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These common mistakes make parents lose trust in teachers
These common mistakes make parents lose trust in teachers
Many parents, as they did not study often, do not know what real or fake practice is. The lesson can look normal to parents but still not be correct.
Avoid practices that say we are the only experts. Avoid fixing children or healing by drugs only.
Make sure you get regular reports and evidence that show and explain exactly what the lesson is about and why it's being done.
Some people will tell parents that special education is a secret method that only experts know.
Experts need years of training, but special education is not a secret and is shared around the world every day.
Some people with no deep understanding only repeat explanations they see on the internet, but can not give clear details.
Unfortunately, because of those often cheaper but ineffective treatments, many children are losing valuable time that could have made a difference. Make sure you visit the school and ask for professional paperwork and signatures.
Special education malpractice is any practice where a provider claims to support a child with special needs but fails to provide safe, individualised, evidence-based, ethical, and honestly reported support.
In special education, malpractice usually means professional practice that is unsafe, unethical, negligent, discriminatory, misleading, or not aligned with the child’s documented needs and legal rights. The exact legal meaning depends on the country, but the practices below are widely considered serious professional failures.
Practices commonly considered malpractice in special education
Practices commonly considered malpractice in special education
Ignoring the child’s needs.
Ignoring the child’s needs.
Ignoring medical, sensory, or communication needs.
This can create distress, unsafe behavior, or regression.
This includes placing a child in a program for oral, learning, safety, and independence needs.
Let parents fill in a form of questions and use this as your observation assessment
Parents are not professionsl traind and don't know what see
Using the same teaching plan for every child (not individualized),
Special education works best when it is individualized.
Starting Teaching without assessment / Observation
The programme may not match the child’s actual developmental needs.
The shadow teacher will do all the work for the student.
No modifications; child gains little independence.
Using a bicycle near a street
instead of a gym bike.
Using dangerous environments with little benefits
Give medication to suppress annoying behaviors.
Instead of working with professionals on real skills that can help to balance emotions.
Give up too early
Expecting results after 2-6 days or weeks.
Waiting too long
or keep trying the same strategy for more than 6-8 months or years without any improvement.
PUSH a child is not a strategy.
Feeling like you must push your child more only hurts them when they are not ready.
teacher demanding strongly from the child to not be lazy and to work harder
Hugging to treat behaviour
What is a strategy?
Show a teacher looking at document, report and data, and make a strategic plan for success in development.
Fixing ASD Symptoms to hide the difficulties.
Force the child to make eye contact with your hands.
Wrong Timing.
Teaching your children life skills at a much too young age.
Ignoring developmental practices in the Early Intervention Time
Parent demand accademic skill such as Writing from a child that has not reach their normal developmental state.
Teaching outdated concepts.
Cutting vegetables -> Buy ready-made.
Lacing Shoes -> Use Velcro zips.
Counting Money -> Pay by App or Card
Too much screen time.
Keep watching the wrong videos many times a day, too loud.
Not using technology in meaningful ways
Using Cheap Plastic toys can be dangerous
Small partslwe can be swalloed and be dangrous and hurt chidren.
Using todeler toys, as you primary intervention tool for older children
espceially cheap produced plastic toys that can break and injure the child or and the toys have no meanigful educational value
Schools or Teachers Copy-paste IEP goals from another child.
Goals may be meaningless, unrealistic, or not measurable.
Reports Statements/Saying “he improved” without DATA
Parents cannot know what really changed.
Reporting only positive moments
(Hide Behaviors or dangers from parents to make the school look good).
This hides the child’s real support needs.
Behavior DATA is not analised
The team cannot understand triggers, intensity, or progress.
Write confusing and complicated reports that parents can not understand.
Using photos as proof of learning without measurable evidence.
(Only picking the beautiful moments, not showing the reality)
A photo may show participation, not skill acquisition.
In special education, progress should usually be supported by frequency, duration, prompt level, accuracy, independence level, generalisation, or reduction of risk.
Telling parents “everything is fine” when they ask for help, the child is struggling.
Parents lose the chance to intervene early.
Always say yes to your customer.
Agree with parents on all demands even if they're illegal just to earn money
Grandmother intead of expert
Avoiding difficult conversations to keep enrollment (not telling the truth to parents)
This prioritises money over the child.
Not reporting aggression, self-injury, toileting difficulties, or severe distress
Parents and professionals cannot plan safety support.
Making the child appear more independent than they are
It creates false expectations and delays proper intervention.
Professional reporting should be honest, respectful, evidence-based, and not exaggerated.
The child drink water from a cup but the child can not going to the tank to get water
Shouting at the child
Can increase fear, trauma, and dysregulation.
Damanding or shaming the child (Why did you do that?)
Damages dignity and emotional safety.
