ASPIRE Active Student Participation Inspires Real Engagement Family Presentation

1. ASPIRE Active Student Participation Inspires Real Engagement Family Presentation “School Name Here” Presented by:

2. WELCOME

3. ASPIRE A Collaborative Initiative between The Georgia Department of Education, Division for Special Education and Student Services and The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities Funded by the Georgia State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG), Georgia Department of Education through a grant from the Office of Special Education Programs, United States Department of Education and is a collaboration with the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities.

5. A TEAM EFFORT • School engagement • Family engagement • Student engagement Student Engagement =Self Determination

6. Self-Determination: In Plain English Knowing and believing in yourself Knowing what you want in the future AND making plans to achieve those goals Knowing and asking for the supports you need to achieve your goals Self-determination allows your child to make choices and decisions to improve his/her quality of life.

7. Help Your Child Become Self-Determined Through: • making choices about everyday activities • experiencing consequences of choices • understanding strengths and challenges • expressing preferences • knowing their rights and responsibilities • goal setting • understanding accommodations • problem-solving • understanding their disability **INVOLVEMENT IN HIS/HER OWN IEP**

8. Student IEP Involvement= ASPIRE ASPIRE: “Active Student Participation Inspires Real Engagement” • Students participating in their IEP • Active student participation in the IEP • Self-directed IEP • Student led IEP

9. The IEP… is a document that states the services your child will receive and where she/he will receive them. is developed by a committee that includes you, your child, his/her teachers, school administrators and other professional service providers. is an important tool that guides/measures your child’s progress from year to year.

10. Student Information Student’s eligibility area disability area Dates for annual review Members of the IEP meeting Important Parts of the IEP…

11. Present Level of Performance that includes parent input (PLOP) Meaningful, measurable annual goals Results of evaluations and assessments Needed accommodations Services and supports that will be provided Important Parts of the IEP…

12. A Student Led IEP… • Increases student and family involvement and representation in the IEP process. • Encourages students to play a larger role in developing their IEP, participating in their IEP meeting, and implementing their IEP. • Shifts the focus from adult-centered to student centered

13. Student Led IEP Meeting What are students, parents and teachers saying about student led IEPs? http://www.imdetermined.org/modules/module_three/

14. Just Imagine… • …your child • Creating an invitation to the IEP meeting. • Introducing him/herself and others at the meeting. • Selecting pictures to show at the IEP meeting about a • typical school day doing the things he/she enjoys. • Clicking a mouse on a computer to move from one slide to • the next in a Power Point presentation and describing each • slide during the meeting.

15. Just Imagine… • …your child • Helping to narrate and select images for a slide presentation about the subject areas he/she is good at, those he/she struggles with, and how teachers can help. • Discussing goals for life after high school and how to • reach them. • Facilitating the agenda of the IEP meeting. • Leading the meeting and mentoring other students.

16. If Your Child Does Any of These,… ...they are participating in a student led IEP

17. How Can I Help My Child Get Started?

18. Helping My Child Get Started • Learn the ASPIRE Concepts • NEXT • Talk to your child about: • IEP goals • Accommodations • Encourage them to do the activities needed to participate in the meeting • Prepare for the IEP using the Pre-Planning Meeting handout

19. Supporting Self-Determination Focus on your child and not the disability: Love and cherish their unique characteristics we all have unique strengths, talents, gifts, interests and learning differences Recognize that your child is more like typical kids than different Use people-first language and language the student will understand

20. Supporting Self-Determination Educate, don’t excuse. Discuss role models and coping and learning strategies. Know that the expectations that you have for your children greatly influence their achievements. Children with disabilities are often unmotivated due to feelings of failure, frustration and false labels (crazy, lazy, dumb).

21. Supporting Self-Determination Provide feedback Praise progress and effort as well as results. Give honest and specific compliments. Provide corrective criticism when warranted. Know that by talking to your child you are modeling skills they will need to be self-determined.

22. They will take charge of their learning, with the responsibility shifting from teacher/parent to student. They will have a vested interest in achieving those goals, when students participate in IEP goal setting Inappropriate behaviors may decrease as they feel empowered to chart their own course. Why Should Your Child Take Control?

23. Taking Control in the IEP Meeting…. builds self-advocacy skills and self-esteem gives them control over their education builds important social and conversational skills teaches the processes of decision-making, goal setting and achievement helps them to understand compromise allows them to see how many people are working to help them to be successful in their educational endeavors gives them child the opportunity to participate in a team situation.

24. What’s Next? Attend the meetings set up by the school Do the Vital Behaviors Expect Follow-up from Parent Mentor/representative Attend the IEP meeting and be actively involved Complete Post Survey

25. Why Is This Cake On Fire? Jamie L. Van Dycke, James E. Martin, and David L. Lovett

26. Additional Resources? Parentmentors.org Find: Success stories Information about transition Statewide parent events Parent Mentor contact information Videos

27. Thank you for coming to learn about ASPIRE and how your child can be more actively involved in their IEP meeting and in planning their own future!