the social studies arena. When people are good at something, sometimes they do not understand how other people do not understand something. As I remember my math experiences I will keep this in mind. I hope that this course can provide me with the tools to assist students who need a little bit more help. I want this class to demonstrate to me the different ways that people can be helped to understand things and how I can facilitate this.

__Wiki Research Topic: __ __IEP's __
 * The Importance of IEP's **[[image:iepfolder.gif align="right"]]

I chose to research IEP’s for several reasons. First, IEP’s are very important. They provide students who need assistance with that assistance. An IEP is legally binding, so once it is written schools are obligated to meet the requirements. However, IEP’s can be confusing. There is a lot involved. It is important to knowas much about them as possible in order for them to actually work for a student. The second is that in my placements there have been several students with IEP’s. At first I did not even know what an IEP was and therefore I was confused when I was looking at their files. The answers I received about the questions I asked were a little vague, although now I see that I was not asking the right questions. I decided that the best way to make sure that these students received the help that they deserved and required was to understand about the IEP process and how it works.

Thirdly, I imagine that in my career as a teacher I will be working with many students who have IEP’s. By arming myself with the knowledge about an IEP, I will not be at the mercy of others to inform me about them. I will be able to understand the process, know the methods by which students are placed on an IEP, and be aware of how meetings and other aspects of an IEP are supposed to proceed. I believe that this will make working with students on an IEP much easier for them as well as myself. I believe that there are many students out there that could be on an IEP, but are not. If I know what to look for, I will be better able to recommend a student for an IEP so that they can get the assistance that they need. Many undocumented students may struggle unduly through a school system that does not recognize their special needs. If my research and this Wiki and help me and other people to prevent this, than I will consider it a success.

**Top 6 Things I Learned While Researching IEP's ** 1. IEP proceedings can be confusing and intimidating for parents and students. 2. Many educators are unsure of how IEP’s should be put into practice. 3. Some schools may be reluctant to create and implement an IEP for students. 4. The exact format of an IEP form may vary from state to state, or even school district to school district. 5. The IEP process is essentially the cornerstone for providing special education services. 6. Students and parents are a central part of the IEP team.

__@http://ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html__ - (**5 out of 5)** Department of Education Website - Guide to IEP including contents, team members, writing the IEP, deciding placement, after it is written, implementing, reviewing and revising and more. There are sample forms to look at and links to other resources for parents and educators to find information. The laws regarding IEP’s that are written into IDEA are included and after each section, a brief synopsis of what the laws actually mean is given in order for people to understand them better. This resource is helpful because, despite being a government publication, the the information is clear, concise, and understandable to the average person. This was my top resource because of the rather in-depth information it contained, its clarity, and the fact that it is written by the United States Department of Education.
 * Top Resource: **

1. __@http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/iep.index.htm__ (**5 out of** 5**)** Wrightslaw website. This website contains articles, blogs dealing with specific questions, special education cases (supreme court), information for parents about how the IEP process works, information for educators, information about how to get the IEP process started, and much more. The site is written by an attorney specializing in special education and a psychotherapist. There are a multitude of articles specifically about IEP’s that are frequently updated. The frequently asked question section is especially helpful because it provides an interactive forum which allows people to ask questions and have them answered either by the authors or by other people on the site. It takes several hours to navigate just the section on IEP’s and there are upwards of fifty other topics addressed as well. In addition to the information provided here, a free e-newsletter is offered and there are opportunities to purchase books and other media on the topic of special education. All in all, an interesting site with an extraordinary amount of information. 2. __@http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/iep__ (**5 out of 5)** This is the link to Learning Disabilities Online. Similar to the Wrightslaw website, this site provides articles, recommended books, a question and answer section, information on legislation, and a multimedia section containing video, audio and transcripts relating to IEP’s and special education. At present there are sixty-two articles providing information on writing IEP’s, documentation, how to advocate for one’s child or student, as well as other information. A helpful site that is a good resource for both parents and educators.
 * Other Resources: **

