Can I get some input on a school suggesting that my kindergartner have a neuropsychological evaluation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you going to answer if this is private or public school?

She did. It’s a private school.

OP I don’t understand your resistance and trying to look for reasons not to believe the teachers.

My 3 kids are all in private school and if a teacher suggested to seek some sort of evaluation, I would right away.
My youngest is 4.5 and in PK. Our preschool as a L&S and OT as well as other experts on site. I was the one who requested a speech evaluation last year and the teachers went along with it. My son was average in the evaluation, but I am doing speech therapy nonetheless and he is making so much progress.
Maybe the teachers are wrong or maybe they aren’t, but why can’t you get an evaluation? You can always decide to do nothing about it.

Perhaps there is something I am missing, but what is the issue here?

You’re doing speech therapy for a kid who doesn’t need it???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:well it will take you 3 years to get a neuropsych exam, so doesn’t seem like a great recommendation.

I’d talk to the school SPED team and ask what the meaning of the recommendation is. They have an affirm duty to start the evaluation process if they suspect a disability.

well that's wildly untrue.

Depends where you live boo

Well this is DC urban moms. And if you can pay, you can get a neurospych in less than 6 months. From at least 4 places that I called as recently as a month ago.

… and then you’ve missed 6 months of helpful OT if you wait that long.

based on OP’s description, there is not going to be some big suprise reveal in the “neuropsych.” the kid has fine motor delays and engages in some mild externalizing. address those things now. probably more important is to figure out if the school just wants to get rid of the kid.

[Anonymous]

I would get the full neuropsych if that is what is being recommended. We were private pay and maybe waited a month for an appointment. My child was not diagnosed until late middle school because she was able to mask with excellent academic performance. She has both types of ADHD and slow processing. I really wish that someone had suggested testing to us earlier. She went though middle school being punished by teachers for behavior that was result of adhd-fidgeting, inability to sit still, etc. . . Further, I really would have liked more time to help her work on her executive function skills before college, we barely had enough time to get her medications right.

Early intervention will only help your child. It seems you are overlooking this out of a desire not to have your child “labeled.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:well it will take you 3 years to get a neuropsych exam, so doesn’t seem like a great recommendation.

I’d talk to the school SPED team and ask what the meaning of the recommendation is. They have an affirm duty to start the evaluation process if they suspect a disability.

well that's wildly untrue.

Depends where you live boo

Well this is DC urban moms. And if you can pay, you can get a neurospych in less than 6 months. From at least 4 places that I called as recently as a month ago.

… and then you’ve missed 6 months of helpful OT if you wait that long.

based on OP’s description, there is not going to be some big suprise reveal in the “neuropsych.” the kid has fine motor delays and engages in some mild externalizing. address those things now. probably more important is to figure out if the school just wants to get rid of the kid.

All of this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:well it will take you 3 years to get a neuropsych exam, so doesn’t seem like a great recommendation.

I’d talk to the school SPED team and ask what the meaning of the recommendation is. They have an affirm duty to start the evaluation process if they suspect a disability.

well that's wildly untrue.

Depends where you live boo

Well this is DC urban moms. And if you can pay, you can get a neurospych in less than 6 months. From at least 4 places that I called as recently as a month ago.

… and then you’ve missed 6 months of helpful OT if you wait that long.

based on OP’s description, there is not going to be some big suprise reveal in the “neuropsych.” the kid has fine motor delays and engages in some mild externalizing. address those things now. probably more important is to figure out if the school just wants to get rid of the kid.

We don’t know. We don’t have the kid in front of us. If the behaviors are so minor, why would the school want to get rid of the kid? Op has wondered if the kid’s reactions are “disproportionate.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you going to answer if this is private or public school?

She did. It’s a private school.

OP I don’t understand your resistance and trying to look for reasons not to believe the teachers.