Threatening the child
Creates compliance through fear, not learning.
Forcing eye contact (Use 2 hand to turn the head)
Can be distressing, especially for autistic students.
Withholding food, toilet access, or communication tools
Violates basic rights and safety.
A child’s dignity must remain protected even during difficult behaviour.
Restraining a child for convenience (he did not listen, so I pick up the baby and carry him).
Restraint should only be for immediate safety risk.
Holding a child down to complete work (not stopping work when the child is crying)
This is coercive and unsafe.
Dragging, pulling, or lifting the child improperly (pulling on feet or arms)
Can cause injury and trauma.
Blocking movement without a safety reason (lock in to a room without reason)
May escalate behaviour.
Physical Restraining without training, documentation, or review (sit on the child)
Creates legal and safeguarding risk.
Physical intervention should be last resort, safety-based, trained, documented, time-limited, and reviewed.
Taking away AAC as punishment (Lazy teaching, not using visuals)
Removes the child’s voice.
Not offering, visuals, signs, AAC, or alternative communication
The child may use behaviour because communication is unavailable.
Forcing speech only. (Not using the PECS strategy correctly)
Some children need multimodal communication.
Ignoring requests, refusals, or distress signals
, the child learns that communication does not work.
Communication access is a basic educational and human-rights issue.
Saying “we do ABA” without proper training/Evidence (No documents, no DATA, No consconnsent)
Poor implementation can harm the child.
Using sensory therapy without OT guidance
May be ineffective or unsafe.
Implementing behaviour plans without understanding function of behaviour
Behaviour may worsen.
Using speech therapy techniques without SLT guidance
The child may not receive appropriate communication support.
It is acceptable to learn. It is not acceptable to misrepresent competence.
Punishing screaming without understanding why it happens
Identify whether it is escape, pain, sensory, attention, access, anxiety, or communication.
Calling the child “naughty”
Describe the behaviour objectively.
Removing the child from learning without intervention plan
Teach replacement skills.
Ignoring patterns
Use ABC data and behaviour analysis.
Behaviour is often communication. A professional response should ask: What is the child gaining, avoiding, expressing, or unable to manage?
Leave the child alone, no supervision.
The teacher leaves a child in the classroom, or the child escapes unnoticed.
Water safety
Swimming without adequate supervision or risk assessment.
Allergies/medical
Food or medication needs ignored.
No clan or adaptive toileting.
Lack of hygiene or privacy.
Transitions / Transport (Without plans and connsent)
Unsafe handover or unclear pickup procedure.
Self-injury
No safety plan despite known risk.
Special education providers must actively manage foreseeable risks.
Charging additional fees but providing NO actual SEN support
Misleading and exploitative.
Push the responsibility to the family.
Ask the family to hire a shadow teacher and say the school has no responsibility
Later tell the family when the interveion is good wrong, "you agreed to this"
Excluding the child from trips, events, or activities, or sending on trips in the community without considering support
is a Safty or discriminatory practice.
Blaming the child for disability-related needs. (You are old enough now , you should do this)
Unprofessional and unfair.
Saying “we are inclusive” but refusing accommodations: IEP, Tools or DATA
Inclusion becomes branding, not practice.
Inclusion without support is not inclusion. It is placement.
Keeping the same goals for 6 months with no progress for improvemnt
The method may not be effective. Many years of usfull intervetion is lost.
Not adjusting prompt levels (Always talking loudly to the child)
The child may become prompt-dependent.
Not planning generalisation
Skills may only happen in one room with one teacher.
Not reviewing behaviour plans
Risk may increase. A child should not remain in a failing programme because adults are comfortable with the routine.
Sharing camera, video, diagnosis, behaviour details of other children with other parents
Posting identifiable photos without consent
Discussing a child publicly (Using their real name)
Leaving reports, data sheets, or videos unsecured
Using student images for marketing without clear permission
Confidentiality is both a professional and safeguarding responsibility.
“We can cure autism”, “Your child will speak in 3 months”
Unprofessional guarantee. False and unethical.
Employ new teachers without managment supervision (Inclusion gone wrong)
“We provide therapy” when staff are not therapists,
Misrepresentation.
Charging Additional Fees or withholding Reports, IEP, or updates,
“We are specialised” without trained staff, plans, or data
False impression of competence.
Special education should offer reasonable professional goals, not promises.
(Write complicated plan -> that parents can not understand -> No time to explaining the IEP
Parents cannot give informed consent.
Not reporting incidents
Families cannot support safety planning.
Ignoring parent concerns
Important information may be missed.
Not explaining difficult data respectfully
Parents may lose trust or misunderstand the child’s needs.
Parents need clarity, not sugar-coating.
Claiming to be professionals because providers' schools are expensive.
Saying "We are so good you cannot afford us"
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