Individualized Education Programs

Federal law entitles all students with disabilities to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Federal law also states that students with disabilities should be placed in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), where they can make progress toward achieving their goals. Finally, federal law requires that those goals be developed and measured within the framework of an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Students with autism have special needs beyond academics that fall under this law.

The IEP is a blueprint for everything that will happen to a child in the next school year. The planning process involves parents, teachers, and other individuals working with the child with ASD. In addition to outlining academic and behavioral goals, the IEP includes interventions, modifications, supports, and hands-on learning opportunities designed to aid the child with ASD from when to first enter school to ultimate transition to adulthood.

As the principal observer and teacher of the child, you play a key role in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the child’s IEP. You will be responsible for reporting back to the IEP team on the student’s progress toward meeting specific academic, social, and behavioral goals and objectives in the IEP. You will also be asked for input about developing new goals for the student in subsequent IEP meetings.

The IEP Team

IEPs are created by a multidisciplinary team of education professionals, along with the child’s parents, and are tailored to the needs of the individual student. Special and general education teachers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, and families form the IEP team and meet regularly to discuss student progress on IEP goals.

Before the IEP team meets, an assessment team gathers information about the student to make an evaluation and recommendation. The school psychologist, social worker, classroom teacher, and/or speech pathologist are examples of education professionals who conduct educational assessments. A neurologist may conduct a medical evaluation, and an audiologist may complete hearing tests. The classroom teacher also gives input about the academic progress and classroom behavior of the student. Parents give input to each specialist throughout the process. One person on the evaluation team consolidates all the information, and the team meets to make recommendations and then writes the IEP based on the evaluation and team member suggestions.

The IEP

IEPs always include annual goals, short-term objectives, special education services required by the student, and a yearly evaluation to see if the goals were met. Annual goals must explain measurable behaviors so that it is clear what progress should have been made by the end of the year. The short-term objectives should contain incremental and sequential steps toward meeting each annual goal. For some tips on writing objectives and developing measurable IEP goals for learners with autism, please see An Educator's Guide to Autism.

Transition to Adulthood

Planning for the transition of young people with autism and Asperger Syndrome out of secondary school into adulthood is an ongoing process also outlined by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). According to the 2004 revision of IDEA, transitional planning must begin by the time the child is 16 and no later than 1 year prior to the child’s age of majority. Ideally, transition planning should begin upon a child’s entrance to school.

A Guide for Transition to Adulthood contains transition considerations for individuals across the spectrum