Professional Judgment
Professional judgment is reasoned decision-making based on training, observation, student need, context, and the practitioner’s role.
It is not a mood. It is not a personality trait. It should be explainable.
Service Substitution
Service substitution means a service, support, provider, timing, or method is changed from what was expected or written. The key question is whether the student’s need is still being addressed and whether the change is…
Decision Rationale
A decision rationale is the reason a team made a decision.
In plain language, it answers: Why are we doing this, and why does it make sense for this student?
Implementation Drift
Implementation drift is what happens when daily practice slowly moves away from the written plan. It may start small: a skipped support, an informal substitution, a vague handoff, or a routine everyone assumes someone else…
Assigned Adult Support
Assigned adult support means an adult is specifically responsible for supporting a student, routine, safety need, access need, or implementation requirement. It is different from adults being generally present in the area. Assigned means someone…
Protective Advocacy
Protective advocacy means speaking up in a way that protects the student, the family, and the institution from preventable gaps, drift, or risk. It is not advocacy as a performance. It is advocacy as early…
Meaningful Participation
Meaningful participation means the student is not only present, but actually engaged in the routine, activity, environment, or interaction in a way that matters for that student.
Risk-Benefit Discussion
A risk-benefit discussion looks at both the possible risks of an activity or support and the benefits of participation, access, learning, or independence. It is how a team avoids pretending that the safest-looking option is…
Seating and Positioning
Seating and positioning refers to how a student is supported in a chair, wheelchair, stander, or other equipment so they can access, participate, communicate, and function safely and comfortably.
Vendor Recommendation
A vendor recommendation is input from an equipment company or supplier about a product, configuration, repair, or option. It can be useful. It should also be interpreted through the student’s needs, school routines, clinical reasoning,…
Caregiver Input
Caregiver input is information families share about the child’s needs, routines, history, concerns, strengths, and what they are seeing outside the team’s direct view. It should be clarified and considered, not treated like background noise…
Administrative Convenience
Administrative convenience means something is easier for the system to manage. That might involve staffing, scheduling, location, budget, transportation, or workflow. Convenience is not automatically bad. Schools are real places with real limits. The problem…