Summer 2012 Facilitated Individualized Education Program I by Kacey Gregson, Director of Dispute Resolution t is no secret that the individualized education program (IEP) team process can be adversarial and that when emotions run high, power struggles and irrelevant discussions can derail a meeting and take the focus off the student. When relationships between the school and the family are strained, facilitated IEP may be the answer. Facilitated IEP is a process in which a student’s IEP is developed in a structured meeting developed by a collaborative team. The team includes all required IEP team members who share the responsibility for the meeting process and results, and decision-making is managed with effective facilitation skills. The meeting is led by a trained facilitator, whose role is to guide the meeting process and keep the meeting participants on track, as well as to encourage active participation amongst the team members. The facilitator helps to ensure that the team members focus on one issue at a time and that the tone of the meeting remains civil and constructive. An effective facilitator understands how to build agreement within the IEP team. The facilitator does not offer an opinion on any of the discussion items, but serves as a neutral observer who keeps all participants on track and on point, and who helps team members effectively communicate with each other and practice reflective listening. A facilitated IEP meeting will have an agenda and ground rules. The facilitator will begin by welcoming the team, stating the purpose of the meeting, allowing each team member to introduce him or herself, and defining the roles that each team member will fill. The facilitator will review the meeting agenda, define the expected outcomes for the meeting, and explain the meeting ground rules. Ground rules for the facilitated IEP meeting generally include the following: (1) communicate clearly and listen carefully, (2) respect the views of others, (3) share your views willingly, (4) ask and welcome questions for clarification, (5) be open to the ideas and views presented, and (6) honor time limits and stay on task. If the team is able to reach consensus and successfully develop the student’s IEP, the facilitator will end the meeting by confirming the agreements the team made during the meeting, completing the paperwork, gathering signatures as appropriate, and conducting any needed debriefing. Vol. 20 No.3 The facilitated IEP process results in efficient, guided IEP team meetings that emphasize effective communication and reflective listening, building understanding and agreement amongst the team. Benefits of the facilitated IEP process include building and improving stronger relationships between team members and increasing participation by parents and general education staff through clear articulation and understanding of roles. By focusing on the IEP content and the process, the team can work together to make a difference for the student. What Is Child Find? C by Amy Dill, PIN Specialist, and Becky Raabe, AZ FIND Coordinator hild find is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA ’04) that requires states to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities aged birth through 21 who are in need of early intervention or special education services. This includes children who are highly mobile, such as migrant or homeless children, children suspected of having a disability even though they are advancing from grade to grade, private school students, and home-schooled students. The Arizona initiative for child find is referred to as AZ FIND. Some children have more difficulty learning than others. They may have trouble achieving milestones in one or more of the following developmental or academic areas:  Vision and Hearing  Motor Control or Coordination  Behavior or Social Skills  Speech or Communication Skills  Cognitive or Academic Skills The earlier you express your concerns, the sooner your child’s needs will be identified and the sooner he or she will receive the help needed to succeed. Anyone can refer a child birth through age 21 for early intervention or special education services. The referral can come from a parent, foster parent, teacher, counselor, friend, relative, or the student who finds learning difficult. If you have concerns about your child’s Netw work News Sum mmer 2012 devellopment or pro ogress in schoo ol, contact the Arizona Early y Intervvention Program m (AzEIP) at www.azdes.go w v/azeip, or calll eitherr 1-888-439-56 609 or (602) 53 32-9960 or you ur local school.. AzEIIP screens chilldren ages birrth to 2 yearss 10 1/2 months to determiine if early y vention servicces are needeed. An AzEIP P interv speciialist will com me to your hom me to talk with h ncerns and obseerve