November 27, 2006

I held my best MAPS/IEP session to this point. The student, his mother, his speech therapist, transition and job experience coordinator, specially designed phy ed teacher and myself met to discuss our student. Everyone shared information freely, and I felt I really began to understand the student. I realized that his mother was very informed on his options for the future, and she was really looking ahead at the options available. She told us that she had some new ideas based on the meeting. The student said, "I wish IEPs did not take forever!" His mother said, "It was really nice. Different people had different ideas. It makes it all a little more personal. It gave some time for (the student) to have a little input. It was more spontaneous for him." This session was the longest yet at almost two hours, but I really felt that it was worth it to truly understand this student better. He is a very unique individual, and we all walked away with more understanding. I also had input from one of his regular education teachers, which is not always the case. Everyone seemed much more involved than in traditional meetings.

MAPS Number 3

I used the MAPS process for a third time last week. Using the process again helped me find out a large amount of the history behind my students and their abilities. It continues to give a positive format to my IEP meetings. I will be trying the process again this week. This time it will be for a student who has more people involved on his IEP team. I am looking forward to seeing how it works out.

The History of MAPS

MAPS was developed out of the movement of Person Centered Planning, which focuses on the individual and centers all educational planning on the individual student. MAPS was developed in 1989 by Marsha Forest, Jack Pearpoint, Judith Snow and Evelyn Lusthaus. The need for MAPS came from the need to support students with severe and profound disabilities. It was also developed to assist in the inclusion of students with disabilities in the regular education classroom and the general school community.

My Second Try at MAPS

For my second MAPS meeting, the parent told me she could not participate in the meeting itself, no matter when the meeting was held due to health concerns. I sent home the questions, she filled them out, and she returned them to me. The student and I then met and discussed the questions, as well as his and mom's responses. The information was compiled and used in planning the IEP.

Without the mother being present for the discussion, not as much information was obtained as in my previous MAPS session. However, I did receive information about the mother's hopes and dreams, as well as her future plans for her son. This type of information has not been available in the past if a parent did not attend the meeting. The process still allowed for input, even when an individual can not be physically present.

So, What is MAPS?

MAPS is a process to plan for a student's future by asking questions. I tend to call my method "Modified MAPS" since I do not exactly follow the MAPS process. Either way, MAPS is meant to be a positive experience.

In a traditional MAPS session, there are two facilitators. One leads the discussion, asking questions and probing when given answers by individuals at the meeting. The second person records the information received during a MAPS session. Usually this information is recorded on large pieces of paper that are hung in the room so all members of the team can see the information. It can last between one and two hours, and it has an informal format. The time is spent discussing the student, rather than dealing with the formal paperwork of the IEP meeting.

During my "Modified MAPS" session, I am the only facilitator. I ask people to think about the questions prior to the meeting, so everyone comes in prepared to discuss. I record information on a paper chart that can later be copied and distributed to other team members. In the future I plan to send the chart home with the set of questions and asking people to respond by listing changes to their past views. Following the MAPS session, we go directly into formulating goals and evaluating past goals to see if they still apply. The information from the MAPS session is all transferred to the IEP in various locations. This process takes about an hour to complete, although it can go longer depending on the number of participants and the range of needs of the student.

MAPS asks a series of questions including the following: What is the students background? What is your dream for the student? What is your nightmare for the student? Who is the student? What are the student's strengths, gifts and abilities? What are the students needs? What else should we know about this student? What would your ideal day look like for the student? Is there anything else we should know about the student?

The process also asks the students, parents and others involved to look ahead to the individual at age 26. What kind of academic skills will this person have? What type of work will this person be preparing for or doing? Where will this person live? What kind of activities will this person do? What kind of relationships will this person have?

My First MAPS Meeting

I held my first MAPS meeting on October 18, 2006. Prior to the meeting, I met with the student and asked him a series of questions. I sent a similar set of questions home to his mother and a community support person who works with the student. I also answered a set of the questions. When we came together at the meeting, each person had a set of questions and answers about our student. We went around the table answering questions and discussing the student. Based on knowledge of the student, and the length of time each individual knew the student, responses were given first by the student, then the parent, then the service provider, and finally me. I learned many new things about the student that I never would have learned using the traditional approach to IEP meetings. Preparing this student for the future and ensuring we were addressing his future needs was the focus of the entire meeting. As the student, parent and service provider left the meeting, all involved stated that they planned to work on the goals across settings. They left with smiles on their faces as they said, "It was a really good meeting. Thank you."

Why I Needed to Change

On October 17, 2006, I was asking a student questions from a student MAPS worksheet. There were two other students in the classroom, and they asked me what we were doing. I told them we were getting ready for the student's IEP meeting. The other students told me that they do not like IEP meetings. One comment from a student was, "I do not like to feel like I am getting yelled at." The other student chimed in, "Yeah, it feel like we are in trouble." The first student said, "I also do not like hearing I read at a third grade level. I know I have trouble reading. I do not need to hear that it is third grade." I told the students that I was doing IEP meetings a little bit differently. This discussion put words to the general feeling I had regarding IEP meetings in the past. Students did not feel involved in the process, and it was not a positive process for them. Parents also frequently were not active members in the process. I wanted more involvement from all team members, with an increased focus on transition and student need based future planning.