The Wrightslaw Way

My daughter with autism needs help with social skills. Her peers avoid and tease her so she has stopped trying to approach them. She gets 90 minutes of social skills counseling a month. I think she needs to learn “hands on” in class, lunch, or recess, not in the “office.” Is the school required to […]

My 4-year-old has an IEP for ADHD and attention/transition difficulties.  Transportation is written as a related service in his IEP but the school claims they are “short-staffed” and cannot get him to his program in less than 1 hour after the start. This cuts his day from 5 hours to 4 and causes a problem […]

My 4 yr old has atonic seizures that are not fully under control with medication. He has diastat at school with detailed instructions on administration. The school nurse is not at school all the time. The school says it is against school policy to authorize any one else to give diastat if my son needs […]

My 3 year old son has Angelman’s syndrome and has just started walking independently. He has a one-to-one aide in the school-based prek program. The school is saying they do not have to provide any physical therapy because it is a medical issue. As long as my son has “access” in the classroom, they are […]

Since we signed my daughter’s IEP, she has missed 6 sessions of weekly OT. The therapist was absent for two of the sessions.  She missed four sessions on ‘Delayed Start Days.’ Our district starts school 2 hours late on one day each month. Does the district need to make up these days? The school needs […]

My child has reading, speech and OT in her IEP.  How many times a month are the therapist’s “allowed” to miss a session? There is nothing in IDEA or the federal regulations about “missing services.” Here is a statement from a Related Services fact sheet from Families and Advocates Partnership for Education (FAPE) funded by […]

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My son is deaf and low functioning. What are the laws about using an interpreter as a teacher? My son’s education team feels that this is appropriate. I don’t. What is the guidance on this? Interpreters are not teachers. It is ridiculous that an IEP team would design an education plan that does not specify […]

If a child is wheelchair-bound and needs a catheter, is this something that belongs in the IEP? Exactly whose responsibility is it to handle catheters for wheelchair-bound students? I would think it qualifies as a medical procedure and that a nurse would need to do it? Does the child need these services to attend school? […]