An IEP lists three supports: extra time, a visual schedule, and a cue card for sentence frames. The speech clinician uses the cue card in every session and helped the teacher post the schedule. Her notes say neither.
Supports and accommodations are part of what the IEP promises, and a therapist is often the person who provides, builds, or checks them. They are also among the easiest items to leave out of a note, because they are routine. This guide covers what to write so that the supports on the IEP can be seen in your record.
What the IEP has to say
Section 300.320(a)(4) requires the IEP to state the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services that will be provided to the child or on the child's behalf, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable. It also requires the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided, so that the child can advance toward annual goals, be involved in and progress in the general education curriculum, and be educated alongside peers.
Section 300.42 defines supplementary aids and services as aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes and other settings so that students with disabilities can be educated with nondisabled students to the extent appropriate.
So there are three groups on the IEP: services, supports for the child, and supports for school personnel. Your notes may touch all three.
Who has to know
Section 300.323(d) requires the agency to make sure the IEP is accessible to each teacher and provider who is responsible for carrying it out, and that each of them is informed of their specific responsibilities and of the specific accommodations, modifications, and supports that must be provided. ASHA's telepractice checklist for school SLPs adds a practical step: review the student's IEP accommodations, modifications, and supports before sessions begin.
If you do not know which items are yours, ask. It is a fair question, and it is better asked in October than after a complaint.
Four things you might do
| What you do | Example | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Provide it in your session | A cue card used during therapy | The support, in a line in the session note |
| Set it up for others | Building a visual schedule, training an aide | Date, what you built or taught, and who received it |
| Check it in the classroom | Watching whether the schedule is used | Date, what you saw, and who you told |
| Support the staff who carry it out | A short coaching conversation | A consult entry, as in consult time versus direct service time |
Wording that shows what happened
| Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|
| "Used supports" | "Visual schedule and sentence-frame cue card used for the full session, as on the IEP" |
| "Set up schedule" | "Oct 9. Built a four-step picture schedule with the classroom teacher. Taught the aide how to point to each step. Check-in Oct 16." |
| "Teacher not using it" | "Oct 16 observation, 9:20 to 9:35: picture schedule posted at the student's desk. Not referred to during the writing block." |
| "Accommodations in place" | "Extra time given on the 10-item task: 12 minutes instead of 8" |
The stronger versions say who, when, and what, and they do not judge anyone.
Checking against the IEP
The IEP says what is supposed to happen. Your record should let a reader compare the two. Once a month, put the IEP's list of supports beside your notes and ask three questions for each one that falls to you.
- Does my record show I provided it, set it up, or checked it?
- If I did not, is there a reason on the record?
- If it is not working, did I tell the case manager?
Wisconsin's guidance on service interruptions says that any deviation from delivering the services and supports described in the IEP should include the date and reason. The same principle holds for supports. If a cue card was not available for a week, write the dates and why.
When a support is not working
If a support fails, say so, with facts. Perhaps the cue card is too complicated, or the schedule is posted where the student cannot see it. Record what you saw and what you tried. Then tell the case manager. The team decides changes, and changes have to be agreed and documented. Your record helps by showing that the support was provided as written and did not produce the result the team wanted. That is a stronger case for a change than a general feeling.
A short routine for the start of the year
In the first two weeks, pull the IEP for each student on your caseload and copy the supports into your own sheet. Mark each one as yours, someone else's, or shared. Mark how you will show it in your record: a line in each note, a one-time setup entry, or a monthly check. A page like that, made once, saves a great deal of guessing later in the year. It also gives you the right question to ask when a support is unclear: "Is this one mine?"
Virtual sessions
If sessions are by telehealth, review the supports before you begin, as ASHA's checklist suggests. Some supports, such as a physical cue card, may need an aide or parent to place them, and some may not carry over to a screen. If a support could not be provided in the virtual setting, say so in the note and tell your supervisor, so that the team can decide what to do. See documenting telehealth sessions in schools.
Privacy
Supports are specific to a student, and describing them can reveal a disability or a need. Keep the description to what is needed, and keep other students out of the entry. If you list supports in an email to a teacher, use the district's approved channel and keep the student's name out of the subject line. See FERPA and session notes.
Support-record slips
- Assuming a routine support needs no note. If it is on the IEP and you provide it, say so briefly.
- Writing "provided as per IEP" with nothing else. Name the support.
- Judging a colleague in the note. Record what you saw.
- Changing a support on your own authority. Only the team decides.
- Forgetting supports for school staff. Training and coaching are on the IEP too.
Terms are in the glossary.