What Happens When They Leave?

A senior whom I case manage came up to me and asked me a very simple and thoughtful question: “Who is my “IEP person” when I get to college?” Jasmine’s question was met with a very harsh response, as the truth was: “well… You!”.

The Truth: Jasmine is like every senior who gets learning or other support services from their school personnel (private or public). Case managers hold all the pieces together for their students by managing their IEPs. Case managers help students identify appropriate schedules for courses, create meaningful goals, monitor these goals, keep track of accommodations and make sure those accommodations are being provided. But what happens when that doesn’t exist for them after they leave high school? The simple truth: no one other than themselves.

What I Suggest: The good news: this harsh reality is something you can prepare your senior for. More general suggestions include: scaffolding the support so more responsibility falls on the student, have students run portions of their IEPs, and encourage them to ask for support directly and specifically. However, I suggest you do a bit more. Have your senior ask themselves the questions that case mangers ask themselves. Have your child put themselves in their case manager’s shoes. For example, I, as a case manager may ask “when does it make sense for me to schedule Jasmine’s extended time for the in class English essay coming up this week?”. Jasmine can ask herself the same question, but replacing “Jasmine” with “my” or “I”. Through repetition, students will learn how to ask themselves the right questions to then advocate for their needs. A sample of such questions that case managers ask each week that seniors can start asking themselves are:

• What is my load this week? 
• When should I schedule my extended time?
• What accommodations do I anticipate I’ll need?

Reply to this post if you’d like more example questions case managers ask themselves that your child can start asking themselves today.