I def recomend recording the IEP, the special ed advocate I consulted says to ALWAYS do this, also recommended communicating through email only so there is a record of all conversations. Sometimes that's not realistic so I do send 'recap' emails after phone conversations.

We tried the Ipod. It appears that she is being bullied on the bus by the safety's and their friends. This was brought up at several team meetings this year w/out resolution. She is a very sensory kid. Does not like loud or sudden noises, doesn't like being touched certain ways, does not like water or some fabric. She mouths a lot of objects so we put sports water bottle in her IEP b/c once the kids hit third grade they are not allowed to have them either. I might have to try the tape recording thing. Thanks for the tip.

Hi, SweetPeasMom -- I am a public school special education teacher, and I would love to help you advocate for your child. Please don't let anyone intimidate you; YOU are the expert on your child! I share your frustration (and the frustration I've heard from other parents) in trying to implement accommodations and modifications in the general education classroom -- this is one of the hardest parts of my job as well. I give the general ed teachers suggestions, notification of legally required accommodations and modifications, and support, but ultimately, it is up to them to implement these things. In their defense, large class sizes and insane pacing guides for teaching state standards are impacting their ability to accommodate each child's needs. Nevertheless, they are LEGALLY obligated to honor IEPs and 504s. Your best bet for help is to make very good friends with your child's RSP. He or she is on site every day, and if he or she knows of your concerns, he or she will be likely to advocate for your child on a daily basis. If this is not workable, and no advocates are available in your area, taping the IEP and following up with the teacher and the principal is advisable -- just remember that you have to notify the IEP team in writing that you plan to record the meeting (depending on the state, you may need to give notice anywhere from 24 hours to 30 days in advance). Following up is the major part of this, and you are within your rights to request weekly updates from your child's teacher on the implementation and effect of the specific accommodations and modifications in your child's IEP or 504. No, they don't like it -- not necessarily because they are not implementing the accom/mods, but because they are busy -- but they have to do it nonetheless. For the sake of amicability (it's always better to attempt to make an ally of your child's teacher), and if you can do so, you might want to design a form that they can check off with tally marks, and a comments portion where they can elaborate as necessary. I hope this helps; please feel free to ask me about any school matters that you are faced with; good luck!

We have had a major problem in getting the school just to do an eval..... They are the ones who brought a lot of concerns to our atten and we had a meeting With the school and said he doesn't meet the educational requirements to even have an email done....WTF?? Anyway since then we did get his diaganosis and we did get an advocate and our next meeting is next week... Keeping our fingers crossed

I don't think the bus companies or some school like the parents or are proactive in there children's lives. We are the voices for our kids, no one else is going to speak up for them.