For students with combined cognitive limitations and behavioral disorders (BD), postschool outcomes are poor; their lives are marked by a lack of independence and empowerment. A major goal of special education is to develop successful models to promote individual independence and empowerment for students. The individualized education program (IEP) planning meeting provides opportunities for students to develop critical skills for self-management, self-advocacy, goal setting, and choice making. This research extended the work of Snyder and Shapiro (1997) and examined the effectiveness of teaching adolescent students with mental retardation and BD to lead their own IEP meetings. Five students learned to (a) introduce others at their IEP meetings, (b) review their past IEP goals, (c) discuss their future IEP goals, and (d) close their meetings. The students rated the instruction as acceptable. Implications and limitations of the investigation are discussed.
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