Private psyched evaluation vs. school eval pros and cons?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The range of experiences with is immense. It doesn't seem to matter what county or district your in, it totally depends on the school and the committee your dealing with - as well as who on the school staff actually does the evaluation. I'll try to keep this objective but some bitterness may seep through so, please, forgive me.

DS was diagnosed with hypotonia and SPD about 3 months before he started kindergarten. He'd also been screened by some researchers who confirmed our suspicions of a speech delay. We shared this info with the school about a month before class started. We asked for a tour of the school before it started and before the Open House so DS could see his classroom, how to get to the bathroom, where to eat, etc. before the hordes arrived. There are 800 students in the school so you can imagine how overwhelming it would be even to a normal kid. From the school's reaction, you'd think that it was the first time they'd ever encountered a child like mine.

The screen the kindergartens for speech issues. I emailed the school speech therapist with the information from the researchers about DS's speech delay and our concerns. Her response was that based on their screening, his speech/language abilities were in the normal range. In October, at the parent teacher conference, it was clear DS was struggling. Shortly after that, I sent a written request that he be evaluated by the school for special services or that they accept the numerous private assessments we had and provide him with services. The chose not to accept the private assessments.

So, we met with the screening committee. The staff member who initially refused our request for a school tour was on the committee. The committee decided to "observe" DS first and after a casual observation, they determined nothing about him stood out and they declined to evaluate him. By this time, we were getting a private speech/language assessment. Once our private speech therapist started scoring is tests, she realized just how bad the delay was. With our permission, she contacted the school speech therapist to discuss it. To her credit, the school therapist called the committee back. They agreed to evaluate him speech but in no other area. By this time we were pursuing a private assessment from a developmental pediatrician who eventually diagnosed ADHD.

The change in the committee attitude once we provided that diagnosis was amazing. It was as if they were talking about a different child than the one we had discussed just months before. The child that didn't stand out was now so atypical that they were seriously concerned about his success. They conducted a full blown assessment and we were evenutally able to get services for him based on LD and Other Health Impairment. You should be aware that kids don't actually have to have a LD to be qualified under that category. They just have to be 'considered' to have one.

The evaluations we got from the school were, on the surface good. But, I've got doubt in my mind because, knowing what I know now, any professional in a school setting should have strongly suspected that DS had ADHD and could be considered to have a LD. The red flags were all there. I know the teacher recognized it early but because of the committee dynamics, she didn't have enough weight. It was only after we already had our own diagnosis that the school decided to do anything. They would have been more than willing to wait until he started failing the SOLs in third grade.

It sounds like your school isn't inclined to do much. Early intervention is so critical that I would recommend you bite the bullet and pursue something privately. Keep up your good work. Your child is lucky to have you. Good luck!

PP, what services did the school provide once your son got the ADHD diagnosis (versus what you paid for privately)? Thanks.

Hi, 9:58 again. Would also be interested in knowing what types of services were provided by school once the ADHD diagnosis was made. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I'm 17:01 and 12:13. DS's primary service is for Learning Disability (LD). He receives 15 hours of services per week, of which 12.5 are pull out services. As related services, he receives 4 hours of speech therapy a month, of which 2 are pull out services. He receives 1 hour a week of occupational therapy a month - none of it pull out. He also receives accomodations - small groups, extended work time, freqent breaks, shortened homework and visual memory supports. Dr. Heitin was with us for the IEP meeting and her contributions were invaluable to us. She knew what services were available, what was appropriate and carried a lot more weight than just a "parent".

The difference between this year and last year is amazing. Reading and homework was tortuous last year. We eventually stopped trying because it was starting to ruin our relationship with DS. DS got services just before the end of school and he started to turn around. The Special Ed teacher sent a bunch of books home for the summer (short, computer generated books) and we worked on them over the summer. DS isn't quite at grade level yet but he is finally learning to read and we don't battle over homework anymore. He's motivated, proud of himself and really making progress. I know some people don't like pull out services but the small group has made all the difference. At some point, I imagine we'll be able to stop them but not for at least the next few years.