Does Your Child’s Birth Defect Merit an IEP?

Even as you see your child off to school for perhaps the very first day of preschool, you know in your heart of hearts that the odds are stacked against her or him and that every achievement, social success, and perhaps also academic victory will be hard won. The reason is your child’s birth defect with, although mild enough to permit the little one to attend school with the other neighborhood children, it is severe enough to have caused some setbacks and missing skill sets. Yet even as you contemplate all of these problems, keep in mind that going to school is not a do or die proposition for your child. While anxious parents of children with birth defects have chosen to home school a good many of them, the advent of individualized education plans (IEPs) makes it possible for children who are not on par with their peers to succeed in an educational setting.

Does your child’s birth defect merit an IEP? This question cannot be answered solely by you, the parent, just like it cannot be answered solely by the teacher, principal or the child’s doctor. Instead, the development of an IEP is a joint effort that will require collaboration between parent, school, and health care provider. Unfortunately, many a school will shy away from suggesting the development of an IEP not only because of the time and cost associated with it, but also because of a fear of rejection by the parent which in some cases has caused a horrific work environment for a particular teacher.

As you are considering the advantages of an IEP, here are some facts you will want to know:

? Within the public school setting, it is your child’s right to receive an IEP. At a private school, however, the rules are different.

? An IEP is to be made available to you and your child free of charge by the public school she or he is attending.

? An IEP is generally not discussed or suggested unless a birth defect causes debilitating symptoms that deny the child a proper education. In the alternative, a parent’s insistence on exploring this educational option will open the door for your child’s ability to receive her or his own IEP.

? IEPs are a good idea for children whose birth defects may cause impairment of language development, learning disabilities or mental retardation, physical impairments such as blindness or deafness, but also delayed developments of skill sets.

? It is interesting to note that an IEP is not a bad thing. Instead, if your child’s birth defect slows her or him down in one area while the child is excelling in other areas beyond their peers, it is wise to have an IEP that not only addresses the area which is lacking but also the areas which surpass standards by offering an enriched academic program.

While a public school education is most desirable for your child, if the disabilities brought on by your child’s prove to be so severe that this educational setting is crating more frustration and stress for the child than validate her or his skills, it might be worthwhile to explore different educational settings that might be more conducive to teaching a child with the problems yours is currently facing.

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