My 3 kids are all in private school and if a teacher suggested to seek some sort of evaluation, I would right away.
My youngest is 4.5 and in PK. Our preschool as a L&S and OT as well as other experts on site. I was the one who requested a speech evaluation last year and the teachers went along with it. My son was average in the evaluation, but I am doing speech therapy nonetheless and he is making so much progress.
Maybe the teachers are wrong or maybe they aren’t, but why can’t you get an evaluation? You can always decide to do nothing about it.

Perhaps there is something I am missing, but what is the issue here?

You’re doing speech therapy for a kid who doesn’t need it???

He tested average for his age (I believe 48 percentile or 52). The speech therapy is helping a lot. I bet he is probably at a higher percentile now. Why not? He spends one hour with a nice woman playing games and teaching him (and o it him). It’s private so we are not taking anyone else’s spot. We can afford it (and insurance pays for a good chunk). Why wouldn’t we?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:well it will take you 3 years to get a neuropsych exam, so doesn’t seem like a great recommendation.

I’d talk to the school SPED team and ask what the meaning of the recommendation is. They have an affirm duty to start the evaluation process if they suspect a disability.

well that's wildly untrue.

Depends where you live boo

Well this is DC urban moms. And if you can pay, you can get a neurospych in less than 6 months. From at least 4 places that I called as recently as a month ago.

… and then you’ve missed 6 months of helpful OT if you wait that long.

based on OP’s description, there is not going to be some big suprise reveal in the “neuropsych.” the kid has fine motor delays and engages in some mild externalizing. address those things now. probably more important is to figure out if the school just wants to get rid of the kid.

We don’t know. We don’t have the kid in front of us. If the behaviors are so minor, why would the school want to get rid of the kid? Op has wondered if the kid’s reactions are “disproportionate.”

because as others have said, the private school may want a class of “perfect” kids or even just have decided that OP’s child doesn’t fit the image they want to project.

and because again, you are fundamentally misunderstanding the usefulness of a “neuropsych.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you going to answer if this is private or public school?

She did. It’s a private school.

OP I don’t understand your resistance and trying to look for reasons not to believe the teachers.

My 3 kids are all in private school and if a teacher suggested to seek some sort of evaluation, I would right away.
My youngest is 4.5 and in PK. Our preschool as a L&S and OT as well as other experts on site. I was the one who requested a speech evaluation last year and the teachers went along with it. My son was average in the evaluation, but I am doing speech therapy nonetheless and he is making so much progress.
Maybe the teachers are wrong or maybe they aren’t, but why can’t you get an evaluation? You can always decide to do nothing about it.

Perhaps there is something I am missing, but what is the issue here?

You’re doing speech therapy for a kid who doesn’t need it???

He tested average for his age (I believe 48 percentile or 52). The speech therapy is helping a lot. I bet he is probably at a higher percentile now. Why not? He spends one hour with a nice woman playing games and teaching him (and o it him). It’s private so we are not taking anyone else’s spot. We can afford it (and insurance pays for a good chunk). Why wouldn’t we?

because that’s pretty coocoo sounding to those of us who ACTUALLY have kids with SN. if your view is “average is never acceptable” then yes, that would be crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach kindergarten in a public elementary school and what you describe isn’t anything that would raise red flags unless the teacher hasn’t told you everything. Have you had an in-person meeting go get more details? It takes a very, very, very long time to get any student tested unless the behaviors are so outside the norm.

I was going to say this, but from the parent perspective. My kid had VERY similar struggles in K, especially around emotional regulation and figuring out how to deal with frustration. It was a tough year but we worked on it at home and within about 6 months it had gotten better.

Is your kid young for the grade, by chance? Mine was and I think this was part of it. The difference between 5 years and 1 month and 5 years 11 months can actually be substantial. Especially since all these kids were in preschool a year prior, where a lot less was asked of them. I think the younger kids can have a tougher transition.

But my experience is that this gap narrows to nothing within a year or two, and that if your kid does not have SNs (which mine, it turns out, does not) they develop greater emotional regulation with time and practice and these issues resolve or at least greatly lessen.

