​PREPARING FOR THE IEP/504 MEETING

Many parents are confused or intimidated at school meetings.
It is important, however, that you are able to negotiate with
the school for the services your child needs. The following
will help you prepare for this meeting. Successful meetings
are product of successful preparation.

Many parents do not realize that they can negotiate with the
school for the special education services their child
receives. To be a good negotiator you must have a thorough
understanding of the problems commonly associated with ADHD
and the specific problems of your child. Your child’s
specific problems may be derived from classroom observation,
observation of problems that they have their homework,
observations of problems that they have negotiating the
school day, the results reported on their report cards,
observations of behavior problems, results from testing
completed by school or a private psychologist and your
general understanding of the difficulties your child has.

The most basic and important part of the IEP/504 meeting
is you knowing what your child needs and what you want to
do about it. Although the schools input may help with
clarification on this point you should have a clear idea
of many of the things your child needs. Your ability to
answer three basic questions, before the meeting, will
help you get to where you want to go. 1) What do you
want? 2) What action do you want the school to take?
3) What facts support your request? Did not rely on
the school to ask or answer these questions. Welcome
their input, but you need to be the expert.

Resource: Wright, Pam; Wright, Pete, From Emotions to
Advocacy, Harbor House Law Press, Inc., 2002.