Although it is still Summer, Tennessee students are heading back to school. Whether they have already started or starting in the next couple of weeks, there is so much to think about during back-to-school season, especially for students with disabilities. Being prepared for a new school year can help the transition back into the school environment go more smoothly.
One focus for parents of students with disabilities will be their child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Here are a few tips to help with those beginning of the school year concerns and getting your child IEPrepared:
- Email the special education teacher to introduce the student and mention any medical, physical, or emotional changes that occurred over the summer.
- Connect with the general education teacher and explain that the student has an Individual Education Plan (IEP).
- Get contact information for all IEP team members and ask for the best way to communicate with them.
- Create a social story, a story that contains visuals to help prepare the individual for a new situation or event. You can ask the teachers to send photos of themselves and an overview of the student’s schedule. Reading a social story several times during the start of school can help the student know what to expect.
- Confirm any special transportation that will be needed with the school. If special transportation is listed in the IEP, the student will receive specialized transportation to the school.
- Look at last year’s IEP to see when the annual IEP will take place this academic year. You can always call an IEP meeting earlier than the annual date if needed.
- Create an “About Me” handout for the student. This can include a brief overview of the student’s dislikes, likes, specialized instructions, behavioral tips and much more. You can email this to the whole IEP team before or shortly after the school year starts to help the team learn more about the student.
- Talk about going back to school frequently with the student to help them prepare for the new routine. Take time to discuss how the student is feeling after each day of school and remind the student different feelings might happen at the start of the school year.
- Create a visual schedule of the student’s morning routine before school. This would include pictures and text of everything the student needs to do to get ready for school each morning.
Going back to school can be stressful, especially for students with disabilities. As summer ends, help set your student(s) up for success by implementing some of the suggested tips. As always, feel free to reach out to TN Disability Pathfinder to help you find any resources for your student. We are happy to help and want to make the back-to-school transition as smooth as possible.
Tennessee Disability Pathfinder
Help Line: 1-800-640-4636 Monday to Friday, 8 AM – 4:30 PM
Email: TNPathfinder@vumc.org
Website with Live Chat: TNPathfinder.org