Either there's more to what's happening or, as others have noted, it's a private school trying to counsel you out so they can cherry pick their class a bit more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:well it will take you 3 years to get a neuropsych exam, so doesn’t seem like a great recommendation.

I’d talk to the school SPED team and ask what the meaning of the recommendation is. They have an affirm duty to start the evaluation process if they suspect a disability.

well that's wildly untrue.

Depends where you live boo

Well this is DC urban moms. And if you can pay, you can get a neurospych in less than 6 months. From at least 4 places that I called as recently as a month ago.

… and then you’ve missed 6 months of helpful OT if you wait that long.

based on OP’s description, there is not going to be some big suprise reveal in the “neuropsych.” the kid has fine motor delays and engages in some mild externalizing. address those things now. probably more important is to figure out if the school just wants to get rid of the kid.

We don’t know. We don’t have the kid in front of us. If the behaviors are so minor, why would the school want to get rid of the kid? Op has wondered if the kid’s reactions are “disproportionate.”

because as others have said, the private school may want a class of “perfect” kids or even just have decided that OP’s child doesn’t fit the image they want to project.

and because again, you are fundamentally misunderstanding the usefulness of a “neuropsych.”

I had a kid with mild SN in a mainstream private school for many years and am not as quick as you to assume the school is just looking for compliant kids. They could just have genuine concerns. It’s an appropriate recommendation if they see a variety of differences, and it sounds like they do.

[Anonymous]

Keep testing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could try getting an OT evaluation first (cheaper than a neuropsych and probably easier to get quickly). The OT can assess whether to recommend a neuropsych, and as a prior poster said, OT services could help with a lot of the things you mentioned

+1 Good suggestion. Lots of kids get OT for a variety of issues, it's not that bad and they can assess if more serious intervention is needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you going to answer if this is private or public school?

She did. It’s a private school.

OP I don’t understand your resistance and trying to look for reasons not to believe the teachers.

My 3 kids are all in private school and if a teacher suggested to seek some sort of evaluation, I would right away.
My youngest is 4.5 and in PK. Our preschool as a L&S and OT as well as other experts on site. I was the one who requested a speech evaluation last year and the teachers went along with it. My son was average in the evaluation, but I am doing speech therapy nonetheless and he is making so much progress.
Maybe the teachers are wrong or maybe they aren’t, but why can’t you get an evaluation? You can always decide to do nothing about it.

Perhaps there is something I am missing, but what is the issue here?

OP here. There's really not much resistance. I'm already now on the waitlist for two providers and am currently planning to proceed with the evaluation. It's a big expense ($2500+) so I'm just seeking assurances that it's reasonable.

[Anonymous]

I am a school employee (not teacher) on page one and I bet it’s private school and it’s the first step in counseling you out. Your kid is fine, they just want easy, “advanced” kids.
Reading on to find out…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you going to answer if this is private or public school?

She did. It’s a private school.

OP I don’t understand your resistance and trying to look for reasons not to believe the teachers.

My 3 kids are all in private school and if a teacher suggested to seek some sort of evaluation, I would right away.
My youngest is 4.5 and in PK. Our preschool as a L&S and OT as well as other experts on site. I was the one who requested a speech evaluation last year and the teachers went along with it. My son was average in the evaluation, but I am doing speech therapy nonetheless and he is making so much progress.
Maybe the teachers are wrong or maybe they aren’t, but why can’t you get an evaluation? You can always decide to do nothing about it.

Perhaps there is something I am missing, but what is the issue here?

OP here. There's really not much resistance. I'm already now on the waitlist for two providers and am currently planning to proceed with the evaluation. It's a big expense ($2500+) so I'm just seeking assurances that it's reasonable.

The expense is reasonable, them asking you in the first place is perhaps not. We don't really know without seeing your kid and knowing more about the school's reputation. Do you have a way to talk with any families who were counseled out of this school or families who were asked to get such evaluations and are still at the school? All I know is keep your guard up.