One significant amendment to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA (see section on Legal Rights) demands that early intervention services be provided to families and children to the “maximum extent appropriate” in the child’s “natural environment.” This means that assistance should be provided at a place familiar to the child, such as the home, as oppose to being administered in a center. A "natural environment" for school-age child during the school year is in a classroom, so this mandate is indicative of IDEA’s ardent predilection toward placing children with disabilities in regular schools with their non-disabled colleagues.

As with all individuals, every child with a disability is unique – a fact which IDEA readily recognizes. As a result, the act demands that your child’s education be customized to meet his unique requirements. Based on his evaluation, a program will be designed to address your child’s specific developmental delay. This is called an Individualized Education Plan, but is more often referred to simply as an IEP. An IEP is a written report that outlines:

• your child’s current stage of development
• developmental strong points and setbacks
• specific educational services your child will be given
• immediate and annual objectives of the child’s special education program, as well as criterion for determining whether those objectives have been met
• the degree to which your child will be included in regular classrooms
• your child’s communication needs
• any concerns you may have as a parent
• a behavior intervention plan to ensure your child’s involvement in regular education classrooms without hindering his or other students’ ability to learn.

Under governmental policy, educational assignments must be founded in the IEP, not vice versa. In other words, your child is entitled to the services he requires in the appropriate setting as outlined in his IEP and should not be placed in a program based on availability. Parents, teachers, and other school district officials usually convene several times in order to develop a suitable IEP.

Drafting an IEP is preferably a collaborative endeavor, with parents, instructors, therapists, and school representatives deliberating which objectives are most appropriate for you child, and in what way they should be achieved. Due to the deep-seated emphasis IDEA puts on inclusion, regular education instructors (non special education) are obligated to be on IEP teams. Drafting an IEP should be a process – there will and should be many revisions to the plan. A final IEP will be an educational plan which is satifactory to all involved.

IEPs should be extremely clear and detailed. There should be exact objectives set for your child in all parts of their development, making sure to show how and when those objectives will be reached. It may seem like quite the difficult task to clearly lay out your child’s educational plans. A detailed IEP makes sure that your child will receive his prescribed services because it enables you to more narrowly look after the education your child is receiving. As your child grows and develops, his educational needs will no doubt change. For this reason, the law demands that an IEP be revisited at least once a year to make certain your child’s instruction continues to meet his ever-changing needs. Your child with cerebral palsy has individual needs that separate him from the rest of disabled children. Be sure that the people who draft your IEP are made aware of these needs and that the necessary services are authorized.

In order to establish placement in a specific kind of program, you should collect information that verifies and confirms your child’s special needs. Then present letters from physicians, therapists (occupational, physical, or language), developmental experts, instructors, psychologists, and other professionals that further support your position on which program would best suit your child’s needs. This extra work on your part may be what tips the scales in your favor for the decisions regarding your child’s education. You are working as an advocate for your child.

When you attend your child’s IEP meeting, make sure you bring someone along with you such as a spouse, friend, advocate, lawyer, teacher, etc. Take notes during the meeting, be assertive, and get everything in writing. As a parent, you know your child best, and therefore are your child’s most vital asset – you must be a strong advocate on her part during the IEP process.

Many years after your child has completed her IEP, and after she has completed her academic career, you will need to aid your child in setting up an occupation. When it comes time for your child to begin his professional life, he will likely profit from an Individualized Habilitation Plan, or an IHP.  The IHP describes the services a disabled person might need to work productively as well as the services he might need to live autonomously if that is what he would prefer. The way that the IHP is developed is similar to the manner in which an IEP is developed. Like an IEP helps your child get the most out of his education, the IHP helps him to get the best match in occupation and housing options available to him.