4 Things Parents of Children Receiving Special Services Need to Do Each Summer
As the parent of a child receiving special services, you are likely aware that summertime means a slowdown, but not a hard stop. Even though formal schooling in the traditional sense is not in session, there is still a lot to do. Summer can be a great time to help your child fill any skill gaps. You can also use the time to organize documents and files related to your child’s special services, plan for next year, and get in a little R&R too!
1.Supplement Your Child’s Learning and Services
It is widely accepted that many children appear to experience a “summer slump” while school is out for summer break. If your child receives special education services through an Extended School Year (ESY) program, that can help to reduce some of the regression that your child experiences during a break in instruction.
Even if your child is not receiving formal ESY services as a part of their IEP, it is a good idea for you to provide activities to keep your child’s skills current.
This could happen in a variety of ways. There are many computer programs and websites that provide practice programs and instruction for children. You can also help your child complete workbooks or worksheets so that they don’t lose progress learned during the previous school year. Snuggling up with a good book is also a great way to spend time with your child and practice reading too.
Avoiding the regression of learned skills is one reason to do some summer practice. However, summer can also be a great time to focus on helping your child remediate skill deficits, or to learn new skills. Going to school all day, then to private therapy or tutoring can make for a long taxing day on a student. Summer provides an opportunity for your child to participate in therapies or tutoring when they are relaxed and alert. If your child has handwriting difficulties, summer can be a great time to get intensive support from an occupational therapist. If your child has difficulties interacting with others, summer can be a great time to do a social skills camp to develop and practice these skills. Your child could use the summer months to participate in an intensive tutorial or instructional program to help to remediate academic deficits.
Remediating skills related to academic or clinical considerations is great. Summer can also be used as a time to learn or practice non-academic skills or other related activities. Your middle school student may be inefficient in completing computer tasks due to slow typing speed. Use the summer months to practice typing and increase speed. You may lose time getting out the door every morning because your elementary-age child needs help tying shoelaces. The absence of homework assignments makes it a great time to tackle learning this skill.
2.Organize Files and Review Documentation
IEPs and 504 plans create mountains of paperwork. With the hustle and bustle of the school year, it is very easy to fall behind on filing. Summer can be a great time to organize the paperwork from the prior school year. While you are filing, it is a great time to review all of your documentation. Generally speaking, you
should look at the documents you have to determine if your child is progressing adequately or not. When you are organizing your file, be sure to keep your most current IEP or 504 plan and documents from any amendment. Keep copies of your child’s IEP progress reports. If your child had any updated evaluations, be sure to keep those as well. There are other school records that are not specifically IEP records that you should also consider keeping. Examples are report cards and scores for standardized tests.
Particularly if any of your interactions with the school staff were contentious, it is a good idea to save any emails or written correspondence you have from school staff. You may also want to save documents such as your child’s work samples, data probes, or data on behavioral goals such as daily or weekly behavior reports.
As you are filing your documents, take some time to review them as well. In reviewing IEP progress reports, you will want to determine whether or not your child met any goals or if they made progress toward all goals and objectives. In reviewing standardized test scores, you will want to review if your child’s performance was better, worse, or about the same as last year.
I am a huge fan of digital document organization. Instead of continually returning to a filing cabinet to retrieve documents, you can have all the paperwork you need any time and anywhere. It’s at your fingertips with the touch of a button. Need a copy of your child’s IEP to share with a private therapist? Here it is! Emailing it right now! Need to review a copy of your child’s psychoeducational evaluation from a few years in an IEP meeting? Great! Here it is! Digital documentation storage can save you lots of space and time.
3.Plan for Next Year
With your document review fresh in your mind, it is a great time to do some preliminary planning for next year. In your planning, consider any problems from the current school year that need to be addressed in your child’s IEP or 504 accommodation plan. Also, plan for any upcoming transitions. Hit the ground running and ready to implement when the school year begins.
Consider if there were any issues in the previous school year that need to be addressed during the upcoming school year. If your child regressed or did not make progress during the current school year, plan to address it early in the year with next year’s team. If any new issues have been identified that need to be addressed in your child’s services, be prepared to let the school team know early so that it can be addressed.
If your child is transitioning from elementary to middle school, middle school, to high school, or will have another type of school transition, prepare yourself and your child for the anticipated changes. Begin by preparing yourself. You as an adult may have apprehension about the upcoming change. Despite any concerns that you may have about the new setting or program, do your best to discuss the changes in a manner that avoids negativity. You don’t want your child walking in the door with a negative attitude.
Learn as much as you can about the school, the types of programs offered, and expectations. Attend any open house or meet and greet sessions so that your child can become familiar with the new setting. If your child will be attending the same school, but participating in a different type of program also research and prepare for those changes.
While you are planning, get out your calendar and mark down key dates for the upcoming school year. As it relates to your child’s special services, make note of due dates for your child’s IEP annual review or 504 plan review meetings. For students with IEPs, the team must address eligibility every three years. Check your child’s IEP to see if eligibility is due to be discussed for your child this year and plan for an evaluation if necessary. You may also want to use your calendar to mark down general school calendar events. These include school breaks and days off, dates for standardized tests, and report card distribution dates.
4.Unwind and Enjoy Your Downtime
In this article, I have addressed many things for both you and your child to do. Even though there are skills to be practiced and documents to be filed, there is also life to be lived. Your child will only be a child once and you don’t want to lose those precious moments.
Sign your child up for a summer camp program. Let them participate in a sport or special interest activity group. At home, let them engage in activities they enjoy. Have picnics, movie nights, or whatever it is that lets you enjoy your family.
Dr. Brandi Tanner is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and former special educator with over 15 years of experience in her fields. She founded Your IEP Source to guide parents through the IEP journey and to empower them to become better advocates for their children.