Has Therapy Started?

This is something to confirm right now. You probably assume that your child’s individualized educational plan or invidualized education planis at school.  Maybe not.   Let me be clear – i am not trying to put anybody down – but sometimes there gets to be so much paperwork that these and other  important documents can get misplaced.   If you did not have a chance to bring it down in person; as i discussed last month, please check.  Know that it may take a month to six weeks, depending on the school, to actually start servicing your child on a regular basis because of the fact that schedules take a little bit of time to get put together. New children’s names flow into the hands of therapists all year long.

Is Your Child’s Teacher Informed?

Just because an IEP or an IFSP has been received does not mean that your teacher knows about it.  If you can set up an individual meeting with your teacher now – that would be of tremendous help to BOTH the teacher and your child.  Knowledge is power – so if your teacher understands the type of problem that your child has, he or she will be more likely to be able to work with you.  For example, if she or he needs a hearing aid – or another type of amplification system to use in the classroom at school then they can check that it is there in the morning. 

Informational Hand Outs Related to Disabilities:

These are available and you should come with them to a meeting that you have with your teacher – at a parent-teacher conference.  Try and get some that are specific to your child.  Provide them for and discuss your individual situation with your child’s teacher.

ASHA.org (amerrican speech-language hearing association

AOTA.org(american occupational therapy association)

APTA.org(american physical therapy association)

UCP.org(united cerebral palsy)

chadd.org (children and adults with add/adhd)

These are a few organizations that may be able to help you locate information about your particular child’s disability.  They may actually have age appropriate material so that you can start a dialogue with your child about their special needs and then have them become advocates for what they need at school!  These organizations may have support groups for families too.  Don’t forget your pediatrician, the school nurse, the special education supervisor and the therapist who treats your child at school.