How to Tell If Your Child’s IEP Is Working as It Should

Our resource library at Undivided has plenty of information on what to do if your child’s IEP placement, accommodations, modifications, inclusion, related services, or goals aren’t working. But what if you don’t know whether these IEP supports are working? How are we as parents supposed to know what we don’t know?

We turned to Lisa M. Carey, Undivided Non-Attorney Education Advocate, for advice on how to see whether our kids are getting the IEP support they need — and, of course, how to make it right if something is missing.

Carey continues, “If it's not working for whatever reason, the first step is trying to figure out why, and that is so hard, right? Start always with open-ended questions. Don't say, ‘Is it working?’ Say, ‘What is a particularly difficult time of day, and what's happening during that time?’ That kind of question can get you so much information that will help you start to figure out what's actually going on in the classroom. And that's going to be the starting point.”

If you have concerns, open-ended questions are more likely to reveal what’s going on at school. For example: “How come you're not allowing extra time on the test? Was it not working well? Is there another thing you're doing instead?” Your child’s teacher may have information or insights that you don’t have about your child’s school day, so it’s important to listen to their input.

Carey reminds us, “Don't accuse. We're always going to come at this from a place of collaboration as much as possible. I know some of us have been really burned by our schools, but let's start just by asking.”

If you feel like something isn’t working and you’re not sure what it is or how to fix it, bring your concern to your IEP team and ask for an assessment. An assessment can reveal where your child may have an area of need, and the expert performing the assessment can suggest potential strategies.

How do you know what assessment to ask for? Carey says you don’t need to request a specific assessment. Simply notify the IEP team of your concern, and the school’s expert(s) will discuss which assessment they recommend. Hear her explain why in this clip:

If you have concerns that your child is being pulled out of their classroom too much, or being excluded from their peers, or working on an assignment that seems too easy for them, it may make you question whether the teacher is actually implementing your child’s IEP. Carey’s advice here is to ask the teacher about what the other students are doing in class. For example, maybe the entire classroom is working in small groups. However, if it’s just the students with IEPs being excluded at the back of class, that’s cause for concern.

Looking at what’s going on with the entire class, not just your child, can help you assess if your child’s modifications are working as they should. You can look at your child’s work samples (assignments they bring home, or something you request from the teacher) and ask for the instructions and assignments that their peers received, so you can compare.

You can even get data on what the big picture is. Carey says, “There is an assessment that is becoming more and more common. It's an ecological assessment. It’s having an expert come in — usually an inclusion expert — and they look at the environment. They're not so much looking at the kid, but they're more looking at the environment and the structure of the day and the structure of the class to see what changes might be done to make the environment more inclusive.” You can learn more about ecological assessments in our article about inclusion specialists.

Sometimes, as Carey says, “the only way that you can find out what you don't know is if someone tells you or you read it.” She recommends joining online groups, like Undivided’s Facebook group for parents, to connect with other families, see what they’re discussing, and ask questions. There are plenty of groups for parents of children with specific diagnoses, such as Down syndrome or cerebral palsy, where you can meet parents with kids like yours in all different stages of life, hear their experiences, and learn from them.

“I know a lot of people think they don't have time,” Carey says, “but this could totally be what you do before bed. Go into some of these groups and just read some other people's posts, and you will learn things that you didn't even know you didn't know.”

Undivided was built by a group of parents who recognized the value in this type of collective knowledge, so we highly recommend getting involved in a local group in your community or online! Check out this article to find our recommended organizations for common disability diagnoses.

You can watch our full conversation with Carey (with transcript available) to hear her expert insights about what to do when accommodations, modifications, placement, goals, and other IEP supports aren’t working.

Whether you need to update your child’s IEP goals, request an assessment, ask for a 1:1 aide, or another IEP support, the Undivided platform has goals with step-by-step walkthroughs to help you! Explore your Undivided account today if you already have one, or join Undivided to get started.