your child d. If your child d you aabout your con is fouund eligible, a plan will be deesigned to incllude strategies,, activiities, and supports to achievee desired outco omes related to o your child’s develop pment. ding your child ages 2 yearrs For cconcerns regard 10 1//2 months thrrough 21 yearrs, contact you ur local school districct. For studen nts attending a ntact the charrter school thaat charteer school, con your child attend ds. Public schools use a screenning processs to check your child’’s devellopment and academic prrogress. If an a evaluuation is needeed, you will be b a part of th he evaluuation team. You Y will be in nvolved in th he decisiion-making prrocess to deteermine if you ur child is eligible fo or special edu ucation and related services. Eligibble students arre entitled to a free and apprropriate publicc educaation (FAPE). All informatio on contained in n the screening g or evvaluation is co onfidential. Fo or children atteending privatee schoools, contact you ur principal forr a referral to the t appropriatee publicc education agency. Z For aadditional assistance and ressources, pleasee visit the AZ FIND D website at www.azed.go ov/special-educcation/az-find/. Availlable resourcess include printtable brochurees and posters,, training materials, sample s forms, public awaren ness materials,, facts for familiees. and fa Parrents as Parrtners: Effective IEP Team Skills P particcipants learn aabout the speciifics of preparring for the IEP P meetting in advancce by reviewinng the individuual componentts of thhe document, monitoring prrogress on the current year’s goalss, learning aboout the proceduural safeguardss notice (PSN)), and pprioritizing a liist of questionss and concerns. most importannt section emphhasizes The m the nneed for collabboration betweeen the IEP members. Thhe team’s job is to buildd positive relattionships between its particcipants that w will lead to thhe best outcoomes for the sstudent. Parents will learnn about the priinciple of conssensus, a proocess for grouup decision m making. Conssensus is definned by the MeerriamWebsster Dictionary ry as “the juddgment arriv ed at by mostt of those conncerned.” Team m members are willing to givve up a centraal mostt effective whhen they are w posittion and join with others to discover nnew ideas and soluttions. The ggroup exercisees in this trainiing cover ideass and strategies a parrent can use too become an affective comm municator with h the cchild’s school. The recommennded process ffor resolution of o o issuees is to follow tthe chain-of-coommand within the district or chartter starting wiith the child’ss teacher and working one’s way to the governning board if nnecessary. Som metimes a team m cannoot come to ann agreement deespite everyonee’s best effortss. In thhat situation, pparents may w want to exercise their Dispute Resoolution optionss. A brief overrview of the S State Complain nt proceess, Mediationn, and Impartiall Due Process iis covered. Parents as Parrtners: Effectivve IEP Team S Skills training is i The P a greeat way for parrents to learn hhow to be effeective memberrs of thheir children’s IEP teams. Thhis training caan be scheduled by coontacting your local PIN Speecialist, listed oon page 4, or by y callinng toll-free 8777-230-PINS (77467). by Kathy Gray-Mangersson, PIN Speciialist arents as Parrtners: Effectiv ve IEP Team Skills S is a freee training avaailable throug gh the Paren nt Information n Network (P PIN). This trraining can be presented d t third instaallment in a th hree-part seriess indiviidually or as the that includes: (1) Participation in the Speccial Education n he Individualizzed Education n Proceess, (2) Particcipation in th Progrram (IEP) Proccess, and (3) Parents P as Partn ners: Effectivee IEP T Team Skills. This training was recently revissed mproved. The content coverrs a and im parennt’s responsibillities as an eq qual membber of the IEP P team. Having ga child in special edu ucation requirees a t familiarity with the federal laws that protecct the child. Some S of the most m imporrtant laws covered in this session include the t Individualss with Disabilities Education E Actt (IDEA), Am mericans with h d Disabbilities Act (ADA), Familly Educationaal Rights and Privaacy Act (FERP PA), and No Child C Left Beehind (NCLB). Durinng Parents ass Partners: Effective E IEP Team Skills,, Page 2 SELECT C Classes S by Amy Grrey, SELECT Program Coordinator ELECT (Sppecial Educatioon Learning E Experiences fo or Competency in Teaching) is a federally ffunded program m Department off Education and sponsored byy the Arizona D Northern Arizoona University y. offerred in cooperration with N SELE ECT classes pprovide state--of-the-art infoormation abou ut speciial education, disabilities, aand special edducation