School psychologists, as social scientists, most often utilize p<.05; we all know that means we misdiagnose only 5% of the time, or in other words, we are correct approximately 95% of the time. Allright!!! That puts us in first place in the educational realms.
Please take a moment and commend yourself. I want to thank you for all you do. But let's think about this a little bit more.
Let's add into the mix of the IEP team the teacher who is intent on an agenda (to get the kid out of class). p<.15
Then add into the mix of the IEP team a disgruntled and burned out special education teacher (to keep the kid in the class). p<.25
Stir in an administrator who is intent on keeping his or her position and averting a lawsuit at all costs. p<.35
Bring in the lawyer who is intent following every single special education law ever invented. p<.65
Add into the mix the special education secretary, who's the one actually running the whole show. p<.75
Invite an advocate, who states s/he is the "only one who truly knows what this child needs" (for a large sum of money of course). p<.85
And of course, bring in the second most important person in the process -- the parent/guardian -- who knows his or her child better than anyone, yet throws up his/her hands in dispair and frustration [at everything that education is doing] to the child... because logic just doesn't seem to work any more.
Finally, and most importanly, the student is invited to the meeting, but after years of disabling, can only respond, "I don't know." p<.90
I'm not even going to mention the board micromanaging or the superintendent forwarding his or her agenda, because it really doesn't matter because there's no such thing as a learning disability to begin with!!!
p<.00
Welcome to modern American special education.
I maintain that every single student diagnosed as SLD is misdiagnosed. How can you diagnose something that doesn't even exist? Please help me figure that one out!
