The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has always had "individual" as part of its spirit and its letter. However, as a parent and an advocate who has attended many Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, Janet DesGeorges has discovered that getting to "individual" can sometimes be a challenge, particularly with the low incidence of deaf and hard of hearing students in the special education system. In this article she writes that this generation of children who are deaf and hard of hearing are emerging with different needs than in the past. Due to advances in technology, early identification of hearing loss, and societal shifts, the old labels have blurred. Yet the differences of today's generation have not negated the truisms of old. It remains true that children today share the same heritage of those who have come before them--that high expectations and access to a solid education for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing should be pursued relentlessly, developed individually, and enhanced through partnerships. She says that parents, must partner with educators and support personnel to approach children as individuals, and IEP decisions should not be guided by a child's labels. Strategies for convincing the IEP team that additional support to access classroom communication are provided.