{"id":143,"date":"2009-02-06T10:54:25","date_gmt":"2009-02-06T15:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=143"},"modified":"2010-11-21T15:59:27","modified_gmt":"2010-11-21T19:59:27","slug":"advocacy-rule-1-write-things-down-when-they-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/advocacy-rule-1-write-things-down-when-they-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocacy Rule #1: Write Things Down When They Happen!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Advocacy%20Rule%20%231%3A%20Write%20Things%20Down%20When%20They%20Happen%21\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p><strong>Preparing Documentation is Essential to Good Advocacy<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your goal at an IEP meeting is to initiate or obtain additional special education and\/or related services for your child. A successful outcome at an IEP meeting depends on the documentation you make available to the team.<strong> You can&#8217;t wait until the last minute to prepare documentation.<\/strong> Documenting events and conversations later is never as effective or accurate as writing things down, in detail, at the time they  occur. Here are some tips . . .<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>1. Paraprofessionals<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>If your child has a crisis intervention paraprofessional or a shadow, provide that person with a small three subject notebook (5&#215;8 size is perfect).  Look for a notebook that has a pocket on each subject divider &#8211; that&#8217;s even better. Have the paraprofessional document incidents that occur in the classroom, at recess, on the bus, etc., on a daily basis.   These entries should include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the child&#8217;s action,<\/li>\n<li>the paraprofessional&#8217;s response, and<\/li>\n<li>the child&#8217;s reaction to the response.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each entry should be dated, time stamped, and signed.  This log will support the need for continued service from the paraprofessional.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>2. Teachers <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you plan to request a paraprofessional for the first time, you need documentation that shows your child&#8217;s need for this service.<\/p>\n<p>Provide your child&#8217;s teacher with a set of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/anecdotal.form.doc\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">anecdotal sheets<\/span><\/a>. Ask her\/him to keep meticulous records of everything that happens that provides support for the needed service.  Each entry should be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>dated,<\/li>\n<li>time stamped,<\/li>\n<li>and signed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Include the child&#8217;s action, the teacher&#8217;s response, and the child&#8217;s reaction to the response.  If the child is taken to the principal&#8217;s office, staple a note from the principal with information about what happened to the anecdotal report.  Two to three weeks worth of reports are usually sufficient to validate the child&#8217;s need for this service.<\/p>\n<p>If you plan to request additional services for your child, provide your child&#8217;s teachers with a set of anecdotal sheets at the beginning of the school year. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/anecdotal.form.doc\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Download Anecdotal Form<\/span><\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/anecdotal.form.doc\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/anecdotal.form.doc<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For example, if you will request speech therapy, ask the teachers to write notes regarding times when articulation errors affect the child&#8217;s academics (i.e., poor spelling as a result of producing sounds incorrectly, etc.).  If your child has a language problem, ask the teacher to document times when these problems arise (i.e., in reading comprehension, context clues, cloze, etc.).<\/p>\n<p>You can use anecdotal sheets to document a child&#8217;s needs for other related services &#8230; occupational therapy services, physical therapy services, and counseling.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>3. Parents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>It is your job to keep a careful record of all tests.  Don&#8217;t highlight information in evaluations. Use Post-it notes to write comments or call attention to specific information on tests and other important documents. Make copies of tests and quizzes with the Post-it notes attached.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When you attend a meeting, have your documentation ready to go<\/strong>.  <strong>Anecdotal sheets<\/strong> should be in a sealed envelope (sealed by the teacher before giving them to you).  Ask the team to make copies for you.  Your <strong>log book<\/strong> should be presented for the team&#8217;s review, but you should take it back at the end of the meeting.  The team can make copies of any entries they want as part of your child&#8217;s record. Present your <strong>duplicate tests<\/strong> in a folder so they are part of the record.<\/p>\n<p>If you present proper documentation that supports your request for a service, the team&#8217;s respect for you is likely to increase. They are more likely to acknowledge that your child needs the service, and conclude the meeting in your favor.<\/p>\n<p>Good luck!<\/p>\n<p>Note: Sharon D is an advocate  from New York City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Preparing Documentation is Essential to Good Advocacy Your goal at an IEP meeting is to initiate or obtain additional special education and\/or related services for your child. A successful outcome <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/advocacy-rule-1-write-things-down-when-they-happen\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,18,136,1367],"tags":[310,1303,132,273,1319],"class_list":["post-143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy","category-ieps","category-strategies","category-assessments-tests","tag-anecdotal-form","tag-documentation","tag-iep-meetings","tag-paper-trails","tag-strategies"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4331,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions\/4331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}