One of the toughest challenges parents of students with disabilities face is how to navigate the public education system to secure the best education for their children. As The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child 6th ed. makes clear, it’s no easy task, but it can be done.

IEP Education Issues
The book leads off with the basics: what is special education, what is an IEP or individual education plan, how to become your child’s strongest advocate, and how to reach out to others for help and expertise.

It then provides a highly detailed action plan for such tasks as obtaining your child’s school records, getting organized, developing your child’s IEP “blueprint” or education plan, working effectively with the IEP education evaluator, dealing with eligibility requirements, and understanding your school district’s options and how to work with them. Especially valuable, a separate chapter is devoted to how to develop, draft, and write effective goals.

The IEP Action Plan
The next chapters deal with working collaboratively with the IEP education team to advocate for your child: preparing for and attending the IEP meeting, resolving IEP disputes through established processes, and when, how, and where to file a complaint.

Concluding chapters address the role of lawyers and the legal process, should this knowledge become necessary, and information about joining or forming parent groups.

A Trusted IEP Education Resource for Students with Disabilities
A combination of wise coaching, practical resources such as checklists and tear-out forms, and additional information sources, the sixth edition of The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child continues its role as being the “go-to” source for parents of students with disabilities who want to become the strongest advocates possible for those children.

The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child 6th ed., by Lawrence M. Siegel. NOLO, 2009. 384p. ISBN 1413309305.