Empowering Self-Advocacy: Building Student-Led ‘IEP at a Glance’ and Sensory Profiles

Presenter(s)

Event Details

Topic:

accessibility & UDL

Format:

networking session / discussion

Subject Level:

intermediate

Age Span:

grades 7-12
adult

Target Audience:

educator
family member / caregiver
occupational therapist
paraprofessional
special educator

Professional Development Credits

IACET CEUs:

0.01

ACVREP CEs:

1

Presentation Length: 1 hour

Location:

Plaza 6

Description:

Self-determination begins with self-awareness. For many students with disabilities, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a document “done to them” rather than “with them”. This session introduces a unit of instruction designed to move students into the driver’s seat of their own education. Participants will explore a curriculum that teaches students to identify their disabilities, decode their own IEP goals, and articulate their personal strengths and sensory needs.
We will demonstrate how students use these lessons to create a final “IEP at a Glance” or “Personal Sensory Profile”—a portable, student-created tool designed to be shared with teachers, employers, and support staff. This session highlights how these artifacts foster independence and ensure that necessary accommodations are understood and implemented across academic, social, and vocational settings.

Learning Outcomes:

As a result of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Identify three evidence-based strategies for teaching students about their specific learning differences and legal rights to accommodations.

• Describe the process of guiding students through the creation of a "Personal Sensory Profile" to communicate environmental and sensory needs.

• Draft a lesson plan outline that integrates student participation in IEP goal development and progress monitoring.

Disclosures:

None
None