2. Preparing for Your Next Meeting
This activity aims to help students prepare for their IEP meeting.
Watch
Student Led IEP Meeting (3:20)
Now that you’ve got the key IEP terms down, it’s time to step up and take charge in your planning meetings! This video will show you how student-led IEP meetings work and exactly how you fit into the process. Think of this as a chance to use your voice to make sure your needs and goals are front and center. Even though we’re focusing on IEP meetings now, you’ll find that these self-advocacy skills can help you take charge in any planning meeting. Let’s dive in and start shaping the future you want!
Discuss
Now that you’ve learned about student-led planning meetings, let’s put this knowledge into action. Below you will find lots of different tools that you can use in future meetings. Regardless of the type of meeting, being able to communicate your preferences, interests, needs, and strengths, and advocate for future goals will help your team design a plan centered around you and your unique needs. Let’s explore some options that can help you prepare to join, share, or even lead your next planning meeting.
[Note to Instructors: There are 4 options for students to use for their next meeting. In Ohio, many different organizations are using Charting the LifeCourse Tools to help families and students plan for a good life. The focus of Options 1, 2, and 3 will come from Charting the LifeCourse Portfolio for Exploring resource. The different tools that can be used are the One-Page Description (Option 1), the Integrated Support Star (Option 2), and the Life Trajectory (Option 3). You may have already used some of these tools in previous lessons, which is great. It is important to know that there are no right or wrong ways to use these tools and resources, but really a platform for people to start talking about a goal, task, or activity.
Option 4 is a student-led PowerPoint template to let students organize their thoughts and ideas for their next planning meeting. This option includes prompts in a PowerPoint or worksheet, so feel free to use what best fits the student.]
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Option 1
Option 1: One-Page Description
- Use Simple Prompts: Break down the One-Page Description into clear sections that students can relate to, such as:
- “What others like and admire about me”: Strengths, personality traits, or achievements they’re proud of.
- “What’s important to me?”: Hobbies, activities, people they enjoy being around.
- “How to best support me”: Any specific needs or preferences for learning or interacting.
- Role-Playing and Practice: Have students role-play presenting their One-Page Description in a mock Planning Meeting like and IEP, IPE, or ISP. This helps students get comfortable talking about themselves in a structured way.
- Visual Supports and Examples: Show completed One-Page Description of yourself to inspire students and demonstrate how these profiles highlight who they are beyond academics.
- Use Simple Prompts: Break down the One-Page Description into clear sections that students can relate to, such as:
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Option 2
Option 2: Integrated Support Star
The Integrated Support Star from the Charting the LifeCourse tools can be a powerful way for students to see all the resources they have access to and how they can support their goals. The following activities are ways to introduce the use of the Integrated Support Star.
- Break Down Each Support Area: Explain the five points of the star—personal strengths and assets, relationships, eligibility-based supports, community-based supports, and technology. Describe each category with examples, so students understand what kinds of supports fit into each area.
- Personal Strengths and Assets: These are qualities, talents and skills unique to the person filling out the star. These could include personal characteristics like creativity or problem-solving skills. These can also be personal interests or hobbies.
- Relationships: This category includes the people in the student’s life who provide support, encouragement, and guidance. It could be family members, friends, mentors, teachers, coaches, or even neighbors. These relationships play a role in helping the student feel connected, supported, and valued.
- Eligibility Specific Supports: These are formal supports the student qualifies for based on their needs or disability status. Examples include IEP accommodations, disability services in college, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD), County Board of Developmental Disability Services (DDS), Social Security benefits, or any other government-funded support services. These resources are often individualized to provide necessary assistance for success.
- Community Based Supports: This category includes resources available within the community that are open to everyone, such as recreational centers, libraries, youth programs, clubs, and volunteer opportunities. Community resources provide opportunities for students to connect, learn, and grow outside of formal, eligibility-based services.
- Technology: This includes tools, devices, and applications that support the student’s independence and learning. Examples are tablets, communication devices, accessibility apps, task management tools, or educational software. Technology can enhance the student’s ability to communicate, learn, stay organized, or engage in activities they enjoy.
- Use a “Support Star Scavenger Hunt”: Have students brainstorm resources they already have in each category and fill out their own support star. For instance:
- Personal strengths: Skills, interests, personal qualities
- Relationships: Family, friends, mentors, teachers
- Eligibility-based: IEP accommodations, vocational rehab services
- Community-based: Local clubs, community centers, volunteer opportunities
- Technology: Apps, accessibility tools, devices they rely on
- Link Supports to Goals: Help students connect each type of support with their personal or academic goals. For instance, if a student’s goal is to increase independence, they could look at how community resources or technology might help.
- Practice Presenting It: To build confidence, have students practice presenting their Support Star to the group. This gives them a chance to explain how they plan to use these supports to reach their goals, making their team meeting participation more meaningful.
- Break Down Each Support Area: Explain the five points of the star—personal strengths and assets, relationships, eligibility-based supports, community-based supports, and technology. Describe each category with examples, so students understand what kinds of supports fit into each area.
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Option 3
Option 3: Life Trajectory Tool
The Life Trajectory Tool is excellent for helping students visualize their personal goals and understand what they want to work toward and what they want to avoid when working towards or setting goals. Here’s a breakdown of each part of this tool:
- What I Want in My Life: Students identify specific aspects they want in their lives across different domains—like health, relationships, work, learning, and community involvement. This helps students envision a balanced life and identify what’s most important to them in each area. If you are using this tool with a specific goal in mind, this section should reflect what the student wants as it relates to the goal.
- What I Don’t Want in My Life: This section is where students outline what they want to avoid across different domains—like health, relationships, work, learning, and community involvement. For example, in the “relationships” area, a student might want to avoid people who don’t respect their boundaries or take advantage of them. This can help students recognize potential red flags and set healthy boundaries for their friendships, romantic partners or even their providers. If you are using this tool with a specific goal in mind, this section should reflect what the student does not want as it relates to the goal.
- The Trajectory Line: This is the section where students will put past experiences that have influenced choices, what they want in life and what they don’t want in life. On the trajectory line you will notice two boxes, one above the line and one below the line. The box above the line is where you can put things that are currently working or going well in the student’s life. This can include things like classes they are doing well in, jobs or volunteer experiences that are positive, social clubs or activities they find enjoyable. In the box below the line, think about all the things that have happened in life that have prevented the student from living the life that they want. This could be things like having difficulty following a personal budget, never getting the job you apply for, or never getting to make choices about what you wear on the weekends. When students can identify experiences that are going well for them or maybe even those that are hindering their progress it will help them be able to better advocate for what they need in the future to be successful.
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Option 4
Option 4: Student Led PowerPoint
A student led PowerPoint is a great way to help a student prepare for a meeting and present information. It allows the student to display one slide at a time and focus on the prompt. They can use the My Planning Meeting PowerPoint and project it during their meeting. Another option students can use is the My Planning Meeting Worksheet to share their thoughts with their team.
Choose and download one of the following documents that best suit your student’s learning preferences. Encourage your student to complete independently or with support.
