Back in June, right before Ian left public education, I asked his case manager for a copy of everything in his school records. I had no idea what was in there, but I thought I would take a look.
She sent me a copy of all of his IEPs between ages 3 and 22. It’s a lot, I suppose, but I had expected more information. I have at least two file boxes of IEPs, reports and work samples in my basement.
I decided to look it over this morning. In there I found a hundred assessments of my son. Some saw a glass half empty, others half full. But you know who consistently assessed my son correctly from beginning to end? Me. I did. I added a parental input section to every IEP, even though I knew it wouldn’t matter to anyone. And Ian is exactly where I thought he would be — a full time computer science college student getting good grades, who still needs help with some things.
The IEPs themselves were a mess with unquantifiable goals, no effort to increase inclusion, and so on. But that’s all done and finished.
Parents, you know your children best. Do not let anyone gaslight you and tell you otherwise. Never stop fighting for your children, because you are right.
Crossposted at the Great Leap, the autism newsletter
Apt. 11d 