law in n Arizoona. SELECT courses are recommended for special and generral education teachers, administrators, rrelated service persoonnel, paraedducators, and parents. Ceertified schoo ol persoonnel can takke SELECT classes for rrenewal hourss. SELE ECT classes ccan be taken fo for university ccredit for those teachhers or adminiistrators who are required bby their schoo ol distriicts to have oofficial transcripts and for thhose who may y need to transfer hoours out of sttate. The classses can also be takenn for professionnal growth conntact hours forr free. For more inforrmation, pleasee call 520-8779-7924 or 9228-523-1809 or o e-maail SELECT@nnau.edu. Moree information is available on n our SELECT w website: http:///nau.edu/SBS/IHD/Program ms LECT-Program m/. /SEL Netw work News Sum mmer 2012 Page 3 mportance of o Social Skiills The Im  hen pareents are consiidering the su uccess of theirr child’s fu uture, often soccial inclusion and a acceptancee is a majo or concern. Allthough in speecial education n acadeemics are the main m focus off most IEP meetings, lack off friendds and inappropriate social in nteraction is wh hat keeps mostt parennts up at night with w worry. When asssessing your cchild’s strengthhs and areas of o need, usee a variety off social situatiions to get the complete picture.  y If your cchild has a sppecific habit tthat is socially inapproprriate, work outt a secret signnal to gain theiir attention aand remind theem.  Enroll yoour child in aactivities that promote you ur child’s sstrengths and self-esteem. If your child already hhas challengees in schooll, use outside programs where the chilld isn’t knownn and get a fresh h start.  ward for smalll Focus onn one skill at a time and rew steps andd progress ratheer than waitingg until the skilll is mastereed.  Teach youur child to lookk good and dreess neatly. Keep p up with cuurrent trends aas much as posssible.  Teach yoour child how w to give com mpliments and extend invvitations. Thesse are basic couurtesies that aid in attractiing others.  Don’t forrce the child too participate inn situations she or he isnn’t comfortablee in, such as llarge groups or o activities that are too haard for the skilll level.  Don’t asssume your cchild understannds directionss, sarcasm, or the use of complex verbiage. Ask k questions to gain perspeective.  when a child ddoes something g Don’t scoold or punish w socially inappropriate. Take the oopportunity to discuss sttrategies or giive examples of what to do next timee. Demonstratiions and role playing can be very effecctive.  Don’t exppect behavior that you yoursself as a paren nt are not w willing to model. Children leearn from whaat they see uus do, not necessarily what thhey are told. W by Jill Anne Castle, PIN Specialistt uire social skillls All arreas of life requ in oorder for an individual to t flouriish, including school, family y, work,, th he and naavigating comm munity in which one lives. It is a cruucial key to success s becausse most environments involve sociaal situations. There T are often n ways to compensatte if your chilld has physicaal or academicc n challeenges. Howeveer, there is no satisfactory accommodation that ccan be made if your child can n’t relate to otheers. w feel if a chilld is educated in i an inclusivee Oftenn as parents, we settinng and given op pportunities to learn from typ pical peers, thee child will. Unforttunately, it doesn’t d appeaar to be thiss I our children n straigghtforward; extra help may be required. If couldd pick up sociaal cues and sk kills from simp ply being with h otherss, they would have learned from interactiions with theirr parennts and siblingss long ago. Therre are man ny reasons for socially y inapp propriate behaviors and lack of acceptance. Som me reasons are obvious o handiccaps that createe a disstance in underrstanding. Ofteen times, thosee challlenges can be met with w disability y awarreness activitiies and creative solutionss within the school environment. e However, H when n the chhild’s personall lack of sociaal skills interfeere, the answerr may bbe more difficcult and requiree intervention and additionall suppoort. w communiication challeenges do nott Manyy children with underrstand how to o use interrog gatory converssation. Asking g questtions is the prim mary ice break ker in most so ocial situations. It is aalso the way an n individual gaathers informattion for furtherr conveersation. Asking questions is an essentiial practice in n increaasing the num mber of exchaanges two peo ople can havee beforre the conversaation ends. Maany children with w disabilitiess tend to make statements instead of asking questions, which h or preliminary or continued co onversation. leaves little room fo y lack the abilitty to control th heir responses;; Otherr