Special Education Case Study

When a child is struggling in school, it can be a difficult and emotional time for both the child and the parents. The child may have a disability. The schools are required by law to provide help for students who are eligible for services. (IDEA, 2014). This is called special education. How do you know if your child is eligible for these services? There is a lot to know about the process of special education and how students are identified.

The first step in the special education process is to request an evaluation of your child. Courtney Fry (special education teacher) in discussion with author, October 2106, states “if a student is struggling academically and/or socially a teacher can refer the student for evaluation.” A parent can request

It is at this meeting that the IEP team talks about the student’s strengths and needs and writes the IEP. The IEP includes specific goals and objectives as well as accommodations and modifications that the child needs to be successful in the classroom. It is also at this meeting that placement of classroom is determined for the student. The law requires that the student is placed in the least restrictive environment, which means the child must be placed in the setting the non-disabled peers to the extent that their needs are being met. The parent must accept and sign off the IEP for it to be in effect. After the IEP is written, it is the responsibility to the school to implement the IEP. The school is responsible for monitoring the child’s progress toward meeting their goals. This is done through progress reports, phone calls, emails and parent conferences as needed. When discussing parent communication with Courtney Fry (special education teacher) in discussion with author, October 2106, she states, “I think it 's very important to check in with parents frequently to help build trust and establish an open line of

It is ongoing and the IEP is a living document that can change, as the needs of the child changes. The IEP is reviewed at least once a year. The parents or school can request a review at any time if the need arises. This is comforting to know, as children change and so do their needs; at any time, a parent may call the school and request a meeting to discuss their child and make changes to their individual education program. The parent’s role is to advocate for their child. In addition, the parent is the one who know their child very well and can offer a lot of information when writing the IEP. The role of the school is to evaluate the student, write the individual education plan, implement the IEP and evaluate the IEP at least every year. The special education teacher and the general education teacher’s role is to educate the student using the IEP as guide. Using effective teaching strategies, the teachers implement the goals and objectives in the IEP along with accommodation and modifications to meet the students learning needs. And lastly, the student is to try their best, and communicate with their parents or teachers when things are not working for them. The IEP is for them, they are the ones who will now goals identified and services identified are helping them or not. It is important for the adults in the child’s life to ask them how they are doing, and what they feel is working well or