My school district tried out a wonderful idea this year to help with constructing an IEP for my son, Geoffrey. We decided that instead of doing a regular IEP targeted for the coming year, we would try a new process of making a long range action plan. We adapted a process called Making Action Plans (MAPs) from an article written by Falvey, Forest, Pearpoint and Rosenberg. This process calls for looking at all aspects of the person's life and potential, and addresses what we can do to help that person reach that potential. The Juneau school district arranged for all the staff working with Geoffrey to take a few hours off for this meeting. We were invited to include anyone else who might want to be involved in this process. In all we had seven or eight people present.
The MAPs process includes many of the considerations that are supposed to be included in the formulation of an IEP, but are usually glossed over. These include full discussion of the student's past, present and potential. It also includes the other crucial questions such as needs and plans to accomplish the goals. One person was appointed to act as facilitator and to take notes on large pieces of paper placed around the room. By the end we had wallpapered the conference room.
The MAPs process involves eight key questions:
1. Introduction: Who is present? What is their relationship to the person? What is a MAP? It is important to identify how each of the people in the meeting fit in to the student's life. It is also important to understand that a MAP is a guide to get you from one place to another, not something that defines the person.
2. What is the person's history or story? This is the part where the family tells the participants their story. This reflection proved to be a wonderful way to show how far we had gone and how far Geoffrey had progressed. It put things in perspective. It also allowed the staff who had only worked with Geoffrey for a year or less to get a better understanding of Geoffrey's past, the problems, the triumphs, and why he is the way he is. It was valuable to tell the staff about the frequently changing and conflicting diagnoses, the uncertainty of parents and professionals over how to proceed, the frustrations when the education programs we thought would work didn't, and the wonderful things that happened when we did get it right. The staff who had worked with Geoffrey for a longer period of time contributed valuable observations about how much he had changed in the school environment.
3. What are your dreams? This is a part where you can just let yourself go and vocalize all of your fondest wishes for your child. If the child is participating in this meeting it is a place for the child to fantasize about the future. While you have to be reasonable (no miraculous cures and stuff), you should not restrict it just to what you expect to happen. This is the best case scenario in the best of all possible worlds. No one should ever indicate than an idea is ridiculous or impossible. We also encouraged staff members to offer their dreams of what Geoffrey might become. The ideas ranged from short term accomplishments regarding things like bicycle riding, to communication goals, to future employment and independence.
4. What are your nightmares? This is the worst case scenario. I am afraid that my son will not have friends, will not be able to effectively communicate with others, will not be independent. We all have lots of fears. Different people in the group had different fears for Geoffrey. The purpose is to list them so that we can try to avoid those outcomes. This part is especially important for parents who are worried about the education their child is receiving. It gives the parents a chance to verbalize why they are so concerned. It dignifies the fears and makes everyone accountable to look at them, discuss them, and see if they can be avoided.
5. Who is the person? At this point you might think you've already answered this question. The purpose is for everyone to throw out words that they think help describe the person. It is important to try to list them in positive form whenever possible, say "strongly independent" rather than "resists supervision."
6. What are the person's strengths, gifts and talents? This part is an inventory of all of the positive attributes that we may be able to work with. Curious, very active, imaginative, visual learner, etc. After we had completed a long list of positive attributes, the facilitator stopped and commented that it was amazing to see how many of the items listed had been items we listed a few years ago as concerns about attributes Geoffrey lacked (lack of curiosity, poor visual attention skills, etc.). None of us had noticed that in the past three years many of Geoffrey's negative attributes had reversed themselves and become strengths! This had never come out in previous IEP meetings.
7. What does the person need? What will it take to make the dreams come true? This question involves much more than just the type of instruction needed. A circle of friends, support people, support services, physical and learning assistive devices, can all be part of this. Being independent is not enough. Everyone needs to have a circle of friends and support services to help them. We all rely on each other. None of us are really completely independent. A person with special needs requires more and different types of formal and informal supports. The purpose of this question is to list what those might be for the short term and long term goals.
8. What is the plan of action? This is the core of the MAPs process. You need to write down various goals to avoid the nightmares and facilitate the dreams. This is the final stage in which you set the goals. These goals should be based on everything that was discussed and should focus on achieving each one of the dreams and avoiding each of the nightmares. Most importantly, these goals should be included in the IEP. Including these goals in the IEP may make the IEP look very different than what you've seen before. That's because the MAPs process makes everyone look at the long-term objectives and ultimate purpose of the education itself, not just what services your child is going to receive this next school year.
The process lasted just over two hours (but would probably have been much shorter if I wasn't so long winded) and was one of the most effective ways of constructing an IEP that I've ever seen. If you feel that the school isn't taking your concerns seriously or you worry that the IEP isn't taking your child's long-term needs into account, I highly recommend this process. If you work with a school who has dissatisfied parents at IEP meetings, I suggest this as a means to ensure that their concerns are fully heard and taken seriously.
This article was downloaded from America On Line.