7 Habits of Highly Effective IEP Teams

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7 Habits of Highly Effective IEP Teams

• With special thanks to
• Stephen Covey
• (author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)

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Habit 1 Be proactive

• Taking initiative does not mean being pushy,
  obnoxious, or aggressive. It does mean
  recognizing our responsibility to make things
  happen."

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What Can You Do to Be Proactive?

• ? Keep information organized in a
  binder.

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What Can You Do to Be Proactive contd?

• ?

Start preparing weeks in advance.
Prior to the IEP
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What Can You Do to Be Proactive contd?

• ? Do your homework.

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What Can You Do to Be Proactive contd?

• ? Suggest the use of a common
• planning format.

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What Can You Do to Be Proactive contd?

• ? Determine who is to assist your child in
  preparing for and participating in the IEP.

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What Can You Do to Be Proactive contd?

• ? Volunteer to distribute and collect
• the preplanning forms.
• Even better, suggest to your child
• that he/she distribute and collect
• the preplanning forms.

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What Can You Do to Be Proactive contd?

• ? Ask that copies of all paperwork be provided
  to everyone in advance of the meeting.

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What Can You Do to Be Proactive contd?

• ? Share the recommendations that your are
  going to make with the IEP team in advance.
• ? Ask what recommendations are likely
• to be made at the meeting by school
  personnel

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Habit 2 Begin with the end in mind

• "(This habit)...is based on imagination - the
  ability to envision, to see the potential, to
  create with our minds what we cannot at present
  see with our eyes..."

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Why do you begin with the end in mind?

• youve got to have a dream. If you dont
  have a dream, how you gonna talk about dreams
  come true? If you dont talk happy and youve got
  no dreams, then you never gonna have a dream come
  true.
• Happy Talk
• South Pacific
• Oscar Hammerstein II

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How do you begin with the end in mind?

• Write down your dreams, your vision for your
  childs future, your goals . Frame it. Share it.
  Get others to invest in it with you.
• As your child gets older change the
  dream/goals to reflect what he or she wants.
• When you decide upon where it is you are trying
  to get to, the IEP becomes an individualized
  roadmap.

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Activity Wide Awake Dreams
School dreams
Future dreams
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Habit 3 Put first things first

• "Create a clear, mutual understanding of what
  needs to be accomplished, focusing on what, not
  how results not methods. Spend time. Be patient.
  Visualize the desired result."

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Decide what your priorities are

• What is a priority?
• A priority is something or someone that is rated
  uniquely important based on one's values and
  goals (dreams).

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How do you prioritize?

• Think about desired outcomes based on your goals
  or dreams for the future.

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How do you prioritize ?

• 2. Write them down

Future Dreams
Desired Outcomes this year
Important 2/4
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How do you prioritize contd?

• 3. Plot them on the chart below

Traffic safety
Important
?
?
Sorting shapes
Zippering jacket
?
Not important
Urgent
Not urgent
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Habit 4 Think win-win

• "Win-Win is a frame of mind that constantly seeks
  mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win-Win
  means that agreements or solutions are mutually
  beneficial and satisfying."

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How do you negotiate in a win-win way?

• Paint a person-centered picture of your child.
• Describe your childs needs based on the years
  that you have known your child.
• Dont be afraid to share your dreams for your
  childs future.
• Know what you want and what you give on.

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How do you negotiate in a win-win way contd ?

• At the meeting begin by thanking people for
  their efforts on your childs behalf.

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How do you negotiate in a win-win way contd ?

• Keep the focus on what is appropriate for your
  child.

I know we all want what is best for Joey!
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How do you negotiate in a win-win way contd ?

• Bring a picture of Suzie if Suzie isnt present
  herself.

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How do you negotiate in a win-win way contd ?

• Serve refreshments.

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How do you negotiate in a win-win way contd ?

• Work to develop a collaborative relationship even
  before the meeting.
• Share with your childs case manager the concerns
  you will be sharing at the meeting, and the
  requests you will be making
• Complete preplanning forms and make sure they get
  to team members before the meeting

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Activity Characteristics of Collaboration

• Connected and successful?
• or
• Isolated and removed?

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Habit 5 Seek first to understand, then to be
understood

• We typically seek first to be understood. Most
  people do not listen with the intent to
  understand they listen with the intent to reply.
  They're either speaking or pre-paring to speak.
  They're filtering every-thing through their own
  experience.

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How do you listen with the goal of understanding?

• Make eye contact
• Clear your mind of other things
• Ask for further explanation if you are unclear on
  what is being said
• Specifically ask that jargon and acronyms not be
  used
• Bring a friend to take notes for you so that you
  can be fully present in the discussion

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Activity Active Listening

• Choose a partner
• Share information
• Report back and check for accuracy

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Habit 6 Synergize

• "Synergy works it's a correct principle. It is
  the crowning achievement of all the previous
  habits. It is effectiveness in an interdependent
  reality-- it is team-work, team building, the
  develop-ment of unity and creativity with other
  human beings."

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Activity Together We Are Better

• Individually count the number of squares in the
  following slide
• When I tell you to get with a partner and compare
  your numbers
• Adjust your answer if you want to as a team

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Help your team synergize

1. Encourage the input of all team members by
   suggesting that a preplanning process be used
2. Use a round robin approach to encourage
   participation by all team members
3. Unless there is a really great reason for
   excusing an IEP team member from the meeting, ask
   that everyone be present
4. Ask for written contributions in advance if a
   team member cant attend

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Habit 7 Sharpen the saw

• "This is the habit of renewal...It circles and
  embodies all the other habits. It is the habit of
  continuous improvement... that lifts you to new
  levels of under-standing and living each of the
  habits."

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Practical Tips for Habit 7

• Take time to celebrate!
• Share stories -- funny and serious
• Offer words of appreciation
• Acknowledge gifts and talents of all team members
  
• Renew commitment to the journey