Visit your child’s teachers in they are in the building. Present small gifts, and then make sure that they are aware of the content of your child’s IEP and have your contact information. If they have a tendency to contact you too much, which often happens, make the circumstances clear that you wish to be called.

To prepare your child, and decrease his or her level of anxiety, I suggest that you have a “focused conversation”. This strategy comes from the Institute of Cultural Affairs. The strategy involves asking your child four sets of questions – flowing from the past to the future.

The first set of questions is designed to begin the process of thinking about the topic. These questions should be easy to answer, concrete and objective. A sample question might be “What were some of the things your class did last year?” or even simpler “Who was in your class?”

The next set of questions is focused around reflections and feelings. Sample questions might include, “What was really easy for you last year?” or “What was really difficult?” To probe deeper, you might ask, “What did your teacher or classmates do that made you feel appreciated?” or “What are you most doubtful about in the coming year?”

The third set is actually the type of question we usually first jump to. These are interpretive questions. It’s tempting to jump right to these questions because they begin to address the problem. Without first focusing on the feelings, however, the action to the problem or issue may be inappropriate. Interpretive questions in this scenario include, “What kinds of changes would be helpful to you in the classroom?” or “What is the main challenge for you in…(classroom, cafeteria, recess, etc)?”