Recognizing and dealing with ethical issues is a normal part of our work as educational therapists. As we work with complex clients and everyone involved in their lives, we often encounter dilemmas that are not black and white. No matter how long we have been in practice, we often need to ask someone to help us. AET urges members to seek the counsel of other experienced educational therapists when difficult situations arise and you are not sure how to proceed.

Where to get help? If you do not know who to call when you need advice about your practice, AET can provide members with the names of Board Certified Educational Therapists who are available for a free one-time, confidential consultation. If on-going help is needed, the BCET consultant can help direct you to appropriate professional resources. 

Have a question or a dilemma? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for confidential consultation requests.

To file a complaint, email the Ethics Complaint Form to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Read the Ethics Policies and Procedures for filing a complaint. 

Code of Ethics (PDF)

Frequently Asked Questions

Note:  These are brief answers to sometimes complicated questions. For the purposes of an “advice column” we have focused on key points, hoping that these brief answers will help you think about your own dilemmas. Identifying information has been changed for any question that reflected a real client issue.

Information in this section of the website is intended for general guidance only. AET recommends that educational therapists engage a Board Certified Educational Therapist, psychologist, clinical social worker, or other appropriate professional for advice on dealing with complex issues that require more ongoing or in-depth consultation. Please note that laws differ from state to state and can change, so if your question is related to law (e.g. for scope of practice issues), please verify current laws in your state or consult a local attorney.

Sliding Scale Dilemma

I've been working with a certain family for several years and know that educational therapy has helped their child make significant gains in school. The father recently lost his job, and the mother stays home to take care of their three children. They have not approached me to ask if I'd lower their educational therapy fee, but they've been cancelling 2 or 3 out of our usual 8 monthly sessions. The cancellations are done well ahead of time, so they are not charged. Would it be appropriate for me to bring up the possibility of seeing the child on a sliding scale until Dad gets another job?

A: Yes, it would be appropriate for you to broach the sliding scale fee with the parents. This should be done when the child is not present and in a setting where you and the parents are comfortable -- in person would be best so that you can see their reactions. You might say that charging on a sliding scale is a normal part of educational therapy practice when it is needed. It would be good to add that when you charge a reduced rate, your policy is to review the rate and the circumstances every 6 months (or whatever feels right to you) so that the family expects to review the issue.

Clients Who Attend Your Own Child’s School

Is it ethical to work with children who go to the same school as your own child?

A: It is ethical to work with children at your own child's school in many, but not all circumstances. It is typically not a problem if the client is in a different grade and is not friends with your child. If the client is in your child's class, it would be better to refer them to another educational therapist if there are other ET's in your area. If you think that you will run into the client's parents at school social events, you will need to be very clear at the beginning of your relationship with the family that once you accept a client, your relationship with the family will be a professional one. Most ET's have had the experience of being approached by a client's parents in the grocery store, the fitness center, or at a school event. Be prepared for this, and make it your policy not to discuss professional matters in these public places.

Can I Accept this Gift?

I have a client who I have seen for several years. I have become quite close to the entire family. They have offered me a week’s vacation at their beach house. They would not be there during my visit. Can I accept?

A: No, this goes over the line. Small holiday gifts are generally acceptable (though some ET’s have strict rules against accepting any gifts). There needs to be a separation between the therapist and the client/family. It is possible that at some future time you will have to introduce an uncomfortable issue regarding your work with the student. That is very difficult to do if you have any feeling of being indebted to the clients.

Disagreements about Evaluation Reports

Is it ethical to criticize testing reports received with a new client. My client has significant developmental delays. Her parents were told by a psychologist in another state that their son is autistic. I do not feel that he warrants such a diagnosis but I am not a psychologist. As far as I can see, this was not based on any significant testing.

A: The first thing to remember, when questioning an evaluator’s diagnostic conclusion, is that one needs to proceed with caution, as educational therapists generally do not diagnose. Psychologists make diagnoses based on DSM-V criteria that may not be obvious from more general observations. Specific to this question: 1) legally, after the age of 9 years, the descriptor “developmental delay” may not be used; a different diagnosis must be applied, according to IDEA; 2), and the eligibility descriptor may have been the best/closest one to provide the legal protections, services, and programs that could benefit the child now and in the future; 3) how a student appears, according to the DSM-V conditions, may not exactly match how s/he seems in the on-going, familiar, and therapeutic relationship built in educational therapy sessions. Before raising any concerns, make sure you have complete information about how the diagnosis was determined and the potential implications of a change in diagnosis. In your efforts to support a client, be mindful of the ethical boundaries in the roles and training of an educational therapist. Strive to work effectively and in collaboration with others involved in a client’s case.

Balancing Religious and Academic Needs

Laura has been a second grade client of mine for the last three months. I work with her twice a week. She has been tested recently by a neuropsychologist and was found to have a learning disability. The parents are adamant that Laura attend a parochial school. She performs poorly in all aspects of the academic curriculum. The school does not have a resource teacher on staff. The classroom teacher refuses to make any modifications in either the classroom or homework assignments. What could I do to convince the parents that Laura needs to have a school setting that will enhance her chances of having greater academic success?

