Special Education Law Blog

Guidelines for Preparing Effective Parent Input Statements

Parent input statements are one of the cornerstones of parental advocacy, but too often parents fail to bring one to an IEP meeting or do not include necessary information.  The following will provide some guidance based upon my experiences as a parent and an attorney for developing parent input statements that will drive your advocacy efforts.  Remember in real estate the three main principles are location, location, and location, and in the realm of special education advocacy it is-- documentation, documentation and documentation of which the parent input statement is the centerpiece.

Autism Program Quality Indicators

Autism is not a low incidence disability.  The irony is that school districts frequently are unable or unwilling to implement quality programs for children with autism.  Too often programs lack intensity, structure, low teacher to student ratios, a systematic curriculum, or supports like communication systems, behavioral reinforcers or visual schedules.  None of these program components are novel,  but when I bring them up at meetings I get a lot of blank stares as if I just invented these ideas. 

Guidelines and Observations Regarding Behavioral Intervention Plans ("BIPs")

Behavioral intervention plans ("BIPs") can be effective at supporting a child's education if properly done.  The purpose of a BIP is to address a child's behaviors that are interfering with the child's education in a positive and proactive manner.  Too often, however, BIPs are created in way that is not based upon good data, are not positive or proactive, and tend to be punitive in nature.  Some brief articles on positive behavioral interventions for various disabilities can be found on the About Special Education website.  These articles are a good starting point for designing better BIPs and understanding the process.

The following are my personal observations and thoughts on BIPs.  These points are based upon my work with many clients over a period of years and include ways that BIPs can be improved to better support students.

Guidelines and Observations Regarding Functional Behavioral Assessment ("FBA")

A Functional Behavioral Assessment ("FBA") is one of the most critical parts of an IEP for children who have behaviors that impede their education.   As a preliminary matter, this planning process involves a good understanding of what is meant by the term "behavior".   This term does not exclusively or even primarily mean acting out or violent conduct.   A behavior is anything that the child does that interferes with learning, from being inattentive to falling asleep or having full-blown tantrums.

The process begins with the FBA, which looks at the communicative intent of the behavior, or the functional aspect of the behavior.   The underlying assumption is that all people behave in a certain way to communicate wants, needs, desires or some other meaning (e.g. I am overwhelmed, I am upset etc.) .  FBAs take a holistic analysis of the child's environment, typically in school.   If well done, the FBA process will include the parents, it will be based on good data over a period of days and weeks, and it will be revisited over time to evaluate the validity of the hypothesis that grows out of the FBA.

There can be many pitfalls in the FBA process.   Too often, FBAs are done incorrectly, they are done too late, and they simply do not improve the outcomes for either the staff or student.  Below, I have recorded some of my personal observations about FBAs and some recommendations for improving this important part of the IEP process.