1.     Ordinary and Extraordinary Gifts

 Judith Snow, a Canadian self-advocate, spoke often about the concept of giftedness.  Judith had the ability to see giftedness, not as a characteristic of a bright child, but something we all have.  Extraordinary giftedness, in Judith’s own words, is the ability to create the ‘opportunity for interaction and meaning to a larger number and variety of people as possible’.

 After hearing Judith Snow speak in Colorado Springs, I came home and we had a family meeting to talk about each other’s gifts.  We knew Dylan’s IEP meeting was coming up for kindergarten and I decided to wrap a gift box with wrapping paper, make copies of the list of Dylan’s gifts, and placed those inside the gift box.

At the IEP meeting, I shared the story of hearing Judith Snow speak about giftedness and we wanted to share our families’ thoughts about Dylan’s gifts.  As I opened the gift box, I took out one of the copies and then passed the box to the next person so they could have a copy of Dylan’s gifts.

 It did make such a difference in the atmosphere of the meeting, just by starting out talking about Dylan’s gifts.  For a bit of time, staff was thinking of how much Dylan will contribute to the kindergarten class.

2.     Strengths/Successes and Vision

 Start the meeting with your request to go around the table and have each person share a success they’ve had with your child, and/or a couple of strengths your child has.  Turn to the person beside you and have them share first.  As the conversation goes around, you’ll be the last person to share. 

Perfect!  After you list some of your child’s strengths/interests that haven't been shared yet, you can transition into talking about your vision and your child’s vision for life after high school.  Now you’ve started the meeting with strengths and the vision for the future—two great guideposts for writing an IEP!

MORE Ideas on Positive IEP Meetings and Building Relationships With Staff

 * Lead with SOMETHING that they do well.

* Discuss present levels prior to meetings and proposed new goals with each team member, ask what accommodations would be helpful.

* Begin collaborating with the IEP team weeks before the IEP meeting and collaboratively write the first draft of the IEP.

* Model your own vulnerability as much as you feel comfortable.

* Get to know people that work with your child on an individual basis.

* If you can’t say it aloud, even just thinking it can shift the energy in the room.

* Have the child bring in a single flower at least every other week, not a whole bunch, just a single flower. It will wear them down.

Catch the replay and hear our conversations around these questions:

• How do we keep the tone positive and encouraged the team to see our vision?

• When you don’t feel the teacher is invested in inclusive practices, how we can change the tone before we go back to the table for an IEP meeting?

• How do you approach or open that conversation of collaborating on the draft IEP?

• How do I know if my child is actually having access to his communication device during the day?

• Any suggestions of what to do if you are seeing a pattern of kids with significant needs with being segregated to other schools in the district and being pulled from their schools that they’ve been attending?

• What are some of the links to research over the past several decades that show inclusion works?

• What do we say if we hear that we’re doing a disservice to our child if we need to fight for inclusion?

• What are the pros and cons of a parent attending a teacher training?

• What are examples of reading accommodations and modifications teachers used with Charmaine's son, Dylan?