IEP Interpretation Services in North Vancouver

Has your son or daughter recently undergone a Psychological Educational Assessment? If so, you may be wondering what’s next.

When children struggle to adapt to the expectations of their school teachers, many phone calls and e-mails arrive from the teachers, asking, sometimes demanding that the parent help the child make the necessary adjustments – basically, they are asked to get their child to ‘straighten up and fly right’.

In a school system that is overburdened with curriculum demands, classes that are too big, and budgets that are too small, the child who doesn’t conform is often seen as the ‘problem’ child.

This is an enormous burden for everyone – the child, the parents, the other students, and the teacher.

And so, counsellors and administrators may suggest that the child undergo an evaluation called a ‘Psych-Ed’, to determine the scope of the challenges that the child may be struggling with, and provide recommendations designed to enable to child to succeed in the classroom.

These recommendations are called an IEP, or Individual Education Plan. Adaptations that can be made in the classroom are clearly defined so that teachers can really help the child learn to the best of his or her ability.

Unfortunately, the Psych-Ed itself can cause problems. Too often, the language used in the assessment is difficult for parents and teachers to understand. Scales and comparisons to percentiles can be misconstrued, and worse yet, teachers often don’t see the IEP for many months after it has been created. Parents are asked to sign the IEP, but frequently don’t have any idea what they are signing. They are just crossing their fingers and hoping that this will stop the frustrations their child has been experiencing.

More importantly, however, children who are recommended for a Psych-Ed often have to wait for many months, sometimes greater than a year, to actually see the counsellor who conducts the assessment. And then more time elapses before the recommendations are presented.

In this cycle of bureaucratic red tape and delays around Individual Education Plans, there is hope!

Fun-Wey has recently formed an alliance with a highly credentialed professional who not only conducts Psych Ed assessments, but interprets them – in plain ENGLISH!! Norlan Cabot has been working with children in the British Columbia school system for almost 30 years. She has a compassion for parents and teachers and children alike, who all want the same thing – success for every student. Norlan can help you speed through the process without getting tangled up in frustrating delays. And she’ll walk with you each step of the way, so that you know exactly what to do next.

If your child has been labouring under a burden of ‘not fitting in’, ‘not getting it’, or is struggling with ADD, ADHD or any of the other numerous childhood malfunctions, give us a call. We will set up a consultation with Norlan to help you decide your next best step.

We look forward to helping you and your child!