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D. Witte

Prof. Pulsipher
Prof. Christopherson

SPED 391
SPED 392

November 10th, 2018

IEP Meeting Reflection

Individuals present included the administrator, special and general education teachers, the

parent, the school and outside speech and language pathologists, the school psychologist, the

student, a representative from an outside agency, and me. The parent’s input was that *John, the

student, is very smart and has a good memory. John struggles with spelling and is behind in

reading. The school personnel added that John is friendly and very social. Math is a strength and

he enjoys other subjects as well. He continues to qualify for eligibility under the category of

Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Currently, his vocabulary in American Sign Language is more

advanced than English. His progress in speech and language was discussed. It was noted that

John struggles with following directions and understanding tier three words. He struggles with

concepts of time, sequencing, and language structure. The school psychologist shared the results

of a non-verbal IQ test which showed that John has an average to above average IQ with a slight

deficit in spatial memory.

With the aforementioned information in mind, goals for the new IEP year were presented.

Goals included doubling the number of spoken phrases and questions, expanding vocabulary and

language to include present and progressive tenses, plurals, familial relationships, and time. It

was agreed that vocabulary, including tier three words, from the general curriculum should be

pre-taught. John’s goal for reading include a 95% mastery of words with a 90% accuracy in
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spelling. He should be able to explain the meaning of tier three words with 80% accuracy. He

will receive reading intervention for 45 minutes a day and remain in the general education setting

(which is his least restrictive environment) for 86% of the day. Assistive technology will be

implemented, including Bluetooth and/or an FM system. Supports include preferential seating,

closed captioning, frequent breaks, graphic organizers, and interpreted assessments. Visual

phonics will be introduced into interventions to assist with reading and spelling. The goals were

agreed upon and the meeting concluded.

The meeting took twice as long as expected. In the future, I’d like to invite the parents

and family advocates to a meeting prior to the IEP meeting. I believe it would be beneficial if we

had time to go over procedural safeguards and rights and discuss any questions beforehand. I

would also like to collect familial suggestions for goals so that I can incorporate them into the

IEP draft. I’d also like to present the parents with a copy of the draft before the IEP meeting. I

believe these preparations would allow for a more concise and timely meeting. I believe it would

also facilitate open communication and stronger relationships between the school and families.

*The student’s name has been changed to protect privacy.