If your child has a learning disability, their school may devise an IEP to help them perform better academically. An IEP is an individualized education program that helps children gain skills that help them excel in their studies, so that special needs students do not fall behind their peers in school.

However, parents need to be vigilant and make sure that the IEP for their child is being followed by the school.

Importance Of an IEP

An effective IEP will ensure that, regardless of their disability, children with special needs achieve the same kind of academic success as the other students in class. The IEP Program will ensure that special needs children meet all state academic standards for reading and writing.

The IEP does this by first assessing where the child currently stands for reading or writing. It then comes up with practical IEP goals and class activities that will bring the child up to the state academic standard.

To do this, the IEP team may decide to put a special needs child in a separate IEP classroom where the child can get more attention than a regular classroom. 

Why Is Parental Oversight Important?

As parents, it is imperative that you continually make sure that the IEP designed for your child is working. 

Firstly, you need to ensure that your child’s activities and IEP goals are effective and help the child become a better learner.

Secondly, this parental oversight is also essential to ensure that the school sticks to the IEP they designed for your child. You need to make sure that the school provides your child with additional support, like making sure the child gets extra time and attention from IEP specialists as stated in the IEP.

How To Check If the IEP Is Working

Here are some ways you can check to see if the IEP is working. First of all, talk to your child and ask them if they are getting extra time with the IEP specialists.

Also, regularly read all progress reports and compare them with previous reports. This way, you will tell if the child has improved since they started the IEP and if it is helping them.

Concluding Thoughts

Placement in a special IEP classroom can help children with learning disabilities gain skills that let them perform at the same level as their peers, but parents must regularly check in with the school to ensure that the school abides by the program.