Educating a child with a disability requires careful but rigorous planning to ensure that the child’s academic and functional goals are met. Educators need to employ adaptations and a variety of techniques to target certain areas of functional academics, general work habits and social skills. When you work with a population of students with disabilities, you will have to learn how to adapt and modify the curriculum to ensure a better chance of success and task completion. Adaptations and modifications must be noted in the child’s Individualised education programme so that instructional and assessment methods can be adapted to meet the needs of all students.
The main purpose of the individuals with disabilities education improvement act (IDEA) in the United States is to ensure that all children with disabilities receive free appropriate public education (FAPE) and are not discriminated against by any public school or any agency representing a public school.
This special education Act focuses on goals, curriculum and assessment of all students. States are required to develop goals for children with disabilities and help them achieve progress in district wide assessments. To achieve success in meeting their goals, each child needs an individualised educational program (IEP) that is designed for progress in the general education curriculum.
Clearly, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) was created to provide free appropriate public education (FAPE). Research reveals that achieving this goal was originally based on six basic principles: 1. Zero reject/child find, 2. Non-discriminatory assessment, 3. Individualised educational program (IEP), 4. Least restrictive environment (LRE). 5. Due process, 6. Parent participation.
Many African countries including Nigeria may not have IDEA principles to provide a free and appropriate public education for individuals with disabilities in public schools, but it is essential to create an individual educational programme (IEP) tailored to meet their needs. This will go a long way to build confidence and self-determination for their adult transition into the community.
What is the individualised educational programme (IEP)?
The United States special education model reveals the IEP as a document developed annually using a specified process by a group of professionals including the parents. Essentially, the IEP (or for infants and children, the Individualized Family Service Plan, IFSP) is a blueprint of services necessary to meet the needs of every child with a disability to enable him or her to successfully progress towards individual goals.
An IEP provides evidence that a child is receiving a free appropriate public education (FAPE). This means that all children with disabilities are entitled to a public education. Do the Nigerian public education systems include children with disabilities and provide services to meet their individual needs at no cost to their parents?
The IEP amounts to the commitment of the public schools and the government’s resources for providing FAPE. Participants of the IEP include the following: The child’s parents, a regular education teacher, special education teacher, a school administrator, direct services providers, (e.g. Speech, Occupational Therapist, vision specialist, a school nurse, psychologist and adaptive physical education specialist.)
Specific components of the IEP are as follows: Present levels of academic achievement which includes a description of how the child’s disability affects his or her involvement and progress in the general education curriculum, measurable annual goals which includes academic and functional goals designed to meet the child’s needs, short-term objectives which outlines a breakdown of measurable goals into intermediate pieces, description of how the child’s progress toward the annual goals will be measured, special education related services and date for the beginning of services and modifications.
Each child’s IEP must be reviewed and revised annually. The special education law also provides for amending an IEP without holding a formal IEP meeting with written parental agreement.
It is imperative that the regular education teacher of the child’s school participates in the development of the IEP of the child, including the determination of appropriate positive behavioural interventions and supports as well as other determination of supplementary aids and services.
Many IEP plans have signature lines where a parent would officially agree to the plan. Parents have to keep in mind though that they do not have to give consent to the entire plan. They can use an addendum to give consent only to specific parts of the IEP. It is ideal for parents to always find out how they can play a role in the IEP process by connecting with their local schools. Parents should also engage in extensive research in special education and take any action necessary to carry out their responsibilities to support their children’s education.
Isaac Osae-Brown
