X-tra Special Advice: What is an IEP?
Theodore G. Coutilish and Mary Beth Langan, June 2005

The official meaning for an IEP is Individual Educational Plan or Individualized Education Program. It is the written statement for each child receiving special education services which includes measurable goals and objectives for the year and services and accommodations to be provided to the child. The IEP team writes the IEP. The team consists of a number of people, including, but not limited to, the child's parent(s), teacher (s), therapists, school psychologist and school social worker.

Although IEP teams meet throughout the school year, the spring tends to be a busy IEP season. Meetings fill the schedules of the school professionals.
 

The day dreams and nightmares of all the team members, especially the parents, can be filled with thoughts of the construction (or destruction) of the IEP. Parents worry about their child's goals and objectives for the following year. Are we making the goals too easy? Too difficult? Are they the right goals? Does the IEP include the appropriate accommodations? How can we be assured our child will learn all they have the ability to learn? How should we be shaping our child's future?

Anticipation of the IEP meeting can evoke strong physical reactions from parents. Mary Beth knows folks who have had IEP-induced flu, diarrhea, vomiting, sleeplessness, anxiety, and lots of plain, ol' worrying!
 

Professionals on the IEP teams may consider all of us Irritable Erupting Parents as we advocate for our children, but after considering stories she's heard and the fears of friends, realized and unrealized, Mary Beth came up with some other representations for the acronym IEP.

Intensely Excessive Perspiration

Icy Encounters of Pessimism

Imprisonment by Encircling Paperwork

Infallible Eloquent Philosophizing

Immediate Electrocution of Possibilities

Intestine-Engulfing Pains

Insipid Earful of Politics

Igniting Electric Palpitations

Infinitely Evasive Pageantry

Imploding Euphemistic Planet

Indigestible Enveloping Process

Illusively Encoded Policies

Though they may occur in public schools, the letters I E P may also represent It's Encouragement for Prayer!

With the aid of a laugh and a prayer, we hope your IEP-induced ailments are alleviated or at least lessened.

Grosse Pointe residents Theodore G. Coutilish and Mary Beth Langan created this column to share experiences from their journey as parents of a child with Fragile X syndrome. For more information, visit www.fragilex.org.

Related Content: Overview of the IEP Process and Click here to view a list of over 40 IEP Topics/Issues

At Bridges4Kids we're always looking for a little comic relief.  Life can be so overwhelming and serious!  Here's your chance to share some of the most funny or outrageous goals or comments regarding an IEP that you've come across either while working with a child or as the parent/caregiver of a child. 

A 9 year old with ADHD: "Mark will accept verbal criticism without crying in class." 

A 9 year old with Autism: "Aaron will remain calm when his goals cannot be reached." 

We had an IEP meeting following mediation. The district had agreed to include my 10 year-old daughter, who has cognitive delays and visual impairment, in the regular ed classroom for opening exercises, against the wishes of the principal. The principal huffed, "But I want you to know, I will NOT rrequire that teacher to do ONE THING differently just because YOUR CHILD is in her room." I was speechless. G. Green, Fort Worth, TX

A 4^1/2 year old with 2 year receptive/expressive speech level equivalent: "He only needs 5-10 minutes of speech daily and no ESY (Extended School Year)."

Said by a Special Ed Director at an IEP: "You need to just shut your mouth and calm down. We're not saying that your son will never amount to anything, we're saying that your plans for him don't fit into our plans for him."

The Rules

Nominate the most ridiculous ones...we'll choose the nuttiest, most outrageous or most infuriating and post them for everyone to see!  We only ask that your submissions be 50 words or less and be emailed to info@bridges4kids.org.  Please do not include personal identifiers (i.e. parent's name, teacher's name).

bridges4kids does not necessarily agree with the content or subject matter of all articles nor do we endorse any specific argument.  Direct any comments on articles to deb@bridges4kids.org.