It is the middle of July, but believe it or not it is already time to start thinking about how to support your child in the upcoming school year!
If you haven't done it already, take an opportunity to review your child's records and make sure everything is correct and in order. I prefer to have the most recent information on top for quick access. You can also take a look at my first post to this blog, which was all about documentation, for some helpful hints on how to organize those piles and piles of paperwork.
Next, review your child's IEP or 504 Plan and make sure that the supports and goals are still appropriate. Has anything medically changed for your child? Are there new pieces of information that need to be provided from summer specialist visits or sessions with the tutor? You can either request an amendment meeting or submit the information in writing depending on the extent of the updates.
If you do need to request a meeting, be sure to REQUEST THE MEETING IN WRITING and provide your availability in the letter. The letter can be sent via email, but be sure to copy all interested parties on the message as well. I will be posting a sample letter or some links here within the next few days for you to reference if you are looking for a sample.
Remember that pre-planning and the first few weeks of school are extremely hectic and stressful for everyone. Organization and patience are two of the most valuable tools you can use to help make it through this often difficult time. And while it is definitely hard to think about IEP's and 504's when we are digging our toes in the sand, it is critical to proactively plan for the new school year to help minimize the problems and maximize your child's learning opportunities.
Showing posts with label Documentation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Documentation. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The #1 Rule of Advocacy: Document Everything
Can you guess what the Cardinal Rule of advocacy is?
I'll give you a hint...
You don't have to know all of the laws or acronyms to be a good advocate for your child or someone else's child. You don't even have to have finite goals in mind or be able to specify exactly what outcomes you hope to achieve (although this is important later on!)
No, the most important rule of being an effective advocate for yourself, your child, or for whomever you are providing a voice is actually pretty simple.
Document EVERYTHING.
There are several ways to do this. I'll explain how I do my own personal documentation and provide you with resources that will give you examples of how other people may do it. At the end of the day, you have to decide what works best for YOU. It needs to be organized and thorough. You need to be able to find answers at your fingertips without doing a lot of paper shuffling.
Jennifer's Advocacy Document Organization Technique
Create a binder. Make sure it's big! I'm using a 2" binder for a child who has only been in the school system for three years. Can you imagine how large a high school child's binder(s) would be?! My binder has dividers for each of the following categories, though not necessarily in the order I have them listed. I'll explain the categories in more detail below.
* Emails
* Letters
* Testing
* IEP's
* Communication Log
* Policies
* Notes
* Minutes
Emails: This is pretty self explanatory. If you send or receive an email to or from the school, teacher, or pertaining to the student, print it off with all supporting replies. This is extremely valuable because a) written agreements and communication are very hard (if impossible) to disprove b) everything is time stamped c) you have a history of everything that was "stated".
Letters: As you dive further into advocacy work, you will discover that aside from documentation, letters are the cornerstone of every effective advocate's work. If you want to see something accomplished, you write a letter. If you want to confirm something, you write a letter. If you want to request information, you write a letter. Having these letters readily available and organized can make your work much easier. Keep in mind that letters are different than emails, and therefore should have their own special place. They are generally more formal and "official".
Testing: Again, this one speaks for itself. Have your testing results and information together in one place. I put mine in chronological order so that the most recent, pertinent information is on top as soon as I open the tab leaving the older tests towards the back of the section.
IEP's: In case you've just entered the world of advocacy or are still trying to grasp what the acronyms mean, an IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. IEP's specifically detail the educational plan for a special needs child. We'll discuss IEP's at length later on. However, for now, just be sure that you have all IEP's and addendums included in your documentation. It is helpful to compare IEP's year to year (or even more frequently as needed) when it comes time for the planning process. You don't want to have to dig to find what you need.
Communication Log: These days, communication takes many forms including text messages, instant messaging, and phone calls/voicemail. Phone log is sort of my way of saying Document Every Incident, Communication, IM, Text Message, etc. Write it down. Note the time and date and as much detail as possible.
Policies: Unfortunately, there will come a time in every advocate's (and by advocate, I mean volunteer, paid, parent, etc.) experience when it will be necessary to ask for a copy of a stated policy. This can include a wide range of things. If you are uncertain about what you are being told, ask for a copy of the policy. If one is provided, include it in your documentation. If you ask for one and one is never provided, be sure to include the ask and response (or lack of) in your communication log. For example, if you request audio record an IEP, and you are told you cannot do so, ask for the document showing the policy stating that audio recording is prohibited in IEP's.
Notes: I take notes all the time. They provide me with a roadmap and important reminders. I will usually review them and use them to convert into minutes from meetings and conferences or use them for my communication log. I strongly recommend you do the same. It's a habit that has carried over from college and has proven to be an incredible asset to my advocacy work. I keep my raw notes (yes, just plain 'ol pen and paper in binder notes) until I am certain that I have captured everything I needed in another place. Some advocates may not do this; however, I have found that I frequently reference my handwritten notes to help me remember context, etc.
