The Complete IEP Guide. How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child

Editorial Review
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) determines the nuts and bolts of your child's special education. But it's easy to get lost in the paperwork and bureaucracy if you don't know your way through the intricacies of the system.

Nolo's acclaimed The Complete IEP Guide will guide you through the IEP process. The book provides all the plain-English instructions, suggestions, strategies, resources and forms you need to:

understand your child's rights

untangle eligibility rules and assessments

collect all school records

draft goals and objectives

pinpoint specific problems

develop a blueprint of program and services

research school programs and alternatives

prepare for IEP meetings

resolve disputes with your school district

and more

The 5th edition is completely updated to reflect the latest--and major-- changes to the Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA), the law that governs special education and the IEP process.

Whether you're new to the IEP process or entering it once again, this user-friendly guide is your outline for an effective educational experience for your child.
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Customer Reviews

IEP

2008-07-15
Good technical book to help you write your first or Fifth Iep. My son's Iep has been very sucessful.

A must have!!

2008-06-12
This book is slow reading and quite boring, honestly....BUT, the information is worth its weight in gold. I've been thru 3 preschool IEP meetings and pretty much rolled over and played dead. Not anymore. We are in the middle of "big school" (leaving preschool) IEP now and I feel so much more knowledgable and incredibly prepared this time around, thanks to this book. Knowledge IS power and this book can make you a superhero for your child!

So-So...lacks goal examples

2008-04-19
This book is a great resource for people new to the IEP world, especially before the first IEP meeting. This manual will give a great introduction into what to expect in the meeting, the jargon, the paperwork, and the placement. This book would also be a good first step if the process gets litigious. It gives the basics on how to file complaints and go through due process.

However, the book is a basic overview of the whole process. I gave it only 3 stars because it is far to general in dealing with formulating goals. Even though there are vastly different goals necessary in every individual's IEP, everyone might benefit by reviewing a wide variety of examples. I would like to see many examples of real life goals for various disabilities using the actual wording, style, jargon, and technique used to indicate the goal and its measurability.

Boot-camp for Parents New to The System

2007-10-05
I bought this to prep for my first IEP Meeting and found it to be very helpful. It's an easy read, well organized and has tons of sample tear-outs in the back for you to reproduce and use in your dealings with the school district. A great introduction to the wild world of IEPs.

A 'must' reference for any concerned special education child or for any library catering to parents.

2007-08-07
The 5th updated edition of Attorney Lawrence M. Siegel's THE COMPLETE IEP GUIDE: HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR YOUR SPECIAL ED CHILD provides the latest legal information on how parents can work with the school system to develop an Individualized Education Program. There's lots of steps and paperwork to developing such a strategy, but with the help of this guide, parents learn eligibility rules, options, tailoring the IEP for a child's abilities and needs, and more. A 'must' reference for any concerned special education child or for any library catering to parents.

Way overpriced

2006-05-21
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) determines the nuts and bolts of your child's special education. But it's easy to get lost in the paperwork and bureaucracy if you don't know your way through the intricacies of the system.

Nolo's acclaimed The Complete IEP Guide will guide you through the IEP process. The book provides all the plain-English instructions, suggestions, strategies, resources and forms you need to:

understand your child's rights

untangle eligibility rules and assessments

collect all school records

draft goals and objectives

pinpoint specific problems

develop a blueprint of program and services

research school programs and alternatives

prepare for IEP meetings

resolve disputes with your school district

and more

The 5th edition is completely updated to reflect the latest--and major-- changes to the Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA), the law that governs special education and the IEP process.

Whether you're new to the IEP process or entering it once again, this user-friendly guide is your outline for an effective educational experience for your child.

From a mom with a son with Tourette Syndrome 2003-01-19
Whether you are new to the world of "special ed" or you are a seasoned veteran, attorney, Lawrence M. Siegel's book will guide you through the advocacy maze with ease. It is a valuable resource of information, including, but not limited to: an overview of special ed and the IEP process; sample IEP forms and letters; organization and planning tips; a listing of support groups, advocacy organizations and federal and state departments of education. Laws and procedures change frequently, and regulations can be different from state to state, so new editions are printed periodically. You can even take advantage of an "update service" that offers a 35% discount on any future purchases.
This is quite possibly the best resource available for assistance in navigating the path of the IEP process, so that you feel more in control of the situation. Although no published material can completely replace a knowledgeable expert or lawyer, I am now confident that I have sufficient knowledge of the IEP process to be able to be an effective advocate for my child.

Good overview, but doesn't replace having an advocate/lawyer 2002-06-12
This guide provides a good overview of the special education and IEP process, as well as some sample forms and letters. It also usefully collects the relevant federal statutes and regulations. But I found the descriptions of the process to be quite different from what happens here in D.C., so that ultimately its utility was somewhat limited. There is, perhaps, no solution to this -- the book can't be written for every school district in the country. So while the book is useful, in many areas you will be well served to hire a special ed consultant and/or attorney.

EXCELLENT RESOURCE!! 2002-05-13
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT RESOUCE BOOK FOR THE PERSON WHO IS A FIRST TIMER FOR IEP MEETINGS AS WELL AS FOR THE SEASONES VETERANS. I REVIEW IT FOR EACH IEP MEETING. IT IS ONE OF THOSE MUST HAVE BOOKS.

Wonderfurl Resource 2002-03-15
This book has been a wonderful resource as we have journied through the special education system. I bought this book because we were struggling to get our school system to recognize the many difficulties of having a child with bipolar disorder and severe learning difficulties. I really like the forms and easy to use charts.