Team members who will help you plan your child's early intervention
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that your school system provide support for you and your baby. Part C of this Act discusses the assistance that is available for babies (infants to 3 years) and their families. Your state has guidelines to help school districts provide services when you need them.
Service Coordinator
- Available to you and your child through IDEA
- Works with you to find the right professionals to meet your needs
- Helps choose your
early intervention team
You are an Advocate
As your child's advocate,
YOU will be the most important member of the team. You can let your services coordinator know your preferences. You will attend Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meetings to ensure the educational plan for your baby and your family meets your needs.
IFSPs and IEPs
Important documents that plan education
It sounds like alphabet soup but these two documents are important for your child's education.
The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
- An IFSP is required by IDEA Part C
- This plan is for your entire family, not just your baby
Your team of professionals helps develop a plan based on your family's strengths and needs.
- Professionals consider the needs of families – making decisions
with them, not
for them.
- Professionals are committed to respecting families and their choices – every family is different, and their beliefs & values are important
The team will conduct an interview and some assessments with you and your baby. The information obtained will support the family's and team's understanding of your baby's current levels of development and any areas of need. This is like a starting point – the road map for what we want to work on starts here.
- Identify your priorities
- Develop specific goals for what you and the team want to accomplish in early intervention
- Identify strategies for how you can achieve your child's goals in routines and natural environments
- Identify the services coordinator, resources, providers, place of service and amount of service that will be available to the child and family
- Provide plan for transitioning from birth to three to preschool services
The Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
- Required by IDEA Part B
- Guides the goals and educational plan for children at age 3 and through school
When your child is ready for preschool, you will already know how to work with a team of professionals. As a result of your child's IEP, you will be able to advocate for your child as he or she grows up and continues to learn and develop and measure their success.
The IEP will contain:
- Your child's
current
speech and language development – this helps the team identify next steps so that you can reach your goals with your child
-
Annual goals, including short-term objectives that will be taken to help achieve goals
- Specific
educational needs: For example, if your child needs an FM system for preschool, it will be stated in the IEP
- Information about the child's
educational placement: the type of preschool classroom the child will attend and plans for transitions to kindergarten
- Specific
timelines and locations: where and how often the services will be provided
More IFSP and IEP resources
Making a Plan for Your Child-IFSP Considerations for Your Child Who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Part C: Eligibility Considerations- for Infants & Toddlers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