3. __@http://lib.sou.edu/search/t?SEARCH=the+iep+from+a+to+z&sortdropdown=-__ (**5 out of 5)** This is a link leading to the book __The IEP from A to Z: How to Create Meaningful and Measurable Goals and Objectives__ by Diane Twachtman-Cullen. This particular link is an electronic resource provided by the Hannon Library. The book is written to provide IEP teams an updated resource for writing and implementing an IEP. The book provides information about the essential elements that go into an IEP, and presents examples of how to apply these elements in a real life scenario. There are chapters on the theories of IEP’s, measuring student performance, and scaffolding for student success. The second part of the book deals with how to actually put these into practice as well as information on social cognition, implementation, of social goals, cognitive development, and decision making. This book is very helpful for educators because of how it provides specific examples for writing IEP’s as well as actually putting them into practice. It is one thing to “know” about IEP’s but a different thing to actually implement them correctly. This book bridges that gap and I recommend looking at it.

4. media type="youtube" key="T1O9kaPSBzY" height="315" width="420" __@http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1O9kaPSBzY__ **(3 out of 5)** This is a video of a mock IEP meeting put on by students in a Special Education class at Boise State. The purpose of the video is to show how an IEP meeting should work and how a plan can be created for the success of the the student. This mock meeting assumes that the student already has an IEP and this is a follow-up meeting. It includes examples of how the different members of the team interact, how modifications are implemented, annual goal setting and achievement, and a discussion of transition services. I think that although it is kind of a long video at eleven minutes, it highlights how teachers, parents and the student can interact productively and how to include the student as a key part of the IEP process. While print media is helpful, there are many different kinds of learning and sometimes watching a video on the process is beneficial.

5. __@http://www.ncld.org/at-school/your-childs-rights/iep-aamp-504-plan__ (**5 out of 5**) Not to be confused with LD online, this is the link to the National Center for Learning Disabilities. This site provides a great deal information on IEP’s as well as 504’s. Besides general information on IEP’s, the site goes into detail about IEP teams, student led meetings, and tips for a successful meeting. There are helpful sections for parents about how to read an IEP and understanding the concept of prior notice. Problems that parents and students could potentially run into are highlighted and explained and there is a helpful chart comparing Section 504’s with IDPA legislation. A section for teachers gives tips and ideas for effective teaching practices, progress monitoring, and information on universal design for learning.

6. __@http://nichcy.org/schoolage/iep__ (**5 out of 5)** This is the website for the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. The site provides a great deal of information on all aspects of an IEP. There are sections on who is on an IEP team and individual pages highlighting the roles and responsibilities of each participant. In fact, every aspect of an IEP is discussed thoroughly in an understandable form. While this site seems to be aimed at primarily at information for parents, it is a valuable tool for educators as well. The entire site is available in Spanish as well, which is a very nice touch. The main site is very helpful in that they have a free newsletter as well as offering publications and other valuable resources free of charge. The only reason that this was not my top site was that it is somewhat difficult to navigate in that one has to often go “back” in order to find other pages. 7. __@http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/learning/iep.html__ (**3 out of 5)** This is a link leading to information on IEP’s produced by the KidsHealth website which is a subsidiary of the Nemours Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to children’s health. The site provides information on what disabilities would require and IEP, how services are delivered, the referral and evaluation process, team members, and the legal rights of students on an IEP. While the site is not as in-depth as some others, it provides information intended for parents in concise, clear, easy to follow language. It is a good resource for someone looking to find general information on the subject.

8. media type="youtube" key="TYeMBtmA5oc" height="315" width="420" media type="youtube" key="lorImN93foM" height="315" width="420" __[]__ (**4 out of 5**) This is a video put out by Autism Speaks, a non-profit autism science and advocacy organization. The video provides information about the IEP process such as what an IEP is, what to expect at an IEP meeting, how to prepare for an IEP meeting, what not to do at a meeting, as well as other information. The video is very clear and well thought-out with a good narration. This video is tailored primarily for parents, but any educator should watch it as it provides a good viewpoint from the side of the parent. There are two parts to the video and I have included both of them.

= = = __CBL: IEP Meeting__ = For my disability community based learning project I chose to sit in on an IEP meeting. I first asked Meredith, the teacher of special education, if I could sit in on a meeting. She happened to have one coming up so she said that it was ok as long as the parent would allow it. I met the parent in the conference room shortly before the meeting. I explained my situation and asked if she would be willing to allow me to observe. She expressed that she would have nothing against it. I made chitchat with her while we waited for everyone to come to the meeting and during the course of this she asked me what exactly an IEP was. Thankfully I had been reading and paying attention in class and I explained that it was a process that allowed an individual with a disability to have an individualized education plan that would help them to succeed in school and later in life.

