Source: Special Ed Resource.com

I’ll never forget the first time I had one of my high school students give a presentation at their IEP Meeting. It was a simple enough task to implement - during my standard 1:1 pre-IEP meeting with the student, I proposed the idea, created a google slides template, and asked them to answer some questions about themselves and share it at the meeting. They agreed.

It was little more than an introduction and the first part of the IEP transition plan, lasting less than three minutes. Yet, it created a powerful tone for the meeting, and left an impression on everyone who attended. It grounded the work we were doing in a real, whole, competent, and complex individual. It forced all stakeholders to slow down, to address the student directly, and to honor their voice at the table.