IEP
November 4, 2011
I’m tired and overwhelmed. I’ve been walking around in a daze today without purpose or motivation. We have Gavin’s IEP (individualized education plan*) meeting in an hour. I’m nervous. I’m also non-confrontational. I have no idea how it’s going to go. Last year we let them walk all over us because we had no idea what we were doing. This year, I’m trying to find the balance between a desire for it to go well and not caring at all because I know this is not the best place for him and I feel like we’re just slamming our heads against a brick wall**.
I’m thankful for good friends (who are also teachers) who have been walking us through this process and giving us specific words to say. I’m thankful for our ChildServe speech therapist who will be attending the meeting today. She was a private consultant to families for IEP meetings in New York. She’s tough. She’s blunt. She’s amazing.
I just want to get it over with.
*IEP’s are designed for students with special needs. This is a meeting of all teachers, therapists, etc within the school to develop a specific education plan to fit Gavin’s needs. Sounds great…….but it mostly comes down to whether or not those involved actually stick to the IEP…….or if they even show up at all.
**2 weeks ago we had a life-changing experience at a private educational organization. I’ll be blogging about that soon.
time to find your inner bulldog! i believe we all have it inside, and for those of us who are non confrontational (like yourself), it really does exist, but that inner bulldog only comes to play when you’ve been pushed into a corner and feel like you can no longer be silenced, no longer be pushed around, no longer be ignored. i believe you will get bolder in all of this, because you refuse to see your son get a second class education. take the anger you’ve felt over the teachers who’ve been slacking off…take that anger and turn it into action. in a setting like an i.e.p. meeting, you will come to realize that your voice will only be heard as much as you MAKE it heard. it shouldn’t be that way, but it is that way these days. GO GET ‘em MAMA!