When your child qualifies for special education services, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) becomes a cornerstone of their academic and schooling journey. It’s more than just a document—it’s a roadmap tailored to your child’s unique needs, strengths, and goals. But for many caregivers, the IEP process can feel overwhelming, confusing, and emotionally charged. Here’s how to navigate it with confidence, clarity, and purpose.

Understanding the IEP: What It Is and Why It Matters

An individualized education program (or IEP) is a written statement for a student with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised by a team of people, including the student’s family, that outlines an educational plan for the student. An IEP is a legally binding plan developed by a team of educators, specialists, and you—the parent/caregiver. The IEP ensures your child receives a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Note: An IEP is different than a 504 as the accommodations provided by a 504 plan tend to be more generalized, whereas an IEP provides more specific individual supports and services.

It outlines:

• Present level of academic achievement and function performance
• Specific goals for the year
• Special education services and supports
• Accommodations and modifications
• How progress will be measured

Preparing for the IEP Meeting

Preparation is key. Here’s how to get ready:

1. Review existing documents: Read through previous IEPs, evaluations, and progress reports.
2. Know your rights: Familiarize yourself with IDEA and your state’s special education laws.
3. List your concerns and goals: What’s working? What’s not? What do you want to see change?
4. Bring support: You can invite an advocate, therapist, or trusted friend to the meeting.

Collaborating with the IEP Team

The IEP team typically includes:

• Your child’s general and special education teachers
• A school psychologist or evaluator
• A district representative
• You (and your child, if appropriate)

Approach the meeting as a collaboration, not a confrontation. Ask questions like:

• “Can you explain how this goal was developed?”
• “What data supports this decision?”
• “How will this accommodation help my child in the classroom?”

Monitoring Progress and Staying Involved

IEPs aren’t static. You should receive regular updates and be part of any changes. Stay engaged by:

• Attending parent-teacher conferences
• Requesting progress reports
• Communicating regularly with teachers
• Asking for reevaluations if needed

If you disagree with the IEP, you have options: mediation, due process hearings, or filing a complaint with your state’s education agency.

In today’s wellness-focused world, terms like mental health and occupational therapy are used often—sometimes even interchangeably. But while they’re interconnected in meaningful ways, they serve very different purposes. Earlier this spring, Family Achievement Center’s occupational therapists, Tiana Burda OTR/L and Angie Ellingson, OTR/L and Child Mental Health Practitioner from Apricity Counseling and Wellness, and a Clinical Psychologist presented on how OT and mental health can work to treat the whole child and when a child may benefit from one or the other or both synchronously.

What Is Mental Health?

Mental health refers to our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how we think, feel, and behave. Good mental health enables people to manage stress, maintain relationships, make decisions, and bounce back from adversity.

When challenges arise—like anxiety, depression, trauma, or mood disorders—they can disrupt everyday life and overall well-being. Mental health is a broad umbrella that encompasses everything from emotional regulation to psychiatric conditions, and is supported by various professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and counselors.

In pediatric mental health, specifically, there are many forms of mental health therapy including: talk therapy, play therapy, Parent/Child Interaction Therapy, family therapy and SPACE (supportive parent for anxious childhood emotions) therapy.

Where Does Occupational Therapy Fit In?

Occupational therapy (OT) helps people do the things they want and need to do through therapeutic use of daily activities. Pediatric OT focuses on sensory processing related to emotion regulation thus also playing a role in mental health treatment. OT doesn’t diagnose mental health disorders, but it provides practical strategies to manage them and live well with them.

Key Differences at a Glance

Mental Health	Occupational Therapy
Focuses on overall emotional and psychological well-being.	Focuses on function—helping individuals engage in meaningful daily activities.
Can be supported by therapy, medication, lifestyle changes.	Uses personalized activities and environmental modifications to support daily routines.
Often includes diagnosis and treatment of mental illness (anxiety, OCD, trauma).	Does not diagnose, but works with diagnosed conditions to improve quality of life.
Parent training and coaching (PCIT, SPACE) Parents can benefit from behavior management to help child with behaviors that are not due to sensory concerns.	Identifies a child’s unique sensory needs and provides strategies that can improve daily routines & identifies strategies for emotion regulation for a sensory perspective based on child’s abilities which may include co-regulation, interoceptive awareness, self-regulation.
Providers: psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers.	Providers: licensed occupational therapists.

The Power of Collaboration

While they serve different roles, OT and mental health care providers often collaborate. A mental health therapist might help someone process trauma, while the OT helps them manage sensory triggers in real-life situations. Together, they create a holistic circle of care that addresses both inner healing and everyday living. OT and mental health can collaborate on emotional regulation and transitions to support the underlying factors that impact function.

Occupational therapy steps in to bridge the gap between things we may struggle with and daily life. OT doesn’t replace mental health treatment—it complements it. Some children benefit from OT in conjunction with mental health to promote holistic wellness.

Find out more by watching our free Resource Series on our YouTube Channel.