Individualized Education Programs (IEP) & How They Help Your Child

Not all kids learn at the same pace in school. Some pick up lessons and skills quickly, while others need extra support to thrive. 

Starting at a young age children experiencing delays in speech and language development may struggle to keep up in class. It’s harder to learn when you can’t express yourself clearly or process the teacher’s words. These issues also affect a kid’s ability to interact and participate in class and social situations. Individualized Education Programs (IEP) and online speech therapy are practical solutions that can help your child develop language skills that allow them to feel confident and engaged in the classroom.

Look Out for Signs that Your Child Needs IEP

Parents should look out for signs that the child is unable to cope. Kids rarely talk about what is upsetting them or if they can’t understand their study material. Unable to explain the frustration, it’s common for a child to answer concerned questions with tears and anger. 

These are a few examples of signs that a speech IEP might be helpful:

• Your child’s speech is often difficult to understand, or only family can figure out what he’s saying.
• She’s struggling in class but she can’t explain why.
• He mispronounces certain sounds like “p” or “k.”
• She doesn’t seem to listen to instructions.
• He has trouble with the timing and flow of conversations with classmates.

Talk to the teachers about how your child is doing and if they have noticed similar behavior with in-class assignments. Consider requesting an Individualized Education Program (IEP) if necessary to get them the extra help they need. 

However, before you do that, get in touch with the pediatrician and have them assess the child’s speech and hearing abilities. It will be much easier for the trained educators to develop a good program for your child if they know what the little one is dealing with. 

Understanding the IEP Program

Federal law ensures that all children receive equal education opportunities. According to the  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), any child requiring assistance will get the help they need. Kids with disabilities can access Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal document drawn up by a team of experts in multiple disciplines in partnership with parents. Numerous conditions fall under the category of “disability.” They range from Autistic Spectrum Disorder to hearing impairment or learning disabilities.

An IEP includes long-term goals in a “goal bank.” For children whose IEPs include speech and language processing objectives, a few examples could be:

• Skillful production of a difficult sound like “k” or “r”
• Using and taking good care of a hearing amplification system
• Speaking smoothly or at an easily-understood pace
• Using practiced mouth movements to produce clear sounds
• Identifying figurative speech like metaphors
• Writing grammatically correct sentences

Each year, the IEP speech goal bank is re-evaluated according to how well the child responds to the training. 

Evaluating the Child for IEP

The IEP is a detailed document designed to include all the supports, tools, and services that your child will need to cope with their speech and language processing challenges. Information gathered after teachers, parents, and staff members evaluate the child is noted in the document as a starting point. Like, for instance, 

• Any observations made about the child’s performance in class. (Such as, it takes the student a long time to respond to questions.)
• Need for help with IEP speech therapy because of language deficits
• Scores in individual standardized tests to evaluate academic proficiency
• Assessment of behavior and overall social skills

Parents are invited to discuss areas where their child needs assistance, so please bring any paperwork collected throughout the process. If you have any medical or other test results that could be helpful, bring them along. 

Take notes for future reference and prepare written queries in advance, so you remember to put forward your views. In case your child has been receiving any form of speech therapy, add the information to the file you present.

Putting Together the IEP Plan

Once the evaluation and meeting are complete the school team will put together a plan in keeping with the school district regulations. This list comprises the different tools and allowances provided by the school to help your child. For instance, audiobooks might be part of an IEP for speech, or special equipment for taking notes, or an extended time permitted for writing exams and tests. 

In case your child needs special audio-visual learning aids to reach their academic, behavioral management, or speech IEP goals, the school will provide them to you. Other assistance like reduced homework and classwork assignments and verbal or visual devices to aid learning can be invaluable for children needing help to overcome their learning disabilities. 

As a parent, you can help with homework at home and provide lots of love and encouragement. When schoolwork or language practice starts to grow frustrating, take an active break with fun workout apps to blow off some physical steam while your child’s hard-working language centers take a rest. 

Reevaluating the IEP

Once your child has been enrolled in an IEP, you can expect that the school will conduct a fresh evaluation once every three years. 

At the meeting held later, the child’s progress is discussed along with how well they have attained their IEP speech goal bank milestones. Changes can be made in the program to accommodate your child’s growing needs and improved skills.

The IEP is a valuable program that can ensure that your child gets to keep learning and growing in a supportive educational environment. If you think your child needs assistance, get an evaluation, and get the learning process started as soon as possible.

*This post was submitted by a subject matter expert in education from Pocket Prep. PocketPrep creates award-winning exam prep apps that show students how to prepare for the material in ways that eliminate any weak spots. All of their practice questions are written by industry experts, and each question comes with a detailed explanation. 

 

Thanks for reading!

If you like it, then pin it!