• Look at your child’s schoolwork daily, if possible, and talk to her about school activities.
  • Get your child to school on time every day.
  • Be sure your child is eating and sleeping well so that she has energy for the activities of the school day.
  • Help your child be prepared for school by reviewing homework, asking questions about the next day’s activities, and providing a place for her to do homework or other school-related work and to keep her school materials.
  • Schedule a conference with the various education professionals who are working with your child on a regular basis—about every other month is a useful interval.
  • As your time permits, try to volunteer to help out at your child’s school or in her classroom.
  • Look at information that your child brings home from school and sign any forms as requested.
  • Let your child’s teacher know about any unusual behavior that your child displays at home.
  • Be willing to teach or reinforce some of the skills included in your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals. For example, you can help with some dressing or eating skills that have been identified as goals for your child. Giving her opportunities at home to practice certain skills may help her learn them more quickly.
  • If at any time you feel that the school is not focusing on the goals of your child’s IEP, ask for another IEP meeting or discuss your concerns with the school principal or another person familiar with special education services in your child’s school.
  • Ask a friend, other parents, or a parent group to talk with you about any issues you have with how your child’s IEP is being implemented. They may help you see the situation from another perspective or have ideas for dealing with it.
  • If you think you need mediation services to solve issues about your child’s IEP, you can request them at no cost to you. Mediation can help you and the school administration resolve any problems or misunderstandings in a productive and nonconfrontational way.

From A Parents’ Guide to Special Education for Children with Visual Impairments, edited by Susan LaVenture