A: Ask the parents how Laura feels about school and whether she is aware of her academic difficulties. Ask the parents if Laura is showing signs of stress about going to school or doing homework. Share your experiences about other (anonymous) students who have been in school situations where the school could not meet their special learning needs. If private special education schools are available in your area, you can provide the parents with a list of local private special education schools and encourage the parents to set up appointments to explore the programs they provide for their special needs students. The parents should also visit their local public school to see what services would be available for students with Laura’s diagnosis. Suggest that the parents explore after school and weekend religious programs that Laura could attend to further her religious education. Even though you strongly feel that Laura must receive appropriate special education services quickly, you will need to give the parents time to accept Laura’s special learning requirements and to work through the “loss” of the parochial school that they envisioned for their child.

When Professionals Disagree

I am consulting and serving as case manager with the family of a high school student. At my recommendation that student is receiving direct services from a fellow educational therapist. The parents recently reported that they asked the educational therapist what she thought about a program I had recommended and in response, she told them that she thought this program was a bad idea for their son. What would be the most ethical way for me to respond?

A: You might respond by letting the parents know that you would like to follow up with the educational therapist yourself before talking further about this issue, if that would be okay with them. You want to gather more information about what was said, and find out what the reasoning was behind the educational therapist’s position. In the end, the goal is to avoid putting the family in the middle of a disagreement between the professionals upon whom they depend.

Multiple Therapists

I have a young adult client who has learning issues, is on the spectrum, and suffers from OCD. He wants to supplement the work we are doing with another specialist to work on his OCD. I am concerned that having multiple people working with him will dilute our relationship, open the situation up to splitting, and in the end, prove confusing to all involved. I am leaning towards urging either that he continue just with me or that he switch entirely, with my help, to the other specialist. What should I do?

A: This is a complex situation. In general, it is not a good idea, and indeed is unethical, to have more than one person working in the same domain with a single person. So if you are focusing on the OCD yourself, which reasonably could be affecting the learning issues, you would not want a second person overlapping that work. In which case, your response makes total sense. But if you are focusing on reading strategies, for example, and he wants help dealing with ritualistic behavior that gets in the way of his starting to read, having another specialist involved might actually be helpful. You would want to work very closely with the other person to coordinate your interventions, draw on each other’s work, and so on. But then again, this situation is made more complex by the fact that this client is on the spectrum, which makes involving multiple people in the case liable to cause confusion for the client. In light of that, you might do better to get ongoing consultation from someone trained in CBT, for example, who could assist you in making your work more effective for the client. In other words, as with most things, the answer is often: “What you should do depends on the specifics of the case.”

Client turning 18 years old

My teenage client is about to turn 18. How does this affect my relationships with the student and parents?

A: Clients who are 18 or older are technically adults, even if their parents are paying for educational therapy services. Therefore, changes will need to be made to both your contract and policy agreements with the family. Despite the new legal status, the efficacy of educational therapy still depends upon a partnership with all parties involved.

The first step in establishing this new partnership is to hold a family conference. One of the most important topics to discuss is how communication will be handled and what types of information will be shared with parents. Parents will have to understand that they will no longer be the first line of communication, but teens will also need to recognize that the family partnership will continue to require some ongoing communication with parents.

Once the outline of the new relationship is agreed upon, a Release of Information form will need to be signed by the teen to allow the ET to continue to communicate with the parents, teachers, etc. In addition, an explicit set of agreements should be written and signed by all parties. While the teen may revoke the agreements at any time, you, as the ET, may not feel you can continue to provide optimum services without those agreements and the family partnership in place. The family conference should be repeated at least yearly in order to make any necessary adjustments as the teen continues to mature and circumstances change.

If the young adult goes to college and/or begins to live independently, the current agreements may need to be further adjusted or updated. The agreements should spell out that illegal or dangerous (inflicting harm to oneself or another) behaviors will be reported to the parent/guardian, even if revealed casually or in confidence. However, every attempt should be made to help the client communicate with their parents on their own (or with our assistance/support) before the ET intervenes and potentially compromises confidentiality.

Working with clients after their 18^th birthday requires the ET to help both students and parents understand expectations but offers rewarding professional opportunities to assist young adults in successfully navigating the next steps in their education.

Disposing of Formal Assessments

I would like to dispose of a formal assessment instrument that I no longer use or is out-of-date. Can I simply throw it away?

A: When one purchases a formal assessment, there is an agreement between the purchaser and publisher that the user will safeguard the instrument, its items, and all content, whether it is current or out-of-date. It is vital that the instrument and items do not fall into unauthorized hands even if it is an outdated version. When new editions are released, many of the same questions or prompts are often reused. Therefore, you must shred all the assessment components. Remove the plates (the pages you turn in the easel) and shred them by hand or using a shredding service. Do the same for the manual and any unused test records or response sheets. Only then can the instrument be discarded. If you wish to give away any unused record sheets, you must ascertain that the recipient has been allowed to purchase that particular instrument and has been trained to use it.