Meredith then came in the room along with Heidi and Karen. Heidi is a general education teacher that teaches the Compass program the student is enrolled in. Karen is the behavior intervention specialist.

Meredith had a stack of papers and began to go over the first one which is a sort of checklist. She asked the parent what she notices in the behavior of the student and if there are any particular concerns. She explains that the student is in the Compass program which is a new program that has been designed to have one general education teacher teach the students for a half day and to allow them to have guided and self monitoring of their behavior.

Heidi then discusses how the student is doing in the program and gives specific examples of student progress. Karen adds her observations as well. Meredith then asks if the student is on any medication as she has noticed that the student is somewhat “checked out” by fifth period. The parent then discloses the students medical history.

Meredith then goes over testing and discusses the testing history of the student. There is also a discussion of what can be done for the student when he/she goes back to the regular school day.

Karen then discusses the psyche of the student and the apparent lack of coping skills. She says that this is an area that is being worked on with more oversight in the Compass Program.

Testing is brought up and discussed again. Meredith says that the best thing is for the student to test in small groups but there is no hurry to begin testing.

The goals sheet is looked at and Meredith reads over the goals that have been listed thus far for the student. Heidi and Karen discuss how to improve the list and come up with five objectives.

Meredith begins an explanation of modifications. She points out a certain line on the sheet and explains that with too many modifications the high school diploma that the student receives can be impacted. She says that this is not an issue now but simply to keep an eye on it and tells the parent to ask her (Meredith) if there are any questions about it later on.

Heidi then speaks about Compass and how it works to get students ready to go back into the regular school setting but that there is no set time limit.

Meredith comes to the page about format. She discusses what accommodations the student may have in the regular classroom such as a special desk for testing.

Meredith asks if the parent has any questions and the parent has none. The meeting is adjourned.

(Duration: 43 minutes)

I found this process very interesting overall. It was interesting when the parent asked **me** what an IEP was. I had not thought that she might be less informed than I was. It made me think back to the conversation in class about parents being intimidated during a meeting. I felt good that I was able to explain a little bit to her. I think that she understood the idea but once again, the nomenclature and acronyms must be confusing. I worked for the Forest Service for nine years so I am used to acronyms but I have to remember that this is not the case for everyone.

In the meeting, Meredith went over the details with Karen and Heidi providing anecdotal information about the student. Heidi provided the most information because she is involved with the student on a daily basis. I was happy to see that Meredith, Heidi and Karen were all very friendly and had good positive feedback about the student. I did notice that they tended to look more at each other when they were talking than the parent. This was interesting. I don’t think they meant to do it but it was noticeable to me.

I was happy that Meredith pointed out to the parent the potential impact of the kind of diploma that the student was eligible to receive upon high school graduation. It was nothing that was a problem at the moment but she made sure to point it out and told the parent to keep asking about it. It seems like there are a lot of little things like that involved in the whole process: one particular line can affect the diploma of a student five years down the line. I imagine that the ins and outs of special education are complicated and that special education specialists may sometimes forget that the lay-person does not understand every nuance. Meredith did not seem to forget this and I thought that she did a very good job of explaining everything to the parent.

I am now wondering what the rest of the IEP process looks like and whether students are regularly at meetings of this sort. I am also curious as to how parents are educated on the IEP process. Does someone sit them down and explain everything to them or do they just have to learn on the fly so to speak? I will try to get to the bottom of these questions as the term moves forward. I am very glad that I went to this meeting first of all because being told about something is one thing, but actually seeing it in operation really solidifies the information. It was interesting to see that the parent was not really sure of the whole process and I will remember this when I interact in the special education process. I will be sure to make sure that parents and students are as well informed as I can make them. I think that this was good for me as a pre-service teacher because I am now more familiar with how this part of the IEP process happens and I will have a better idea of how to participate in the future.

At the end of the meeting I also had a long (sort of one-sided) conversation with Heidi about Compass and what it is that they do. She had a great deal of good information and I feel that it is knowledge I can take with me to whatever district I end up working in.