MOSAIC MOMENTS

The majority of children with mosaic Down syndrome need some sort of Special Education to help them along the way. This may be in the form of full day help in a special education classroom, being pulled out of their main classroom for extra resource (ie: math, reading, etc) or modifications to their work so they can continue in the classroom of their peers.

When Tim was in school, he had slight modifications to his classwork. Mainly this was because he has ADHD and had trouble focusing on too many things at once. So, his main modifications were things such as giving him two multiple choice questions instead of four on a test. He also had some behavioral modifications to help him with his impulses in class.

I have had my share of IEP meetings and have learned a great deal about what works and what doesn’t during these meetings. I have listed the TOP 10 THINGS TO REMEMBER FOR IEP’S

1. Come to meeting ON TIME with good attitude and happy smile.
2. Be confident. (many parents feel intimidated by the others in the meeting. You are the parent and they are your team)
3. Let the others know that you intend to work as a team. (it takes a village to raise a child)
4. Bring with you a list of strengths of your child. (this lets the IEP team know who your child is and what he/she is capable of)
5. Bring with you a list of weaknesses of your child. (this lets the IEP team know your concerns and how they can best help your child)
6. Bring a list of questions and concerns.(you will easily forget all you wanted to say once you are in the meeting)
7. Bring a pad of paper and pen. (write notes during your meeting)
8. Bring a tape recorder. (let the team know that you would like to tape the meeting. This way you can review it later and also if issues arise you can refer back to your meeting)
9. If an issue arises during the meeting that you don’t agree with, calmly let the team know that you don’t agree. If you become defensive or put them on the defensive, then you are not working as a team and the goal is lost.
10. NEVER sign your IEP the day of the meeting. (Unless you totally understand everything and automatically agree with everything, do not sign it! Tell your team that you would like to review it and make a promise to return it within 5 days)

Always remember that the IEP team is there to help your child. I know that sometimes it may not seem that way and I do realize that there are those times when it seems they have lost sight to the reason why they became teachers in the first place, but if you start out with the attitude that you are the parent and you plan to work with the team to obtain the goal of helping your child then hopefully everyone will work together and your child will have a successful school life!

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