Category Archives: Parents

Unseemly IEP Team Member: “The Pseudo-Psychologist”

Published on May 27, 2009 by Jennifer Laviano

“The Pseudo-Psychologist” The “Pseudo-Psychologist” does not necessarily have to be a school psychologist.  It is any staff member who begins throwing around psychological terms as if they are certain they have all of the answers.  Far worse is when you get the Pseudo-Psychologist who starts opining as to the appropriateness of the medications your child [...]

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Unseemly IEP Team Member: “The Wily Fox”

Published on May 15, 2009 by Jennifer Laviano

“The Wily Fox” From the perspective of a parents’ special education attorney, this is the most dangerous of all IEP Team members.   A Wily Fox is a person, usually a high level special education administrator, who has been studying the IDEA.  Often, they have attended a number of conferences on special education law, and sometimes [...]

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Unseemly IEP Team Member: “The Lawless Renegade”

Published on May 13, 2009 by Jennifer Laviano

“The Lawless Renegade” IEP Team Meetings can and should include a wide range of educational professionals.  Unfortunately, every once in a while they include a “lawless renegade.”  This is a person who either does not know about, or does not care about, the school district’s legal obligations under federal and state special education laws.  Scarier [...]

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Is There a Stigma Associated with Special Education Services?

Published on May 11, 2009 by Jennifer Laviano

More than thirty years since the passage of the first federal law mandating special education and related services, the question lingers as to whether being found eligible for these services will “stigmatize” children.  I am asked this question on occasion by Parents, and I always provide the same answer: The real stigma will come if [...]

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Unseemly IEP Member: “The Wimp”

Published on May 9, 2009 by Jennifer Laviano

“The Wimp” This is the person on your IEP team who you KNOW completely agrees with you, but who is completely unwilling to stand up for what they believe when the IEP meeting comes around. This is almost always a teacher or service provider, and is often someone who has told you many times “off [...]

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Unseemly IEP Team Members: “The Regular Education Teacher Who Doesn’t Want to Be There”

Published on May 8, 2009 by Jennifer Laviano

“The Regular Education Teacher Who Doesn’t Want To Be There” The IDEA requires that an IEP Team include a “regular education” teacher if inclusion within the general education environment is part of the child’s anticipated program.  Therefore, school districts will invite a regular education teacher to the meeting to make sure that the IEP Team [...]

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Unseemly IEP Team Member: “The Control Freak”

Published on by Jennifer Laviano

“The Control Freak” This can be a teacher, therapist, service provider, or an administrator, really anyone who completely over-reacts whenever their opinions, responsibilities, recommendations, or expertise are questioned or challenged. Sadly, The Control Freaks of the special education world are largely responsible for the number of disputes between parents and school districts. These are the [...]

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Unseemly IEP Team Member: “The Smiling Assassin”

Published on May 7, 2009 by Jennifer Laviano

“The Smiling Assassin” This can be any staff member, but in my experience it’s usually an administrator. The hallmarks of the Smiling Assassin are that they routinely make comments that make them appear like they are helping you out, but really their actions are in direct contrast to their comments. It’s not until a parent [...]

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