Questions to Ask During Your Child’s IEP/ 504 Meeting
By Catherine Herling, LMFT
For as long as your child has been in a learning environment, you’ve noticed that they weren’t reaching their developmental milestones like other kids have. Others may have tried to reassure you by saying that your child would catch up before you knew it, but you felt as though there was more going on than being a “late bloomer”. After bringing it up with your child’s pediatrician or teacher, you likely began the process of evaluations and meetings with health professionals. It may have taken one evaluation, it may have taken years, but you finally know what’s leading your child to struggling in school.
If you learn that your child has a diagnosis of ADHD, ASD, or a Learning Disability (ie dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia), you’re probably feeling a sense of relief and sadness. While you now know why your child is struggling in school, there is no cure to their diagnosis, only accommodations to teach your child how to best learn. Since the ratification of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990 children within the public school system have the right to petition for special education services if they fall under one of thirteen categories of disability.
It can get confusing | What to Ask
If your child's evaluation occurred within the school setting, you likely had a meeting to discuss the results of the evaluation and any school recommendations the evaluators have. If you are still feeling confused and unsure about what has occurred during that meeting, you are not alone! There is a lot of technical language used when discussing the results and you may feel pressured to immediately approve the proposed accommodations for your child by the end of the meeting. Before you do sign off, here are some questions to ask both yourself and the school:
Does this feel right? As a caregiver, you have watched your child’s development and have more longitudinal data than the evaluators. If you genuinely feel that the evaluation does not accurately represent your child on an average day (ie allergies flaring up or a recent change in routine), it’s okay to express those concerns!
Is there anything you don’t understand or need clarification on? Evaluations contain tons of technical language and can feel overwhelming to look at if you are not familiar with the assessments used during a psychological evaluation. It can be challenging to have your questions answered by the evaluators outside of your scheduled meeting (the demand for evaluations is pretty high!) so asking for clarification while everyone is present will allow for more immediate understanding.
Are there any recommendations outside of in-school accommodations? Oftentimes, an evaluation with a new diagnosis will recommend either seeing a psychiatrist for medication or a therapist (psychotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc.). It’s important to provide comprehensive treatment for your child, and to do so without collaborating with providers can lead to confusion and frustration for all parties.
What is the timeline for services to be implemented/ reevaluation? Depending on the plan your child receives (IEP or 504), the school will set “goals” that both your child and the school work toward during a set period of time (usually about a year). Changing your child’s routine requires some degree of transition so collaborating with the school provides a greater sense of security for everyone.
Because each child is unique, accommodations within a school setting require a fair amount of trial and error in addition to communication with the appropriate school staff. While this process can feel overwhelming, it allows your child the opportunity to be as successful as possible at school. By starting the IEP/ 504 process in a collaborative manner, you have the opportunity to model self-advocacy and support them through this challenging transition.
Further Reading:
IEPS and 504 service agreements. Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2021, from
https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Homebound%20Instruction/Pages/IEPs-and-504-Service-Agreements.aspx.
U.S. Department of Education. (2020, January 10). Protecting students with disabilities. Office for Civil Rights. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html.
Catherine Herling, LMFT is a therapist practicing in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Catherine works with adolescents and adults and utilizes her specialties to support families and couples navigate the beauty and complexities of neurodivergence. To read more about Catherine, click here.
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