School psychologist

[Anonymous]

Our DD has an IEP based on a neuropsych done at Children's where she was diagnosed with ASD/ADHD as well dysgraphia and dyslexia.
She is now in 5th grade, and it was decided that she should be retested before MS.
The school psychologist will be doing the testing next week and sent us some on line questionnaires to fill out - one is for ASD and one is for ADHD. She informed us that testing would be 2-3 hours total. I'm confused as to what this testing will establish as she already has 2 life long diagnoses. Why are they screening again? Can she lose the diagnoses?
She has thankfully been doing much better in school last year and this year since she's been fully in-person. She makes As and Bs. Could and should I decline testing? What are the upsides and downsides to such testing? This is the first time she has had in school testing. Everything before was through the developmental ped and CNMC.

[Anonymous]

It's to determine what kind of support will be needed in MS. It's much different than ES. There are multiple teachers and students are expected to learn to be independent by HS.

A school psychologist can't diagnose or "un"diagnose anything. They will assess educational impacts and the testing results will help determine what is put into the IEP.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! So there is no downside? I am always a bit mistrustful of the school system because initially it really failed in meeting my child's needs. We had to do a ton of outside tutoring and still do. I'm fine with having to be very involved and basically educating my child myself - but I need to ensure that their getting a chance to access the curriculum during the school day and feel protected from outright discrimination and bullying.

[Anonymous]

I’d want much more information about specific testing before proceeding.

[Anonymous]

They are looking at current functioning. They don’t diagnose, and the IEP cannot be changed without your permission. Most of these tests have very fixed rules and you don’t need to worry that anyone is trying to cheat your kid. It’s required to update testing at some point, if at all possible. I can’t see any downside.

[Anonymous]

This sounds like an eligibility meeting. Schools don’t give medical diagnosis like adhd, autism, or anxiety or dyslexia. They assess for an educational disability, educational impact, and the need for specialized instruction versus accommodations. The schools follow DOE guidelines and the law.

The testing the school psych proposed is very common and will be helpful, updated information for eligibility purposes and educational planning.