Jargon - Parsing Words - Dazzle or Baffle -

Here is an interesting link to several resources on "lingo".

My previous post links to another post that has a subsequent post about the definition of "eligibility" for occupational therapy (or any other related service).

Seasoned veterans of IEP's know the well practiced dialogue that is used by some school personnel to bamboozle ignorant teachers and parents alike.

A frequent reader of my early posts on both blogs would find many anecdotal stories of these twists of words and contortions of meanings that revolve around minimizing services. A favorite one that is used is "educationally relevant". Trying to get a meaningful definition of "educationally relevant" within the context of how the needs of the student are or are not met within an IEP is like trying to nail jello to a wall. To the best of my knowledge, "educationally relevant" is not defined in any of the Federal laws regarding special education.

Try asking your local special education mentor for a written definition of "educationally relevant" and then try to use that in the context of the federal regulations regarding the development of an IEP.

What teachers should know is that they are presented the same hoops of misunderstanding that parents have to jump through.