Special Parenting
Things I Wish I Knew Before My First IEP Meeting
Advocating for your child with Special Education needs can be intimidating. Knowing how the system works will make you better prepared.
- Source: SpecialEd Resource
Our daughters were six when my wife, Nicole, and I started dating. While one of the triplets had already progressed out of her Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), it was clear that the other two were going to need long-term services due to being on the severe end of the autism spectrum. Nicole had already learned that obtaining the support they required was an adversarial process and that she had to be prepared to fight the system for them to succeed.
As Nicole and I blended our families and headed toward marriage I became more involved in IEP meetings. While I was able to bring a fresh perspective to the process, I also quickly learned that it could be difficult to make the changes that the girls required. While my family was eventually able to secure services that would help my daughters meet their full potential, getting there was a difficult process filled with equal parts trial, error, and frustration. These…
