Rowell Family Empowerment

This happens. The results of the school’s evaluation may be different than your child’s medical diagnosis. It’s also important to remember that school is NOT the final say on your child’s potential. They may offer very little support to your child, underestimate their abilities, or disagree with you on what support your child needs. You will probably need to advocate for the services and support you believe your child needs.

Here are a few things you will want to discuss with a potential respite worker: (Keep in mind that the most important step is to observe how the respite worker interacts with your child and your family.)

• Do they have work experience with children with autism?
• How will the respite worker support your child in a group setting?
• Do they have concerns about taking this job?

There isn’t one set way that an IEP meeting is run, but generally it involves everyone on the IEP team reviewing your child’s goals, progress, and sharing ideas and suggestions on what supports or accommodations may be helpful to accomplish those goals.

It’s required that the school staff go over every section of the IEP with you and explain every part. This is only a draft, because the IEP may change based on what’s discussed in the meeting. You do not have to sign or agree to the IEP at the IEP meeting. If you don’t like the IEP, you may not have to agree to it at all.