Minutes: Minutes are basically formal notes. I review my notes at the conclusion of a meeting and turn them into a written recording of what has transpired. My minutes are very comprehensive. I tend to include mood shifts, tone changes, etc. so that I can remember every detail from a meeting. They read like a narrative so that at any time I can go back and identify specifics from the meeting. I have been told that my minutes are so complete and detailed it is as if I had an actual audio recorder sitting in the room.
Here are a few other resources for organizing records. Please note that I have not extensively reviewed these links. They are not intended to replace any advice that you may seek from a professional and are only to give you a starting point for organizing your information.
About.com
From Emotions to Advocacy
(more to come...)
I'll give you a hint...
You don't have to know all of the laws or acronyms to be a good advocate for your child or someone else's child. You don't even have to have finite goals in mind or be able to specify exactly what outcomes you hope to achieve (although this is important later on!)
No, the most important rule of being an effective advocate for yourself, your child, or for whomever you are providing a voice is actually pretty simple.
Document EVERYTHING.
There are several ways to do this. I'll explain how I do my own personal documentation and provide you with resources that will give you examples of how other people may do it. At the end of the day, you have to decide what works best for YOU. It needs to be organized and thorough. You need to be able to find answers at your fingertips without doing a lot of paper shuffling.
Jennifer's Advocacy Document Organization Technique
Create a binder. Make sure it's big! I'm using a 2" binder for a child who has only been in the school system for three years. Can you imagine how large a high school child's binder(s) would be?! My binder has dividers for each of the following categories, though not necessarily in the order I have them listed. I'll explain the categories in more detail below.
* Emails
* Letters
* Testing
* IEP's
* Communication Log
* Policies
* Notes
* Minutes
Emails: This is pretty self explanatory. If you send or receive an email to or from the school, teacher, or pertaining to the student, print it off with all supporting replies. This is extremely valuable because a) written agreements and communication are very hard (if impossible) to disprove b) everything is time stamped c) you have a history of everything that was "stated".
Letters: As you dive further into advocacy work, you will discover that aside from documentation, letters are the cornerstone of every effective advocate's work. If you want to see something accomplished, you write a letter. If you want to confirm something, you write a letter. If you want to request information, you write a letter. Having these letters readily available and organized can make your work much easier. Keep in mind that letters are different than emails, and therefore should have their own special place. They are generally more formal and "official".
Testing: Again, this one speaks for itself. Have your testing results and information together in one place. I put mine in chronological order so that the most recent, pertinent information is on top as soon as I open the tab leaving the older tests towards the back of the section.
IEP's: In case you've just entered the world of advocacy or are still trying to grasp what the acronyms mean, an IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. IEP's specifically detail the educational plan for a special needs child. We'll discuss IEP's at length later on. However, for now, just be sure that you have all IEP's and addendums included in your documentation. It is helpful to compare IEP's year to year (or even more frequently as needed) when it comes time for the planning process. You don't want to have to dig to find what you need.
Communication Log: These days, communication takes many forms including text messages, instant messaging, and phone calls/voicemail. Phone log is sort of my way of saying Document Every Incident, Communication, IM, Text Message, etc. Write it down. Note the time and date and as much detail as possible.
Policies: Unfortunately, there will come a time in every advocate's (and by advocate, I mean volunteer, paid, parent, etc.) experience when it will be necessary to ask for a copy of a stated policy. This can include a wide range of things. If you are uncertain about what you are being told, ask for a copy of the policy. If one is provided, include it in your documentation. If you ask for one and one is never provided, be sure to include the ask and response (or lack of) in your communication log. For example, if you request audio record an IEP, and you are told you cannot do so, ask for the document showing the policy stating that audio recording is prohibited in IEP's.
Notes: I take notes all the time. They provide me with a roadmap and important reminders. I will usually review them and use them to convert into minutes from meetings and conferences or use them for my communication log. I strongly recommend you do the same. It's a habit that has carried over from college and has proven to be an incredible asset to my advocacy work. I keep my raw notes (yes, just plain 'ol pen and paper in binder notes) until I am certain that I have captured everything I needed in another place. Some advocates may not do this; however, I have found that I frequently reference my handwritten notes to help me remember context, etc.
Minutes: Minutes are basically formal notes. I review my notes at the conclusion of a meeting and turn them into a written recording of what has transpired. My minutes are very comprehensive. I tend to include mood shifts, tone changes, etc. so that I can remember every detail from a meeting. They read like a narrative so that at any time I can go back and identify specifics from the meeting. I have been told that my minutes are so complete and detailed it is as if I had an actual audio recorder sitting in the room.
Here are a few other resources for organizing records. Please note that I have not extensively reviewed these links. They are not intended to replace any advice that you may seek from a professional and are only to give you a starting point for organizing your information.
About.com
From Emotions to Advocacy
(more to come...)
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