The Good Fight
I won't bore you with all the details of an IEP meeting, and I'll try very hard to keep my venom for these meetings from showing through. But, I think it's important for the public at large to know that even though the law states that children with disabilities are entitled to the same education as normally developing children, it doesn't come without a fight.
IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan and the idea of it is actually quite good, but the politics of it can be mind-boggling. It's purpose is to set specific goals for the child and to make sure the parents and teachers are on the same page concerning the child's development. Any one or many of speech therapists, teachers, psychologists, aids, etc can be present in addition to administrator and the principle. I don't have to tell you that with that many people present, not everyone is going to readily agree on a course of action.
First, they have to determine whether or not the child is even eligible for services based on testing. Then, of course, they decide exactly what services the child needs. It's important to note here that each service gets a certain amount of money for each child and it's easy to see how the needs of the child can get lost in the desires of the district. I don't want to imply that IEP meetings aren't effective because they can be. They problem is that there is usually some disagreement on exactly what the child needs, and I do mean exactly. Every detail is written down on page after page of papers. Each minute of therapy is accounted for, and every possible goal in a specific period of time is carefully planned and documented. If it sounds overwhelming, believe me it is. Having a child with learning delays means you don't really know what to expect from week to week regarding progress. An IEP meeting really forces you to be aware of each and every developmental milestone and whether or not your child has achieved it.
It's like taking a magnifying glass and picking apart every aspect of your child. Imagine if you had to examine your child's social, developmental, and educational skills by dissecting each one into tiny parts, only to discover that your child is lacking in some way. I find it so difficult to concede my daughter's weaknesses without quickly pointing out her strengths. It's virtually impossible for me to sit at that table and let them ramble on about what she can't do since I'm with her every day and I see all the wonderful things she can do. I shudder to think what would have happened to me as a child if the same degree of measurement were used on me. In the back of my mind I can't help but think how unfair it is to be constantly monitoring special kids like some giant science experiment.
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