Raising children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) requires unconventional parenting. To discover different ways to support my son and daughter with their challenging symptoms, I stumbled upon a service dog agency that trains dogs for children and veterans. The decision to pursue a service dog for my daughter in 2013 changed our family immeasurably.
When general education teachers feel overwhelmed and unprepared to support students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), the benefits of inclusion can be significantly undermined. To truly embrace inclusion, we must think beyond the logistics of classroom placement and actively cultivate a learning environment where the diverse needs of all learners are acknowledged, affirmed, and celebrated as essential to the vitality and health of our schools.
FASD-informed IEPs utilize brain-based approaches to understanding, supporting, and deciding upon appropriate interventions that address the unique needs of the individual. By first understanding how FASD impacts the brain’s – and the rest of the body’s – development, we can tailor the various sections of the IEP to address the student’s unique needs.
Individualized Education Programs (IEP) are both the foundation and culmination of team effort to address the needs of a student with a disability. There are many components to an IEP and seemingly as many acronyms. Many terms are used frequently but not necessarily defined meticulously and therefore some inadvertently become misused. Baseline and Present Level of Performance, for example, are often referred to interchangeably. This is understandable, as they are often closely related. There are, however, important distinctions between the two terms; they are not actually synonymous.
