Diane Twachtman-Cullen - The iep from a to z: how to create meaningful and measurable goals and objectives

More Praise for The IEP From A to Z

This is a must-own manual for anyone involved in IEP development and special education instruction. It goes far beyond the standard academic goals to address all the knottiest skill deficits that make learning so challenging for students with ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, language disabilities and nonverbal learning disorder. I get asked all the time about how to write IEP goals for this population. I finally have the resource I need. This book not only provides a clear-eyed understanding of the IEP process; it also provides a multitude of concrete examples of IEP goals and objectives as well as nuggets of wisdom regarding teaching strategies. No special education team should be without this book.

Peg Dawson, Ed.D., author, Smart But Scattered: The Revolutionary Executive Skills Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential

Finally, a much-needed book to guide parents and teachers through the rigors of creating IEPs. This book offers a blueprint for constructing IEPs that will be useful and not just another exercise. The authors provide us with templates and examples that work in the real world of the classroom. Anyone involved in this processparents, students, teachers, and other professionalsshould have this book on their shelves.

John J. Ratey , M.D., clinical associate professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

This book will be a practical and invaluable resource for professionals and parents challenged with writing meaningful and functional IEPs for a range of students with developmental challenges.

Barry M. Prizant , Ph.D., CCC-SLP, adjunct professor, Center for the Study of Human Development, Brown University

Jossey-Bass Teacher

Jossey-Bass Teacher provides educators and parents with practical knowledge and tools to create a positive and lifelong impact on student learning. We offer classroom-tested and research-based teaching resources for a variety of grade levels and subject areas. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or another professional working with children in grades K-12, we want to help you make every learning experience successful.

From ready-to-use learning activities to the latest teaching framework, our value-packed books provide insightful, practical, and comprehensive materials on the topics that matter most. We hope to become your trusted source for the best ideas from the most experienced and respected experts in the field.

Copyright 2011 by Diane Twachtman-Cullen and Jennifer Twachtman-Bassett. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Twachtman-Cullen, Diane.

The IEP from A to Z : how to create meaningful and measurable objectives / Diane

Twachtman-Cullen, Jennifer Twachtman-Bassett. 2nd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-56234-5 (pbk.), 978-1-118-01565-0 (ebk.), 978-1-118-01566-7 (ebk.), 978-1-118-01567-4 (ebk.)

1. Individualized education programsUnited States. 2. Children with disabilitiesEducationUnited States. 3. Educational tests and measurementsUnited States.

I. Twachtman-Bassett, Jennifer. II. Title.

LC4031.T94 2011

371.90973dc22

2010051343

Diane Twachtman-Cullen

To my precious grandchildren Alex, Grace, Ali, and Lindsey

You have enriched my life in every way imaginable.

Jennifer Twachtman-Bassett

To my precious children Grace and Lindsey

You have taught me that every moment counts.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the students who inspired this work, and to their families who give eloquent voice to their children's right to a free appropriate public education. For those educators, clinicians, and enlightened administrators who have the best educational interests of their students at heart and will go the extra mile even if it means more paperwork, you have our unending admiration and respect. At the very top of that list is Nancy Redmond, Assistant Director of Exceptional Student Education and Student Services for the Volusia County Public Schools in Florida. It was Nancy who said, The two of you should write a book about the IEP. We are grateful to her for the prompt, the example she has set, and her friendship. Thanks also go to the Volusia County Public Schools and ESE staff for their support of our work, and most particularly for giving us the opportunity to address IEP development for parents and school personnel. We are particularly grateful to Heather Cullen and Sandra Rodrigue for providing the critical resource material that has made such a difference in this book. Special thanks go to Pat Rasch for all of her hard work in the initial stages of this project, and to Paul Collins for his invaluable input regarding children with emotional problems. We also extend our appreciation to Alma Bair, parent extraordinaire, for her very kind comments about the original book and for her excellent suggestions and guidance regarding this one. We are deeply indebted to the wonderful crew at Jossey-Bass/Wiley: to Marjorie McAneny for seeing this project through from A to Z (pun intended!); editorial assistant Tracy Gallagher for all of her hard work; Pamela Berkman for everything she has done to see this project through to completion; Sandra Beris for her excellent copyediting (it can't be easy to edit editors!); and Michael Cook for his exquisite we loved it the minute we saw it cover design. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to those all-important people involved in the end game: Rebecca Still, Dimi Berkner, Hunter Stark, Sophia Ho, and Cheryl Duksta. Finally, we extend our deepest appreciation to Peter W. D. Wright, Esquire, for his superb foreword. We are humbled to have the imprimatur of a man who has been at the very center of special education law in this country, and one who has done so much to help students receive appropriate education that is individualized to their needs.