Published on
January 21, 2012 by
Jennifer Laviano
Do you remember the character Cassandra from Greek mythology? Her curse was that she could accurately predict the future, but nobody would believe her when she warned them about it. Today I feel like Cassandra. In 2009, I wrote a blog post about the impending changes to the definition of “autism” in the DSM-V. I [...]
Filed Under Current Affairs
Tags: Asperger's disorder under IDEA, attorneys fees under IDEA, autism, Autism spectrum disorders, Autism under IDEA, Connecticut Special Education, Connecticut Special Education Law, DSM-V, eligibility, Eligibility determinations, Eligibility under IDEA, FAPE, IDEA, IDEA claims, New Autism definition, OHI under IDEA, Other Health Impairment, special education, Special Education Law and Advocacy, special education laws
Published on
December 2, 2010 by
Jennifer Laviano
A few days ago marked 35 years since the federal special education statute, now known as IDEA, was signed into law. It is hard to believe that within my lifetime, and probably yours, it was legally permissible to exclude children with disabilities from our public schools entirely. Think about that for a minute. A little [...]
Filed Under Current Affairs
Tags: attorneys fees under IDEA, connecticut, Connecticut Education, Connecticut Special Education, Connecticut Special Education Law, FAPE, IDEA claims, IEPs, Parent networking for disabilities, special education, Special Education Law and Advocacy, Special Education Law practice, special education laws
Published on
April 20, 2010 by
Jennifer Laviano
So, I have been following the new series Parenthood with interest. Yes, I loved the movie, and I like enough of the cast members to have tuned in. But I started to commit to watching it weekly when I saw they were incorporating a story line about a family grappling with their child’s diagnosis of [...]
Filed Under Current Affairs
Tags: Add new tag, Autism spectrum disorders, Connecticut Special Education, Connecticut Special Education Law, Eligibility determinations, Eligibility under IDEA, evaluations, giftedness, Meaningful Parental participation, Parent networking for disabilities, special education, Special Education Law and Advocacy
Published on
January 6, 2010 by
Jennifer Laviano
Getting school systems to either fund additional special education services, or to reimburse parents who pay for necessary services themselves, has always been an uphill battle. The reasons are numerous, but money is without question at the top of the list. That’s nothing new. However, over the years, most reasonable school district lawyers, and special education [...]
Published on
December 13, 2009 by
Jennifer Laviano
I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email this week, informing me that my blog was listed in the Top 50 Blogs for Special Education Teachers. I’m sure you can figure out why I was pleased…but perhaps you’re wondering why I was so surprised. To start with, my blog is fairly new, so I was [...]
Published on
November 9, 2009 by
Jennifer Laviano
One of the more controversial posts I’ve written is this one, encouraging public school teachers and service providers to speak out against violations of the civil rights of children with disabilities when they see it. Of course, I didn’t think it was controversial when I wrote it; I thought it was common sense. My goal [...]
Published on
October 18, 2009 by
Jennifer Laviano
Here are the rules of the ‘One Lovely Blog’ award: Accept the award Post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them [...]
Published on
September 8, 2009 by
Jennifer Laviano
Who says there are no new good ideas? Susan Cartier Liebel certainly had a great one when she founded Solo Practice University, an online law school. The format may be “virtual,” but the courses are very real, full of invaluable content, and taught by lawyers who manage firms in various different practice areas. As a [...]
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