Does Your Child Need an IEP? A WA Parent’s Guide

By Phillipa J Eagle, M.Ed | Literacy specialist and educator, 40+ years teaching across primary, secondary and tertiary | Published 18/October 2026

In this guide What an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is, and how it works in WA schools Whether your child needs one, and how to ask, What a good IEP should include, with examples. A parent checklist for IEP meetings and reviews

If your child has ADHD, dyslexia or another learning difference, you’ll probably hear the term Individual Education Plan, or IEP. Sometimes the school suggests one. Often, you’ll need to ask.

This guide explains what an IEP is, whether your child may need one, what a useful plan should contain, and how you can take part.

As a classroom teacher I would have welcomed a document that helped me to understand how to better support these kids. Many plans I have seen are simply completed and filed. They must be living documents that lead to regular conversations between teachers, and effective supports for the individual students named in the plan.

What Is an Individual Education Plan (IEP)?

An Individual Education Plan is a school document that describes how your child is currently progressing, and the programs, services, reasonable adjustments and extra support the school will provide.

In Western Australian schools, an IEP (also referred to as an Individual Learning Plan – ILP) is one type of documented plan: the umbrella term schools use for written plans that set out a student’s needs and the support they’ll receive (Developmental Disability WA).

Some schools and states use other names for similar plans, such as an Individual Learning Plan (ILP), a personalised learning plan or a learning adjustment plan. The name matters less than what’s inside it.

Does My Child Need an IEP?

Your child may benefit from an IEP if a disability, learning difficulty, developmental difference, health condition or other significant need affects their learning or their participation at school.

Not every child with a diagnosis will have an IEP. In WA, they’re generally used for students working well below their age peers or who need significant, individualised support (Developmental Disability WA).

But with or without an IEP, your child is entitled to support. Under the Disability Standards for Education 2005, every Australian school must consult with you and make reasonable adjustments for a student with disability, and that includes ADHD and dyslexia. This is a legal requirement.

Signs it’s worth asking about a plan

Your child is falling further behind despite real effort.
Adjustments happen with one teacher but not another.
Your child has a new diagnosis, or a new report from a specialist.
A big change is coming, such as moving to high school, where your child will have many teachers.

Advocating for your own child’s needs can be a daunting experience for parents. Learning about your legitimate role in promoting and supporting their child’s extra learning needs is empowering.

How to Ask for an IEP Meeting

You can ask for a meeting at any time if you’re worried about your child’s learning, behaviour, attendance or how they’re fitting in (Developmental Disability WA). Start with your child’s classroom teacher, or the school’s learning support coordinator if there is one.

Before the meeting

Send any reports from psychologists or other professionals ahead of time, so the team has read them.
Write down your child’s strengths, what works at home, and your top two or three concerns.
Ask your child what helps them, and what they find hardest.

At the meeting

You can bring a support person or an advocate with you.
You can ask for time to read the plan before you sign it.
If you disagree with part of the plan, you can ask for that to be noted.

Plans should be reviewed regularly. In WA, the school should review a documented plan with you at least once a year, and many schools do it each term or semester. If you have concerns that aren’t resolved with the teacher, the next step is usually the principal (Developmental Disability WA).

Walking into an IEP meeting can feel daunting. You know your child better than anyone, but it can be hard to know what to ask for. In a free brief discussion, I can help you work out your priorities before you go. Request a free brief discussion

What Should an IEP Include? A Checklist for Parents

A helpful plan should be practical enough to guide your child’s teachers every day. It should explain exactly what will be done, by whom, in which situations, and how everyone will know whether it’s helping.

Ask whether the plan clearly records:

your child’s current strengths, needs and progress
clear, achievable and measurable learning or participation goals
specific teaching strategies, reasonable adjustments and accommodations
programs, services, equipment, resources or specialist support
who is responsible for each action, and when it will happen
how progress will be measured, shared with you, and reviewed

You should be able to understand from the plan exactly what support your child will receive. It should use respectful, strengths-based language and be useful to both your family and the school.

Vague versus specific: what to look for

Watch out for wording like “provide support when needed”. It sounds helpful, but nobody can act on it. Compare:

Too vague	Specific and usable
Provide support when needed.	Teacher checks in with Sam at the start of each written task to confirm he knows the first step.
Extra time in tests.	Extra time and a quiet space for all written assessments, arranged by the subject teacher.
Remove need to copy from board.	Provide printed notes before class to avoid need for copying from board
Reduce reading requirements	Provide audio versions of texts and assessments when available
Provide support for writing projects	Provide speech-to-text software for extended written tasks and assessments
Make allowances for Spelling	Overlook spelling errors where knowledge content is being assessed and understanding is clearly demonstrated
Help with organisation.	Homework written on a checklist and checked by the teacher before the end of the day.

Who Should Be Involved in Writing the IEP?

