Putting the "I" back in IEP

I have to start by giving a shout-out to my Special Education colleagues over at the middle school who started having "Student-led IEP's" and introduced them to district special education teachers through some voluntary professional development this past fall.  I have always felt it important to have transition-aged students involved in the IEP process as much as possible.  My students were always "a part" of their meetings and I would do my best to find ways to have them involved: leading introductions, sharing their Strengths/Interests/Preferences, but once I started down the road of Student-led IEP's, I noticed that my transition students were really in the driver's seat of not only their IEP meetings, but their entire IEP document as well.  The process in preparing for the IEP, working through creating their presentation for the meeting, and talking with them about what their future looks like in their minds really changed my mind set and the way I wrote their IEP.  Their voices rang through the legal document more than ever...and when is a better time for that, than when they are preparing to transition out of school and into the adult world?!?  But, I'm getting WAY ahead of myself...time to reign in the excitement and passion I have for this newly discovered process, so that I can do it justice, and share it with you all!

What is a Student-led IEP?
It is just what it says, it is an IEP meeting led completely by the student.  How this is done is completely dependent on your comfort level as well as the student's functioning level.  In my situation, my students and I sit down and put together a Keynote presentation.  Together we fill in a template presentation that I have created, and they help me put their personal spin on it by picking a color scheme, choosing the font here and the picture that goes there.  My students would not be able to complete this part without me working with them, helping them navigate the Keynote program...your student may be able to take the template and go.  Provide opportunities to take ownership of what this presentation looks like.  Having a template that they fill in ensures that they are including all the necessary IEP information.  From there, I have my students create a recording of the Keynote presentation.  This is one feature that I absolutely LOVE about Keynote, and why I use this rather than Powerpoint to create these presentations.  We go in a quiet room and practice reading through the presentation several times before we press record and go through it again.  Through the wonders of technology, the students voice is captured and aligned with the appropriate slide as you navigate through the presentation.  Now, on the day of the meeting, all you/the student has to do is push "play" and the presentation and information is shared.  For my students, who become shy and nervous and who already have limited verbal expression, this is the way to go.  You may be able to have your student navigate through their presentation on their own, life at their IEP meeting.  My last slide is always, "Comments/Questions/Concerns" which provides families and service providers at the meeting the opportunity to bring up any issues or pressing topics.  And that is it.  The student has shared all the valuable and important information of the IEP in language that all can understand.

What are the benefits of holding a Student-led IEP?
First and foremost, this process gives the student, the most important part of the equation the loudest voice.  So often, I think IEP's become procedural; we have a formula for how it should be completed to be compliant to state and district standards and we get so caught up in that piece that we forget the "individualized" nature of this document!  This helps put that I back in the IEP.  It also helps to build the students communication and self advocacy skills.  If a student is involved in the process of creating their IEP; evaluating their strengths and areas for growth in their goal areas, discussing their needed accommodations in their classes and community settings, and if this begins at an early age, by the time they are out in the adult world, they will be so accustomed to communicating about their needs, it will be much easier to do this in a post secondary schooling or work setting.  This will be a process they will be so comfortable and familiar with.  It is also a very powerful and eye opening experience to the families and service providers for our students, who may not always be able to see the past the struggles or needs for growth in these young people.  Seeing a student, in front of a group of adults, talking about themselves in their school day, and sharing their needs...this will have many involved very emotional and excited.

My personal experiences...
I have now hosted two Student-led IEP's both with very powerful impact and positive outcomes.  Students beam with pride as they watch other view a presentation they were instrumental in putting together.  Parents have a vision into their school day through pictures and video of students completing goal related tasks or moving through their school routines.  I had one parent tell me this was the easiest IEP meeting she had been to.  Her son is 20 years old (that makes a lot of IEPs).  She stated that in the past, the IEP is read to here and with the overwhelming amount of information and the legal language, she felt a lot of the important information was getting lost in translation.  This was broken down, to the point, and very clear.

This is a process and extra work on top of drafting the actual IEP document and all the other necessary pieces that go a long with it.  As I was working to put together my first two student led IEP's, I honestly thought, "This is way too much work and for what?  To be shared quickly and move right into picking through the IEP document."  What I didn't realize was that I was taking out the need to pick through the IEP because the student presentation was answering everyone's questions and concern.  The impact was amazing...and I'm not turning back.  Two more IEP's have been scheduled for the month of January and both will be student led!

What do you think about putting your student in the driver's seat of their IEP?  If you think this is something you would like to start in your classroom, please contact me and I can share more information with you about the process and provide some templates and guides for putting it together!

Come to the edge with me!
Mackenzie