A Virtual IEP Guide Is the New Normal for Special Education
28th September 2020
In special education, there's too much emphasis placed on the deficit and not enough on the strength. - Temple Grandin
Whenever we talk about the effective IEPs - individualized education program, at present conducting an effectual IEP session has become major anxiety for educators and parents across the world. Earlier special educators, parents of the special children, and students with special needs normally gather personally at school for IEP meetings, but now all these things are closed down, however, the digital tools can be used for this activity.
Wondering How? Let’s dive in!
You must be hearing that when the things will open up, you’ll be facing a “new normal”, but what precisely does that mean? Will those changes affect your kids with learning situation? For children with different special educational needs, the new normal can make social interactions even more challenging! At this point, we don’t know exactly what to anticipate in our daily lives.
Nevertheless, we see that teaching will take place but we don’t know how the schools will pull off those socially distanced learning. Without access to the school building, the procedure of keeping IEP meetings has become a huge concern for educators and parents.
Virtual IEP
We all know that the IEP process was supposed to be focused on the student with special needs to accommodate a learning idea for the child so that he or she can reach his or her full learning potential. Well, in every IEP meeting, you will see a special education teacher, district representative, often an administrator, (but not required to be always), someone to construe the test data, and a general education teacher where the parents are being invited and encouraged to attend.
So, now as many schools are using different cloud-based app platforms, the video conference platform should be the first selection. Parents can join the meeting through their camera-enclosed device or phone. The Google Hangouts provides the chance to make the conference calls by using both phone numbers as well as the email addresses. So, the school personnel can be invited through their emails and parents can be called through their preferable number.
If you wish you can use the Google Voice which is another great way for calling parents. It gives the educator with a specific number which they can use for the communication functions only and they can keep their personal number private. Guess what, Google Voice is free for national calls and text messages!
However, we do understand the fact that arranging the specific meeting periods may be more complex in this prolonged school closing. Here, the Google Calendar offers the ability to check when the staff members will be accessible. The teachers can easily search for each district team member and can see the available dates and times for meetings or appointments. This tool makes it easier to call families and give options for scheduling their IEP meetings. However, please note that the search feature only functions with organization-based accounts, not personal email accounts.
The Meeting Norms:
- Accessible technology for everyone
- If possible and available, use videos
- Keep the focus on the child’s needs
- Avoid the multitasking
- Encourage the team members participation
At present, a lot of parents are acknowledging this virtual IEP session as they hardly takes an hour, not missing a whole day of work like before. The IEP sessions are a crucial part of special educational needs online courses and have been discussed extensively. We can make it through with hard-bitten times and help our children do the same. A plan of action isn’t a social control, it’s the acknowledgement that we all need time to gain knowledge.
Written By : Aditi Ghose
