Never lived in Modesto but have been to IEP meetings in multiple school districts/states. I have two sons diagnosed with Autism and have been through COUNTLESS IEP meetings :)

In my experience they are looking for any information unique to your child. It will help to bring medical information like diagnoses documentation, evaluations, medication lists, etc...as well as regular stuff(like shot records, birth cert., etc...).

The best information you can bring is your special knowledge of your child. They need anything that will help them develop a relationship with/understand the unique qualities of your child.

If it does not stress you too much, type up a profile of your child (between 1-3 pages. I always add a cover sheet with my son's picture on the front so they are more drawn to the information. If you use one, bring multiple copies!!)

In mine I include information/sections: medical history, social ability/awareness, family/friend composition including names he hears a lot: "Grammy Sue" or "Uncle Bob", milestones we have achieved/not achieved, triggers/sensory issues (if any), skills/weaknesses, Successful/Unsuccessful re-directive actions (like deep breathing, counting, quiet time), Favorites/least favorites (food, toys, colors...anything you know), Skills you/therapist are currently developing, etc...

Also any special phrases or actions you may be using (Like my youngest son asks for things by saying "No". "No chocolate milk." "No cartoon." etc...so I let them know his special communication method. The more personal, the better.

It doesn't need to be long though, just give the information you know. Don't feel bad if you don't know some things. Children with communication issues are hard to know but by observing their behavior you get to know tells and signs of how they are doing/feeling.

The point is to familiarize them as much as possible with your child. Give them information that will give them an advantage with him. Any therapies you might be doing are also helpful.

The other side of it is to listen to their suggestions/ideas for your child. Remember that you are really the most knowledgeable person about your child. If what they propose to do sounds reasonable to you then sign away, but if you have any disagreements be sure to say so. No matter how well educated they are, YOU are the expert on your child :) If you want to know more about the profile, I'd be happy to email you a copy of one of mine.

Good Luck! It will be a great experience for you guys. Our youngest started pre-k this January and it has been AWESOME for him and us!

Tape recorder.notify first.keep as unemotional as possible.bring someone else with you.if u don't agree still cooperate but no need to compromise.show that ur open to every suggestion and offer even if u reject it after checking it out.

Do you mean the eligibility IEP meeting? We just went to that at our school district, and it was long. Every specialist went through every assessment/test/evaluation they did. Great info. We got copies of everything, and made comments. Then after everybody's presentations, we started discussing eligibility and how they thought he qualified vs how we thought (ED vs Autism). We did not sign anything accept "in attendance." Always a good idea to wait and think on things before signing.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday to finalize eligibility category and start discussing appropriate programming/services/etc.

Tip, record your meeting! They may offer something verbally which they will take back if they can. We had that happen in an SST mtg. You can buy a digital recording device for $50 at Best Buy, it worked great! They need 24 hrs notice of recording, but they didn't seem to have a problem with it.

Also if your district SELPA offers classes, take advantage of it! We've been to a few locally. Good luck!!! :)

Thanks everyone for responding I got some useful information and tips.