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Educational Advocating for your Brain Injured Child

© Shannon Lester

When you're the parent of a brain injured child, there are so many unanswered questions in your mind. "How long will recovery take? How can we start over? Why did this happen to us?" Your concerns are so overwhelming that the last thing you want to think about is your child's return to school. But dealing with an IEP can be deceptive to a parent and an educator, especially when you have a brain injured child. Brain injury is such a new concept that people don't completely understand its implications. As a result, children with brain injuries often don't get what they're entitled to.

Individualized Education Program

Some students with brain injuries have a legal document called an Individualized Education Program (IEP). An IEP is a legal-binding document, which specifies the educational needs of a learning disabled child, and in many cases, a brain injured child. All school employees must comply with the rules set forth in the document, as violation of any or all of the terms is illegal. Accommodations, such as extended time, shortened assignments, and preferential seating may be included in an IEP. In fact, almost any special need of your child should be listed within its pages.

Being Prepared

You, as a parent, need to be ready for the problems you may encounter, regarding your child's rights. As a brain injury survivor, my experiences with the educational system are diverse. Upon returning to school after my brain injury, educators misinterpreted my actions. I had partial blindness, and I moved a lot slower than the other students. People assumed I was being hard to deal with, because I looked like anyone else, but could not do certain things. There were concepts I had difficulty with and some things that I simply could not do.

Common Misconceptions

"She doesn't look any different from anyone else. She must not be trying." This is a common misconception. But you need to be willing to go the extra mile. Don't be afraid to visit your child's school to get familiar with who she is working with. Before the school year starts, request a meeting with your child's teacher to explain her needs. Give the teacher a list of your child's accommodations, and explain what she has difficulty doing.

According to Janet Holmes, author of Ten Ways to Take Charge of Your Child's IEP Meeting or Family Support Plan as excerpted from Learning Disabilities 101, you should begin an IEP meeting by introducing yourself, and by running the meeting. Have a prepared set of notes.