Interview with Joseph

Interview with Joseph

Previous studies have shown that interventions have the ability to work positively for students that are faced with disability challenges. This is because there is a room created for concentrating on the needs of the students in question. The environments in which they are placed play a major role in determining whether they manage to achieve the results that children of their age tend to actualize. Individualized Education Program (IEP) has been touted among the most successful interventions for students experiencing various developmental and learning delays. An IEP is more of a document prepared for public school students that have been deemed eligible for special education.  IEP tends to outline various learning needs that a student has and the actions that would be taken to ensure that these needs have been attained.  There is also an outline of how the progress being attained would be measured. The IEP is normally composed of different members that have certain knowledge regarding the issues surrounding the child that is experiencing the disabilities. Among the key members is the parent (s), general education teacher, psychologist, special education teacher, speech pathologist and a representative from the school district among others.

In this case, the parent involved with the IEP is called Joseph. He is a member of the team and contributes in various ways based on his ability. The student in question is Grace. Joseph explains that he realized Grace had some problems as she grew up since she did not seem to follow a similar developmental progress as her peers. She has shown difficulties when it comes to adaptive skills, writing, reading, oral language and simple mortal skills.

Joseph outlines that among his major role is the provision of information about Grace. He has lived with her since she was born, so he knows a lot about her. He is a single father, so he has the opportunity of spending more time with her daughter than anyone else in her life. Joseph provides information to other team members on what works for Grace and what does not work. This is based on what he has experienced in the past. Joseph is also involved with the provision of consent on issues involving the IEP. The first time that he provided the consent was before the initiation of the program. It is mandatory for any IEP to be conducted after the parent’s consent has been provided.

According to Joseph, the team meets once every year. The meetings provide room for the assessment of the progress that has been attained with the implementation of the program. The team discusses whether there is any need to make changes to the program or just leave it as it is. This is based on whether Grace is showing positive changes or not. Joseph states that he also meets with Grace’s teacher from time to time. He does not specify how often though. During these meetings, he is advised on the progress being attained and the things that he can do as a way of offering support.

Joseph says that he is very comfortable while contributing in these meetings. “It is my daughter that we are talking about. I would do anything to ensure that she achieves the best that she can in life since she is the person that I love the most in the whole world.” Those were his exact words.

He says that based on his observations during the meetings, the process is not more concerned with the completion of paperwork as the main priority. Joseph believes that the actions of the other team members indicate that they are focusing their attention on helping his daughter move forward. He says that the members are very inquisitive regarding many issues affecting Grace. They normally want to get all the information before they move forward. This is an indication of people that are ready to ensure that Grace benefits from the program as much as possible. The attribute is very comforting to him as a father.

Joseph believes that Grace has gained in various ways since she was subjected to the Individualized Education Program. There are various improvements that are quite obvious to anyone that had spent some time with her before the program was initiated. Grace has improved tremendously in her speech prospects. She was having major problems with oral language initially. This is something that the speech pathologist mentioned during the previous meeting since it is quite obvious. Her reading and writing abilities have improved too. The progress is not that much, but it is significant given the circumstances.  Joseph outlines that Grace’s adaptive skills have also improved since she can take care of herself. Initially, she used to worry a lot when she was out playing with peers because of the injuries that she used to get. He is happy based on the positive progress achieved so far and hopes for things to be even better with time.

Joseph does not seem to have any concerns regarding the program. The milestones that Grace has achieved work as an encouragement to him that everything is working appropriately. His major suggestion is on the frequency of the meetings involving all the team members. Joseph thinks that the members should be meeting more than once in a year for significant progress to be realized. This is because the things that are not working can be mitigated immediately without having to wait for a long time to do it.

 
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