{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F6a23ea6e-8af3-46ff-bbe5-3233936b1834","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"Three Things I Bring to an MDR","description":"A Manifestation Determination Review is a nice safeguard in special education. IDEA and state laws require IEP teams to meet when a child with a known or suspected disability faces a cumulative of ten days of suspension in a school year. That meeting is the MDR. There are three things I always try to bring to an MDR, and I walk you through them in today\u2019s podcast episode. When I get a client with an MDR, I always start with the evaluation report from diagnosis- the one that describes the child\u2019s profile exhaustively and also provides the analysis of how the disability affects the child. This report is so, so helpful. As an aside, if you haven\u2019t given this/ these to your child\u2019s school team, do it now regardless of whether you\u2019re preparing for an MDR. You also ask current and past providers for raw data from evaluations (those Vanderbilt forms can have so much information sometimes), therapy notes, etc. The next thing I request is a current report from a treating provider. These reports often analyze the child\u2019s current struggles, often compared to past struggles, and provides opinions on whether the behavior that occurred at school is a manifestation of the child\u2019s disability. I walk you through how to ask your child\u2019s providers for this report in the episode. Finally, I like to go through school records- evaluation reports, therapy notes, communication with teachers, disciplinary records, etc- to look for other descriptions of a child\u2019s behavior. I take the documentation that I\u2019ve gathered, often highlight the pertinent parts, and send it to school, usually before the meeting so that the school team can also prepare for the meeting. You don\u2019t get much notice of an MDR, so it\u2019s wise to always be prepared!!! \r\n","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/54b77ad6-0772-44e1-8f8e-d83249f40423/8652091-1599164556720-78131d67c4efc.jpg"}