SAMPLE IEP LETTER
Dear (List School
Administrator’s Name) and IEP Team;
Our child, (full name and DOB), attends (list name
of school) and has a diagnosis of autism. He/she is
susceptible to wandering, elopement and fleeing
incidents. We are writing to request that the
District complete a Behavior Assessment and hold an
IEP meeting to discuss and develop an appropriate
Behavior Plan to address these behaviors.
(Name) is extremely interested in (include any
outside attractions, such as areas of water, pools,
lakes, ponds and creeks). He/she will wander off to
get to these areas and all measures must be taken to
ensure his/her safety.
Due to (name)’s tendency to wandering, including
(list any past incidents) his/her physician has
drafted the attached letter strongly urging close
one-on-one adult supervision.
Should (name) wander, 911 should be called
IMMEDIATELY. We also request immediate parental
notification of ANY wandering incident, including
incidents where he/she may have wandered within the
building. All incidents must be well documented,
and include when and how the occurrence took place.
Please be advised that failure to address known,
preventable escape patterns and security breaches
puts our child at great risk. We ask for your
cooperation in working with us to report all
incidents, to make sure the school’s premises has
proper architectural barriers in place, to ensure
all school staff members are aware of his/her
tendency to wander or flee, to ensure fences have
child-proof gates and exterior doors always be shut, and to ensure that our child is never left
unattended no matter what the circumstance.
(NOTE: If your child’s school does not have fencing
or other architectural barriers, this should be
noted in detail.)
Incidents that may trigger fleeing include (list
triggers or other pertinent information).
De-escalation methods are best in preventing
self-injurious behavior (SIB) or fleeing the
premises. As the attached physician letter also
strongly recommends, calming methods should be
facilitated by the staff member most familiar with
(name), and aversive methods including the use of
restraints or seclusion shall not be utilized
under any circumstances, and escalation triggers
(such as...)
should be avoided.
We look forward to
your prompt response.
Sincerely,
(your name and signature)
