IEP?

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I'm new at this, and perhaps I should just google it to avoid feeling dumb but I would rather hear it from you guys, what is an IEP and how does it relate to my child growing up with Asperger's considering I am currently wanting to keep him in a public school system?
Is public school a bad idea for a child with Asperger's?

Thank you.
Veronica <3

An IEP is an individualized education plan; it is the curriculum / program / learning plan set out for a child or teenager in school. I believe the term is the official term used in the USA, but a special education plan or a modified school program serves the same purpose.
Children on the ASD have individual needs, so I don't think we can say that public schools are good or bad. In all cases, getting the right fit for schooling will be an ongoing challenge. Special classrooms are a good solution for some, but not others. In my area in Canada, we have no real options besides inclusive classrooms in public schools. Some AS kids will do fine with accomodations (adjustments for their sensory or social needs) and others will need a completely different set of goals and activities in one or most subjects (a modified plan).
Once a child has an officiial dx, navigating the school system is a bit more straightforward. For instance, when registering for or returning to school after a dx, a parent will be told to make an appointment with someone to see what is necessary, or an autism support group will have ideas about what schools or services are most helpful.
J.

You will get the gamut of responses on the question of whether or not public school is a bad idea for Asperger's kids. IMHO it depends on the kid, it depends on the school, it depends on the teacher, it depends on the support staff (you get the idea). I think one of the most important things is not to make generalizations or rush to judgement about your child or about any given school. Each are unique and you are going to have to spend a great deal of time investigating and weighing the options and then you will need to keep an open mind to the idea that whatever you choose may not work out and you need to have a plan B (or C or D...).

An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. It is a document that is drawn up with you, the school staff, medical professionals of your choosing if you wish... who would be involved in your son's treatment and education. The contents of the document can vary widely. There is a stickie at the top of the board with lots of info about IEPs. In a nutshell I think of an IEP as a document that sets goals for a child's education and describes accomodations that the school will make to account for a child's differences. We are just starting one for our son who entered Kindergarten this fall. Many folks here have lots more experience that I am sure they will be willing to share.

Whether or not you ultimately decide to have your son attend a public or private school,, the IEP is the single most important legal document that offers your son an individualized education program that gives him the "best" chance at an education that is aimed to allow him to transition through additional education / higher education and even prepare him for employment and independent living.

I'd recommend that you go to www.wrightslaw.com and search for the term IEP and then spend 2 hours a day reading everything you can about this. It appears daunting at first, but in the U.S. it is the legal document that offers your child a chance at getting the most out of his education experience. When I was told to read this site by an educational advocate whom I was working with, I printed out over 100 pages of the site so I could study the information.

We have an IEP coming up for our 4YO son who was recently diagnosed with ASD. The IEP was written based on "speech delay" as a primary deficit. This means we parents will be expecting some changes to this IEP. It also means I'll be asking for goals that are written in a way that requires the teachers to give "objective" data, not "based on teacher observations". Now that I have seen first hand the results of this "standard" practice (the result is that my kid appears to do all these wonderful things at school that I fail to observe at home or elsewhere, hence either he's not doing it or he's failing to generalize this outside the school).

If you don't yet have an IEP you will need to get formal assessments with diagnoses done by the right experts (i.e. they are clinical trained to perform these assessments) or request the school to conduct these assessments. You may also request a functional behavior assessment because this can yield a behavioral intervention plan that protects your son from being labeled as "a problem" (then suspended or expelled) and instead, gets the school to focus on these as symptoms of not following the behavioral intervention plan.

Once the school conducts these evaluations an IEP meeting date should be set up.

Do not go alone by yourself. Get your spouse, a trusted family friend, or if possible one or all the experts you had hired independently (if you do this route) to attend. I went to my first IEP meeting and I'd never go alone again. Even though I don't see myself as easily intimidated, I was simply overwhelmed with information -- I was given about 100 pages worth of evaluation reports on the day of the IEP and bombarded for 2 hours with what goals should be and then asked to sign the document with assurances that "this can be a working document, if you disagree at any time we can amend it". The school knows the parents aren't likely to call another IEP meeting.

Do not sign the document for 24 hours. No matter what pressure you get. Again, I signed that day, because my kid's 3rd birthday was THE NEXT DAY and I was told if I didn't sign, he could go to school. This isn't ever going to happen again.

You have a lot to read up on so I won't bombard you with too much here. The IEP is a protective document and you will want this for your son through the school years.

Whether public school is a bad idea or not depends on the individual characteristics of the child, and the school district. You can learn all about IEPs here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual ... on_Program