You are an important member of the planning team, and your child should be involved in a way that suits their age. A useful plan brings together knowledge from home, school and relevant professionals.

Your child can share their goals, interests, worries, preferences and the support they find helpful.
You and other family members can explain your child’s strengths and needs across settings, share what works at home, and describe the outcomes you hope for.
Educators, including classroom teachers, specialist teachers, support staff and school leaders, can explain curriculum expectations, classroom demands, current progress and practical strategies.
Health and allied health professionals, such as psychologists, speech pathologists and occupational therapists, can provide assessments, supporting information and recommendations.

Who Should See and Use the IEP?

You and your child should be able to discuss and contribute to the plan. Ask for a copy, check that it reflects what was agreed, and take part in scheduled reviews.

Every teacher and support staff member who works with your child needs to understand the agreed adjustments, not simply know that a plan exists. This is crucial in high school, where your child may have six or more teachers. Ask who will coordinate the plan and be your main contact.

Specialists and school leaders may also need access when they provide support or contribute to reviews. At the same time, your child’s privacy matters, so information should only be shared with people who need it for their role.

Four Things Your Child’s Teachers Need to Know

Your child’s key areas of difficulty. Explain how these show up in the classroom and what helps. A diagnosis is useful, but what it means day to day matters most.
Your child’s strengths, interests and talents. Teachers can use these to build confidence and engagement, and to give your child meaningful ways to show what they know.
Possible behaviours, triggers and helpful responses. Describe challenging situations without blame. Record likely triggers, early warning signs, ways to prevent problems, and responses that protect your child’s safety and dignity.
Other specialist support. Include who provides it, when and where, and how school strategies can work alongside it. For example, weekly literacy sessions with a dyslexia specialist.

Acknowledging a child’s unique strengths and skills can be life changing. Understanding from his teacher gave a boy with dyslexia the confidence to give a speech about his experiences and later to apply for (and gain) a leadership role in the school.

Your IEP Parent Checklist

A plan only helps when it’s understood, put into action and reviewed regularly. Use this checklist before and after every meeting.

Share your child’s strengths, needs, interests, strategies that work, and relevant professional reports.
Ask for goals, adjustments, responsibilities, timelines and review dates to be written clearly.
Confirm that all relevant teachers and support staff have been briefed.
Ask who will coordinate the plan and be your main contact.
Agree on regular, two-way communication rather than waiting for a problem.
Include your child in setting goals and reviewing progress wherever appropriate.
Keep a copy and record any agreed actions or changes.
At each review, ask what evidence shows progress, and what should change if a strategy isn’t working.

Making Your Child’s IEP Work

The best education plans create a shared understanding of your child and turn that understanding into consistent actions that improve their learning and their experience of school.

Your role is to share what you know, and to work with the school and other professionals so the plan stays practical, respectful and responsive to your child.

Every child, and every school, is different. If the plan isn’t working, or you’re not sure what to ask for, you don’t have to work it out alone. Let’s talk.

You might also find these helpful: My Child Has Been Diagnosed With ADHD. What Now? and My Child Has Been Diagnosed With Dyslexia. What Now? [links to articles]

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an IEP a legal requirement in Australia?

Not as a specific document. What the law requires, under the Disability Standards for Education 2005, is that schools consult with you and make reasonable adjustments for students with disability. In WA, schools record these in documented plans, and an IEP is one type.

What’s the difference between an IEP and an ILP?

Mostly the name. Different schools, sectors and states use different terms for individual plans. Ask your child’s school what they call theirs and what it covers.

Can my child have an IEP without a formal diagnosis?

Schools can make adjustments based on your child’s needs. Under the Disability Discrimination Act, a formal diagnosis isn’t required (Australian Government fact sheet). Some types of funding and plans do need evidence such as an assessment report, so ask your school what applies.

Does an IEP follow my child to high school?

Both dyslexia and ADHD are normally life-long diagnoses; however, their support needs can vary in response to differing demands and may change over time. If your child still needs accommodations at High School a new Individual Learning, or Education Plan must be created and regularly reviewed. When your child reaches Years 11 and 12, if they still need adjustments, they may need to provide specific evidence of this. This process is administered by the School Curriculum Standards Authority (SCSA).

This article shares general educational guidance. It is not medical advice or a diagnosis. Please talk to your GP or paediatrician about your child’s health.

About the author Phillipa J Eagle is a literacy specialist, educator and author based in Perth, Western Australia. With a Master’s in Education, over 40 years of teaching across primary, secondary and tertiary education, and her own late-recognised ADHD, she offers practical, non-clinical support for parents and teachers. She is the author of A Life Misunderstood. Not sure where to start? Request a free brief discussion with Phillipa.

Does Your Child Need an Individual Education Plan (IEP)? A Parent’s Guide for WA