When to get updated neuropsych eval?

[Anonymous]

We got a neuropsych evaluation with a private psychologist when DS was 4. They diagnosed ASD-1, and he's been in a mainstream MCPS class room with some supports since then. Now he's 7 and we are wondering if/when we need to get an updated evaluation. The school hasn't asked for one, but I'm curious if there's a general timeline or what we should plan for. We had been on a waitlist with KKI forever, and got a call from them that we got an evaluation spot around when DS turned 6, but they said it would cost a lot and wouldn't be worth it to us to get it then because we already had a diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

We were told that it’s useful to have one at times of transition - moving the middle school or going into high school, before going to college. Or if you think the needs/issues have changed or there are new issues/new diagnoses. The main usefulness of the neuropsych besides the initial diagnosis is for classroom placement and accessing services. So I’d think in terms of whether new services are needed or if you’re at a point where classroom placement will change or needs to change.

[Anonymous]

OP do you have academic concerns? Reading or math disabilities? Working memory or processing speed? If you suspect there are, I'd schedule for the next year. Kids with ASD-1 often have lower frustration tolerance. If there are additional disabilities you or the school can address before the ASD compounds their effects, you'll want to know about them.

But if you think the current diagnosis seems to be enough for you and the teachers to work with, and for your child to make progress, I'd hold off for now. The older your child is, the more revealing the testing will be and the more useful into future years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were told that it’s useful to have one at times of transition - moving the middle school or going into high school, before going to college. Or if you think the needs/issues have changed or there are new issues/new diagnoses. The main usefulness of the neuropsych besides the initial diagnosis is for classroom placement and accessing services. So I’d think in terms of whether new services are needed or if you’re at a point where classroom placement will change or needs to change.

+1 We just had one done for middle school planning. Different structure, different school, way more kids, way more executive functioning expectations made us want a new snapshot of our DS's baseline strengths and weaknesses. We weren't expecting dramatically new info, but the observations and recommendations in the report will help drive a whole new/different set of IEP supports.

[Anonymous]

We did them at transitions but if they were more than three years old, the school usually asked to have them redone. It was worthwhile because we learned something new about DC each time

[Anonymous]

Ask the school -

DS had it done in 7th grade. HS never asked for it - and college took it along with the 504 from his senior year of HS. I was very thankful as we don't have $5000 to get it repeated regularly.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend waiting if you don't have additional diagnostic questions now. It's also still on the early side to identify learning disabilities.

I err on the side of not overtesting. I only recommend getting additional testing after a diagnosis if you have specific questions that only testing can answer, or if you need updated testing to qualify for something specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got a neuropsych evaluation with a private psychologist when DS was 4. They diagnosed ASD-1, and he's been in a mainstream MCPS class room with some supports since then. Now he's 7 and we are wondering if/when we need to get an updated evaluation. The school hasn't asked for one, but I'm curious if there's a general timeline or what we should plan for. We had been on a waitlist with KKI forever, and got a call from them that we got an evaluation spot around when DS turned 6, but they said it would cost a lot and wouldn't be worth it to us to get it then because we already had a diagnosis.

Agree with PPs who said times of transition are a good time to get an updated evaluation. But the IEP also requires re-evaluation every three years to determine eligibility for services. This may include updated formal testing but it's not a requirement and is a team decision. Look on the front page of IEP in the bottom right corner. it should say "Most Recent Evaluation Date" and "Projected Evaluation Date." The IEP team will schedule a meeting at least 90 days prior to the projected eval date to discuss present levels and data and decide if there are any new questions or any need for updated evaluations. Sometimes they want to test and other times they say no need to test and student is still eligible. Hope that helps.