Tag Archives: connecticut

Social-Pathologist-Behavior-Worker-Therapist-Type Person

Published on October 10, 2011 by Jennifer Laviano

True confession:  when I was in junior high and high school I LOVED General Hospital.  I admit it.  I loved it even though I knew it was ludicrous.  It’s an embarrassing but true part of my past. One of the things that I realized about the show as I got older was just how silly [...]

Um. Okay. Thanks.

Published on July 15, 2011 by Jennifer Laviano

So, I already have a page of Ridiculous Comments made by school district personnel, and their lawyers.  But lately, I’ve decided that my clients have some doozies also…so I’ve created this page:   Truly Funny, Sad, Insightful, or Outrageous Quotes From Parents. My clients inspire me.  They really do.  I can not imagine how they manage [...]

“The Behavior Guy”

Published on June 10, 2011 by Jennifer Laviano

As a parents’ special education attorney in Connecticut, I hear outrageous statements that parents are told by their school districts on an almost daily basis.  But, sometimes, I am told something that passes the realm of outrageous, and crosses into ridiculous. Today’s Ridiculous Comment You really can not make this stuff up.  So I am [...]

Weather or Naught

Published on May 23, 2011 by Jennifer Laviano

  Okay…I know it’s that time of year again.  IEP Season.  From now through the end of June, I will be in numerous IEP meetings per week, sometimes a few a day.  It’s enough to make a woman cranky. This isn’t the first year I’ve written about the nauseating experience of hearing the same ridiculous comments [...]

A Mother’s Day

Published on May 8, 2011 by Jennifer Laviano

Last night, we took my mother out to dinner to celebrate Mother’s Day.  While at at the restaurant, and on cue with the arrival of my own food, both my little ones let me know they had to go to the bathroom.  So, off I head to the ladies room, with my 3 and nearly 5 year olds [...]

Cherry Picking IEP Members

Published on March 15, 2011 by Jennifer Laviano

Despite nearly 15 years practicing special education law in Connecticut, there are still some old tricks which school districts employ which astound me.  Not that I am surprised that they continue to do it, but rather, that they think I won’t notice after all of this time. One of the oldest tactics is when special [...]

DON’T THROW AWAY ANYTHING!!!

Published on December 22, 2010 by Jennifer Laviano

Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to to be happy about as an attorney who represents children with disabilities.  As you can imagine, the facts that support a “really great special education case” are, by definition, at best unpleasant, and at worst horrific. It’s an odd feeling, reviewing a child’s special education records.  When I [...]

35 Years of IDEA: A Dream Deferred?

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 [...]

“Why Would We Do an Evaluation, She Already Gets Services?”

Published on November 9, 2010 by Jennifer Laviano

As a parents’ special education attorney in Connecticut, I hear outrageous statements that parents are told by their school districts on an almost daily basis.  But, sometimes, I am told something that passes the realm of outrageous, and crosses into ridiculous. Such statements mislead or misrepresent the school’s legal obligations, and always in a way [...]

Footprints in the Sand: A Call to Parents of Adults with Disabilities

Published on September 24, 2010 by Jennifer Laviano

I while ago, I wrote a tribute to Eunice and Ted Kennedy, and their legendary contributions to special education advocacy.  In that piece I commented that part of why parents of children with disabilities are at a disadvantage in taking on their school districts is that there is a constant learning curve among this group.  [...]