IFSP stands for Individual Family Service Plan. It is the legal document that determines services for children birth to age three. IEP stand for Individual Education Plan. It is the legal document that determines educational services for children from age three through twenty-one. Both are created by a team. The IFSP team consists of the parents, service coordinator and other related service providers as necessary. The IEP team consists of parents, the student, regular education teachers, special education teacher, school district representative, and other related service providers. It is important for team members to learn how to collaborate, compromise and function as a team. You, as a parent, are a vital part of the team, you know your child better than anyone does. Everyone on the team brings his or her own knowledge and perspectives and sharing those ideas can produce the most effective program for your child. There are lots of articles in this section, both on the legal aspects of special education and on ways to have effective teams

The links below give ideas and helps on how to have an effective team, explain more about special education and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), give suggestions for modifying IEP's, give information about services for children birth through five, including information on the IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan), and services for children five through twenty-two including the IEP (Individualized Education Plan).

“Advice on Marriage and Teaming” is a humorous article that gives good ideas on what teams should and shouldn't do.

“TEAM” is an article giving ideas on how to increase team effectiveness.

“Principles of Effective Collaboration” is a list of things that teams must have to collaborate effectively

“Assertiveness is…” gives ideas on how to be assertive without being aggressive.

“Seven Habits of Highly Effective IEP Teams” takes Steven Coveys principles of seven highly effective habits and applies them to IEP's.

“Joseph's Coat: People Teaming in Transdisciplinary Ways ” is an article from See/Hear newsletter about teaming.

“Tips for Getting What your Child Needs” is a list of ideas and suggestions for preparing for the IEP and for the actual IEP meeting

“Maintaining a Home-School Relationship” is a California Deaf-blind fact sheet. Having a good relationship between home and school is very important and this sheet gives ideas to help the relationship.

Special education and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), IEP's, IFSP's

“Common Health/Disability Acronyms” is a list of acronyms and their meanings. It sometimes seems like Special Education people are speaking a different language with all the acronyms that they use.

“Dictionary of Terms Used in Special Education” is a list of words used in special education and their meanings.

NICHCY Connections... to Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)

“Documenting Modifications in the IEP for the Student with Deaf-Blindness” is an article from the See/Hear newsletter. It talks about the modifications and adaptations that are necessary for children with deafblindness to access information.

“Teaching Strategies and Content Modifications for the Child with Deafblindness” is an article from the See/Hear newsletter. It talks about specific strategies and modifications for the child with visual impairments, the child with hearing impairments and the child with deafblindness. It explains how the child with deafblindness will need a lot more modifications than the child with a visual or hearing impairment.

“Accessing Programs for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers with Disabilities” is a publication from NICHCY. It is not specific to deafblindness but gives a good overview for parents about services for children birth to five.

“Developing your Child's IEP” another one from NICHCY

DISH stands for Deafblind Intervention Strategies for the Home,
click here for the intro and index page