The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child

The Individualized Education Program, or IEP, determines the nuts and bolts of your child's special education.

This includes the specific classroom set up, curricula, support services, and program and educational goals. Understanding every aspect of the IEP process will help you avoid surprises along the way.

The Complete IEP Guide walks you step-by-step through the IEP process. The book provides all the instructions, suggestions, strategies, resources and forms you need to proceed from the beginning, when you first suspect a problem, to the end, when your child completes school.

Learn to:

* understand special education law
* untangle eligibility rules and the role of assessments
* collect all school records
* become an expert on your child's educational needs
* pinpoint specific goals in school
* develop a clear blueprint of program and services
* research school programs and alternatives
* prepare for IEP meetings
* resolve disputes with your school district

Whether you're new to the IEP process or entering it once again, this user-friendly guide is your outline for an effective educational experience for your child.

The Complete IEP Guide provides up-to-date, federal special-education laws and extensive appendices, including a list of over 125 groups and organizations.

Lawrence Siegel has been a Special Education Attorney and Advocate since 1979, and has represented children with disabilities extensively in IEPs, due process, complaints, legal action and before legislative and policy bodies. Mr. Siegel has lectured and consulted with advocacy and parent groups throughout the country and is a member of the California Advisory Commission on Special Education. He has written special education legislation that has been adopted in several states and is the author of Least Restrictive Environment: The Paradox of Inclusion (LRP Publications, 1994). Mr. Siegel is the founder and Director of the National Deaf Education Project which works to ensure that the fundamental communication needs of deaf and hard of hearing children are part of the educational system. He lives in Fairfax, California, with his wife Gail and two daughters, Catie and Elisabeth.