Clinical Skills Confidence: IEP Meeting Do’s and Don’t’s
Today I’m sharing my tips for what you should and shouldn’t do at IEP meetings. While I surely don’t know them all, these are things I’ve learned over the past 8 years as an SLP.
DO have all the paperwork you need for the meeting prepared in advance. I put procedural safeguards, diploma options, and ESY information sheets in my working folder to bring to every meeting. This way, I’m not searching for them.
DO stop frequently to ask if the parents have any questions. IEPs have a lot of technical language and can be rather confusing. I make it a point to stop every so often and ask if there are questions.
DO make sure you send home draft goals. I know the time frames can vary from district to district, but you want to make sure you’re adhering to these time lines.
DO bring water. I don’t get as nervous as I used to but when I do get nervous my mouth gets really dry. I like to always have my water bottle there.
DO bring a mouse. I can definitely navigate our IEP system without one, but it’s so much easier and faster to do it with a mouse.
DO make sure you are time efficient and be comfortable steering the conversation back to the task at hand if necessary. Chatting is good, but you don’t want to be there forever.
DON’T use too much technical jargon. It’s difficult for parents to absorb lots of information being thrown at them in addition to trying to decipher terms they are not familiar with.
DON’T talk too fast. I’m the first to admit I’m a fast talker, particularly if I’m nervous. I have to consciously think about my rate of speech and slow it down.
DON’T forget to let your parents know the best way to reach you. For me, it’s email because phone conversations can be very difficult to fit into your day.
DON’T be afraid to practice. In the beginning, I practiced how to run IEP meetings, so that I could get more comfortable with the process. I also practiced running the IEP program because with ours, you don’t get good at it unless you do it over and over again.
DON’T forget to send meeting invitations to all professionals that need to attend a meeting. We use Outlook so it’s easy to send invites to whomever I need to.
There are more, but these are the tips that come to mind when I think about IEP meetings. Don’t get me wrong, they can be SUPER scary in the beginning. But you will get used to it and it will become easier!!
What are your tips? I’d love if you left me a comment!