The slow days of summer are a good time to reflect on your child’s current IEP & how things went during the previous school year. Below are some tips & things to do over the summer that will help prepare you & your child for the upcoming school year.
1. Transition into summer vacation can be exciting as well as anxiety-producing for many students. Planning a daily schedule and maintaining a routine is key. Setting up activities helps to break up the time and gives your child new experiences.
2. Take the time to fully understand your child’s IEP goals. It’s also a great opportunity to evaluate which strategies & approaches worked well during the school year.
3. Plan retention activities for over the summer that can help maintain & practice skills that will be beneficial for the next school year. This can include skills to increase independence & social skills.
4. Schedule playdates or social activities with familiar faces. Talk to other parents of your child’s classmates to find out if there is interest to get together over the summer. This is a great way to help your child have opportunities to build and strengthen relationships with classmates outside of school & also work on any needed social skills.
5. Plan family activities whether it’s a vacation or evening/weekend activities. Summer is a time for your child to enjoy himself/herself and to get a break from the academic expectations that come from the school year.
6. Last but not least organize your child’s educational records. This can also be done electronically using such online storage platforms such as Google Docs, DropBox, etc. Online you could make individual folders for all the sections listed below. Below are some important tips:
- Secure your documents in some type of storage-cloud-based (Google Drive, DropBox), file cabinet, file box, or a 3 ring binder.
- Have at least the last 2 IEPs for comparison purposes.
- Have the most current Full Individual Evaluation (FIE) completed by the school district & any other evaluations completed by outside service providers.
- Have copies of IEP Progress Reports.
- Have copies of student work samples from previous school years to document progress & if needed use as documentation for regression/recoupment purposes.
- Write & include a vision statement for your child.
- Include copies of any documents such as IEP amendments, prior written notices (PWNs), or instructional continuity plans that changed your child’s services during school closures.
- Finally, have a copy of your state’s procedural safeguards.