Special Education Disputes - Tatyana Elleseff

Stop Saying “You’re Fine”: Why Struggling Students Deserve the Truth and Real Help

Leave a Comment / Academic Success, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Discriminant Accuracy, Dyslexia and Reading Disorders, Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs), Learning Disabilities, Life Outcomes, Parents, Self-Advocacy, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology, Standardized Tests / Tatyana Elleseff / April 5, 2025

In the field of speech language pathology and allied services, we carry the immense responsibility of identifying and supporting children who struggle with language and literacy. Yet all too often, our good intentions are undercut by poor testing practices, superficial conclusions, and a harmful tendency to reassure students by telling them “there’s nothing wrong with […]

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Hard Truths, Stronger Futures: Why Facing Reality Helps Your Child Succeed

Leave a Comment / Academic Success, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Evidence-Based Intervention, Learning Disabilities, Life Outcomes, Parents, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology / Tatyana Elleseff / March 4, 2025

For many parents, hearing that their child is more impaired than they previously believed can be devastating. This is especially true when the children have been attending specialized private schools that failed to adequately identify and address their language and literacy deficits. The revelation often comes after an outside comprehensive language and literacy testing—an experience

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Why Accuracy Matters: The Hidden Risks of Flawed Language and Literacy Tests

Leave a Comment / Clinical Assessment, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Discriminant Accuracy, Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs), Learning Disabilities, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology, Standardized Tests / Tatyana Elleseff / February 5, 2025

When it comes to diagnosing students with developmental language disorders (DLD) and literacy deficits, the choice of assessment tools is critical. Many commonly used language tests have serious psychometric flaws that undermine their validity, leading to misidentifications that can have lasting educational and social consequences. This post examines the psychometric properties of several widely used

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School SLPs vs. Private SLPs: Do They Really Target Different Oral Language Goals?

Leave a Comment / Contextualized Language Intervention, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Evidence-Based Intervention, Learning Disabilities, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology / Tatyana Elleseff / January 30, 2025

Recently I was in an IEP meeting for an elementary-aged student. During the meeting, I raised concerns regarding several non-evidenced-based oral language goals for the student and suggested modifying them to meet the student’s extensive academic needs better. To my surprise several IEP team members pushed back, emphasizing the supposed differences between school and private

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Limitations of the CELF-5 in Detecting Subtle Language and Literacy Needs

Leave a Comment / Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Discriminant Accuracy, Dyslexia and Reading Disorders, Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs), Learning Disabilities, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology, Standardized Tests / Tatyana Elleseff / November 22, 2024

The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fifth Edition (CELF-5) is one of the most widely used tools for assessing language abilities in children. However, despite its popularity, significant limitations exist in its ability to accurately diagnose Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and identify subtle language and literacy needs. These limitations are particularly evident in its construct

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Addressing Misconceptions About ADHD and Poor Language Performance

Leave a Comment / Attention, Clinical Assessment, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Dyslexia and Reading Disorders, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology / Tatyana Elleseff / November 20, 2024

It is a common but misguided assumption to attribute poor academic performance solely to ADHD. While ADHD can impact focus and attention, leading to difficulties in completing tasks or following instructions, these challenges do not inherently cause the language and literacy deficits that underpin poor academic performance. Individuals with language and literacy challenges may display

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The Role of Independent Language and Literacy Assessments in Speech Pathology

Leave a Comment / Clinical Assessment, Evidence-Based Intervention, Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs), Learning Disabilities, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology / Tatyana Elleseff / April 16, 2024

Independent assessments of language and literacy are crucial tools for designing precise, beneficial treatment recommendations for students with language and literacy needs. Independent assessments conducted by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) outside the school system can provide valuable insight into the client’s strengths and needs as well as effectively aid in creating targeted interventions. Purpose of Independent

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Grade Inflation of Special Education Students: An Examination of the Phenomenon

Leave a Comment / Grade Inflation, Learning Disabilities, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology / Tatyana Elleseff / December 8, 2023

Grade inflation, the tendency for academic grades to be higher without a corresponding increase in student performance, has been a growing concern for me as a speech-language pathologist working with children diagnosed with language and literacy needs. I find this phenomenon to be particularly pronounced with many students on my caseloads. In one particularly glaring

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Attention: All That Matters

Leave a Comment / Attention, Dyslexia and Reading Disorders, Evidence-Based Intervention, Executive Functions, Learning Disabilities, Special Education Disputes, Speech Pathology, Standardized Tests, Working Memory / Tatyana Elleseff / May 5, 2023

The role of attention in learning is a topic of great interest to both researchers and clinicians alike when it comes to the discussion of the causes of learning difficulties in children (Posner & Rothbart, 2007). Attention plays a crucial role in learning, since if you cannot attend you cannot commit stimuli to memory and

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