More serious IEP preparations....

On a more serious note, after I get in a good mood from watching my favorite ladies from Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid at their IEP meeting, reading the humor of Dr. Seuss' IEP, and deciding where I think I am going to be on the meter scale, there are some other things I do to prepare....

1. I always bring a notebook and a few pens with me. 
2. I write down a list of questions and concerns I have.
3. I type up the agenda for the meeting.  (Yes, through the years I've learned to run them lol.)
4. I go over his current IEP and testing. 
5. To make that easier, I have three, 3-ring binders.  One has his current IEP, most recent testing, lab results, IEEs, Other things that state his diagnoses, and other up-to-date info.  Binder #2 has his old IEPs, old testing, old hospitalization records, etc.  Binder #3 is the state laws, regulations, info on hospitals, schools, out of district placements, etc if we ever need it.  Binder #1 always comes to every meeting with me.  I keep a hand out of the state regs in there too for quick reference. 
6. I bring my favorite IEP books with me: The Complete IEP Guide by Lawrence Seigel and Wright's Law. 
7. I review From Emotions to Advocacy  every few months (Which in fact is long overdo so I shall bring it camping with me, to begin reading it over the Summer again, but tonight I might scan through it). 
8. Go over lists of possible accommodations such as these: School Behavior tips for children with mood disorders; Tips for students with Asperger's; and  The "Education Corner" of the TBMF website.
9. Begin the meeting on a good note.  It gets everyone in a better mood and relieves some stress.  Think (Sometimes very hard) about something that somebody on the IEP team did right.  For example Mrs Understanding and his 1:1 are really good with Honeybunches' so I might make a comment about something I liked recently, or just say a general "Thank You" to everyone on the team for all they did all year for him. 

Tomorrow's meeting is going to be easy, but I thought I'd give some tips that might help others.  Some other websites with info about IEPs I've found helpful are:
http://www.specialed.us/pl-07/pl07-ieppro.html
http://www.ldonline.org
http://www.bridges4kids.org
http://www.familiesofkids.org/education.html#L006

State SPED Timelines can be found here...

Articles about increasing teacher awareness of Bipolar Disorder in children:
http://www.thebalancedmind.org/learn/library/an-educators-guide-to-pediatric-bipolar-disorder
http://www.thebalancedmind.org/sites/default/files/edbrochure.pdf
http://www.bpchildren.org/files/Download/Educator.pdf
http://www.studentsfirstproject.org/documents/Bipolardisorderfactsheet_000.pdf
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder-in-children-and-teens-easy-to-read/index.shtml
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/principals/bipolar.pdf
http://www.familiesofkids.org/education.html
http://www.visualspatial.org/Kids/vslkids.htm

I didn't include much info about Autism Awareness in this post, because it seems that teachers understand that more than Bipolar now-a-days.  Plus Honeybunches' teacher has a son with Autism, so she "Get's it" or at least that part of his alphabet soup.  Teachers seem to know about ADHD (Which they are always questioning why I don't medicate with stimulants... UGH) and Sensory Processing Disorder.  It's the BP part of him that makes the teachers scratch their heads as they wonder what to do with him sometimes lol.