The Myth of Clinical Judgment

Abstract

Professions that provide services to people with disabilities typically do so from a clinical perspective. Yet evidence on the exercise of clinical judgment raises a number of questions about its influence. Other factors such as economics, bureaucratic exigency, politics, service traditions, and societal prejudice may render reliance on clinical judgment little more than a mythology. This paper examines the status of clinical judgment in two areas of policy and practice, namely, placement of students in special education settings, and residential placements and programs for people with developmental disabilities.