Runninghead: INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLAN OBSERVATION

Individual Education Plan Observation

The Individual Education Plan (IEP) observation was conducted on October 7, 2014 from
9 to 11am. The purpose of this IEP was to reevaluate if the student was eligible to receive
special services from the district. The parents requested this meeting because they did not agree
with the school psychologist's psycho-educational report. The parents hired an outside assessor
and wanted to compare the evaluation from the outside assessor to the evaluation may previously
on behalf of the school staff. The members involved in this meeting were the outside assessor,
the occupational therapist, the speech and language pathologist, the teacher, the principal, the
parent, the school psychologist, and the program specialist. The occupational therapist requested
to go first because she had a meeting at another school, but wanted the opportunity to share her
information before she had to leave. The parent was understanding and granted her request to go
first.
Occupational Therapist Overview
The occupational therapist (OT) explained to the mother and the others present that in her
evaluation of the student she assessed fine motor skills, environmental-behavioral observations,
teacher comments, parent comments, visual motor skills, visual perceptual skills, sensory
processing skills, and neuromuscular skills. She also listed some of the standardized assessments
that she utilized for her assessment. These included the Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor
Proficiency, Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (BEERY VMI),
and a hand-writing test. As the OT provided a review of each of these areas she did not only
focus on the weaknesses, but also on the student strengths. She also reminded the members of
the meeting that the OT is provided by school districts when necessary for the pupil to benefit
educationally from his or her instructional program. The OT believed the student would be able

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to succeed without her services, but she recommended because of his poor motor skills that the
student types his assignments. Discussion began about the possibility of the student to have
access to a computer in class so he could type out his work.
Outside Assessor Overview
The outside assessor stated that she was hired by the mother to provide a psychoeducational report on her son. The outside assessor stated that she use the Woodcock Johnson III
to assess how he has benefited from his education so far. She also stated that in her evaluation
she incorporated the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC- IV), the Behavior
Assessment System for Children (BASC-2), the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test BGT-II, and
the Autism spectrum Rating Scales (ASRS). The results from the outside assessor's evaluations
were comparable to the school psychologist's evaluation. However, the outside assessor noted
some kind of emotional disturbance which manifests itself through anxiety. Like the OT, the
outside assessor did not focus only on the students weaknesses. The assessor also spoke about
the child's strengths. The outside assessor recommended extended time for work, individual
therapy to work through anxiety issues, and to learn coping skills to help with any issues of
anxiety. Then a discussion began among all members of the team on how the student may
receive more expedient therapeutic services through her insurance as opposed to the district, but
the district could provide therapy services if requested by the parent.

Speech and Language Pathologist Overview

The Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) reviewed the students language processing,
problem solving, and articulation skills. In each of these areas like the other district personnel

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she spoke about the student strengths instead of focusing merely on weaknesses. The SLP
provided examples of how the student would pronounce certain words incorrectly, correctly, and
with difficulty. The SLP also provided exercises that the student could perform at home to
practice. The SLP praised the effort of the student because his improvement in certain areas were
evident. The mother informed the SLP that he does not like to practice the exercises because they
are not part of his homework. The teacher interjected and suggested that she could staple the
exercises to the back of his homework packet so the student thinks that all the children have to
do the exercises. The mother agreed and was grateful for the recommendation.
The Role of the School Psychologist
The school psychologist was there to ensure that the district's interests were protected.
The school psychologist as well as the school principal were there to facilitate the structure of the
meeting. On several occasions the school psychologist would clarify statements for the parents
and others at the meeting. However, the school psychologist remained rather silent because the
results from the outside assessor concurred with her psycho-educational evaluation. The school
psychologist summarized the recommendations made by the various members of the IEP team.
She focused on these recommendations because she wanted the parent to understand that
everybody in that room had her son's best interest at heart. Even though he did not qualify for
services, adjustments would be made in the classroom to promote educational success for her
son. The school psychologist made the mother feel confident in the IEP team's effort to help her
son.
Equal Roles and Personal Reflection

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INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLAN OBSERVATION
This was the first IEP meeting I have observed. I found the amount of resources available for a
student to be interesting. There were six district personnel at this meeting to ensure the student
success. Each member had an equal voice. Their title or position was not important, but what
was important was that each one of these individuals were professionals in their respective fields.
Their insight was taken into consideration and valued as an integral part of the decision-making
process. Although the student did not qualify for services, I thought it was worthy to note how
the team provided ideas for the mother to implement at home as well as adjustments and
interventions that could be made in the classroom to promote the student's success.