Melissa Bruce

SPED 854
Suzanne Robinson
14 December 2015
M7: Conducting a Family Interview
I interviewed Judy B. for this assignment. I have known Judy for 4 years, we first met
when I taught her son for two years of Pre-K. I went on to teach her younger son for a year as
well before I changed positions. Judy is a 62 year old woman who has dealt with schools for
most of her life. She runs a home for people with disabilities. Residents at the home range from
elementary age to adults in their 50s. Some residents live there full-time and others come during
work hours when their family cannot be there to care for them. She has been married to Michael,
a pastor at a local church, for 39 years. The home that Judy runs is connected to her permanent
residence. Judy and Michael have 3 children and 2 grandchildren. The 2 grandchildren are now
Judy and Micheal's legally adopted sons, their daughter was not fit to care for them. Isaiah is 4
and will be entering Kindergarten next year. He attends a Title 1 pre-school and receives one
hour of speech therapy a week. Skyler is 7 and in first grade. He was born with intellectual
disabilities due to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and is apart of the Life Skills room in his elementary
building. He also receives speech, physical, and occupational therapy. I think by looking at
Judy's history we can hypothesize that she has had many different experiences with working with
schools. For the purpose of this interview and paper I asked Judy to concentrate her answers and
experiences to those she has had with Skyler.
Overall Judy was pretty satisfied with her involvement in the collaborative process with
Skyler's school. She made some points that I had not thought of prior to the interview. Judy
surmised that her relationship with Skyler's teacher may be stronger than some other parents
because he is in a life skills class, meaning he has had the same teacher in Kindergarten and first

grade and barring any position changes will remain Skyler's teacher throughout elementary. Judy
has been involved with IEP meetings for the past 4 years, since Skyler was 3 years old. She
stated that the first IEP meeting she went to was overwhelming. Judy said she did not know what
to expect, once the meeting began though she realized her job position had prepared her for the
meeting. The terminology was fairly consistent with what she used in her residential home. Judy
commented that if she had not been working in a residential care home for years she would have
to had to ask for a lot more clarification about the terminology used in the IEP meetings.
When I asked about any challenges Judy had with the school she said at times she felt
like not much day-to-day information was being shared. Skyler has a communication log that he
brings home daily. In the log the teachers comment on what Skyler did at school, what he ate,
and his bathroom needs. Judy stated that many days Skyler's log will have little bits of
information but the information is very generic, things like "good day" or "rough time at writing
center." I can see how this is frustrating to Judy. If someone told me my child had a "rough day" I
would want more specific information about what his day looked like. What behaviors did he
have? What started the behavior? How long did it take him to calm down? I have also been on
the other side of this, end of the day and I realize I haven't written in planners yet, so my
messages are brief and vague. I will try to keep this interview and idea in mind when it comes
time to write in planners, take some more time and care. If I do need to expand I will let the
parent know to look for my email or phone call.
This interview has left me with quite a few lingering questions. I didn't realize when I
asked Judy to do this that I was asking a parent who had so much background knowledge about
disability and terminology. I wonder how a parent with no experience would feel going into IEP
meetings. Judy also commented that she felt more prepared with Skyler and Isaiah than she had
with her first children. She was coming into their schooling with much more experience than
with her children in the 80s. This also leads me to wonder how a "new" parent would feel in
these situations. What if their child had not been diagnosed as early as Skyler? They would then

be dealing the stress of a diagnosis and all of the new information involved in IEP meetings. I am
glad I was able to interview Judy, but it left me wondering how an interview with a "new" parent
would have gone. I think I may have gotten much different information and viewpoints from
someone with less experience.

Interview Questions
1. How long have you been communicating with schools?
2. What do you feel is your role in communicating and collaborating with school personnel? On
a daily basis? In IEP meetings?
3. Can you talk about some successful moments you have had working with schools?
4. What about some challenging times?
5. What would you like to see improved about your communication and collaboration with the
school?