Turning 18 can be an exciting and scary time for you and your child. They are becoming an adult and, unless you become their guardian, they will be expected to make educational decisions on their own.

What will that look like?

Your child will receive the notices that there will be an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. This means that they will be responsible for agreeing or disagreeing with a new IEP and will need to invite you to the IEP meeting in order for you to attend. They will also grant permission to be reevaluated for special education or to change their educational placement.

You can still help your child make good decisions and learn how to advocate for themselves. To support them, you can:

• Encourage them to participate in planning their IEP and even leading the IEP meeting. You can do this before they turn 18.
• Role-play IEP meetings ahead of time to help them clarify what they want from the meeting. Practice how to step out of the meeting to discuss a decision in private.
• Ask them if they want to invite anyone to the meeting for support. They can invite you or other adults to attend.
• Help them develop good working relationships with school personnel and other IEP team members.

Your role is to help your child become comfortable making their own decisions and capable of making good choices. Children develop decision-making skills over time, so begin as young as possible.