children may thereffore, anything g they think of comes outt whether it’ss approopriate or it even relates to th he conversation n. Blurting outt respoonses due to im mpulsivity can also create an n abundance off both iinterpersonal and a educational challenges. os and don’ts” to consider when w looking att Here is a list of “do w your child’s social well-being: Sociaal competencee as well as eemotional welll-being can be excepptionally chaallenging to master for a child with h disabbilities of any kind. It is an oongoing process that requires patieence, exampless, problem solvving, and a possitive approach h. y Deveeloping these sskills will helpp a child to suucceed in every area of life and moost of all, achiieve stronger sself-esteem and overaall satisfaction with the persoon they have beecome. The Social Side of Learninng Disabbilities (DR 228) is availablle in booth English andd Spanish from m the P Parent Inform mation Networrk Clearringhouse. Y You may alsso wantt to check out the PIN Mediia Lendding Library.. It includees severral titles on social skillls incluuding Rick Laavoie’s, Learnning Disabilitiies and Socia al Skillss: Last One Piicked, First Onne Picked On. This DVD can n be viiewed with Sppanish audio aand subtitles. T To request thiis DVD D or others, coontact your local PIN Speciallist for a media requeest form. Contaact informationn can be foundd on page 4. Network News Summer 2012 Page 4 SAVE THE DATE! Arizona’s Twelfth Annual Transition Conference Facing the Future: Who’s in Your Network? October 15–17, 2012 More information about scholarships and registration coming soon. The contents of this publication were compiled by Teri Rademacher with funds allocated by the U.S. Department of Education under IDEA 2004. These contents do not necessarily The contents of this publication were compiled by the Parent Information Network with funds allocated by the U.S. Department of Education under IDEA 2004. These represent the policy of the agency nor should endorsement by the Federal government be assumed. The Arizona Department of Education of the State of Arizona does not contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the agency nor should endorsement by the federal government be assumed. The Arizona Department of Education of discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs, activities, or in its hiring and employment practices. If you have questions the State of Arizona does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs, activities, or in its hiring and or concerns related to this policy, please contact the Administrative Services at 602-542-3186. This document is in the public domain and may be freely reproduced in its current employment practices. If you have questions or concerns related to this policy, please contact the Administrative Services at 602-542-3186. This document is in the format. For more information, call the Parent Information Network at 877-230-PINS (7467). public domain and may be freely reproduced in its current format. For more information, call the Parent Information Network at 877-230-PINS (7467). 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Copies: 1500, Total Cost: $1,501.71, Unit Cost: $1.00, Date: 1/12 Parent Information Network (PIN) Specialists Parent Information Network (PIN) Specialists Toll-free: 1-877-230-PINS (7467) or e-mail PINS@azed.gov Toll-free: 1-877-230-PINS (7467) or e-mail: PINS@azed.gov Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, and Yavapai Counties Allison Meritt Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, and Yavapai Counties 928-289-5834 Allison Meritt Allison.Meritt@azed.gov 928-289-5834 La Paz, Maricopa (623 area code), and Yuma Counties TeriLa Rademacher Paz, Maricopa (623 area code), and Yuma Counties 928-344-0141 Teri Rademacher Teri.Rademacher@azed.gov 928-344-0141 Gila and Maricopa (480 area code) Counties Amy Dill Gila and Maricopa (480 area code) Counties 602-542-7460 Amy Dill Amy.Dill@azed.gov Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, and Santa Cruz Counties Nilda Townsend Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, and Santa Cruz Counties 520-249-2834 Nilda Townsend Nilda.Townsend@azed.gov Allison.Meritt@azed.gov 602-542-7460 Amy.Dill@azed.gov Maricopa (602 & 623 area codes) County Jill Castle Maricopa (602 & 623 area codes) County 602-542-7392 Jill Castle Jill.Castle@azed.gov 602-542-7392 Jill.Castle@azed.gov Teri.Rademacher@azed.gov 520-249-2834 Nilda.Townsend@azed.gov Pima and Pinal Counties Kathy Gray-Mangerson Pima and Pinal Counties 520-572-0896 Kathy Gray-Mangerson Kathleen.Gray-Mangerson@azed.gov 520-572-0896 Kathleen.Gray-Mangerson@azed.gov Printed in Phoenix, AZ by the Arizona Department of Education. 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