Students Strengths… What exactly does that mean in an IEP?

Prior to your IEP meeting for your child, most case mangers will send out a document for Parental Impute where you express concerns as well as the “strengths of your child”. I have always found this interesting that there is little explanation of what this means. Obviously, concerns are easy, but what does the school want to know from you as the parents? Well, what do you see your child doing well? This can be anything from academic to recreational and everything in between. You want to mention things like your child’s Social Strength: shares, takes turns, asking for help, good with peers. Creative strengths: artistic abilities, musical abilities, creative thinking.  Physical Strengths:  endurance, sports, hobbies. Language Strengths: can sound out words, can make reading predictions. Leadership Strengths: inspires others, confidence.  Literacy Strengths: Can make predictions while reading, makes connections.  Critical Thinking Strengths: Problem solving, analyze information.  Emotional Strengths: Shows kindness and empathy, can control emotions.  Executive Functioning Strengths: Organization, manages time well, planner. Academic Strengths: Study Skills, highly motivated, quick learning abilities.  These are just many examples of areas YOU as the parent can recognize as strengths for your child.  So many times, we as parents get boggled down on all the negatives, the frustrations, the guilt of the situation that we forget to look at all the STRENGTHS of our children. Remember, all our children are blessed with multiple strengths, make sure when this document is sent to you that you highlight all the greatness of your child along with the concerns. Acknowledging the strengths can be impactful for your child when things do not go well for them, they need that reminder as much as we do at times.

 

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