Anonymous wrote:Another school psych here, but not in FCPS. The dyslexia/dysgraphia term is a semantics issue - it's not a special ed category and it's actually not a DSM category either. The school message is right that they don't diagnose dyslexia, and you would need a private eval for a diagnosis. However, the school does identify specific learning disabilities. The school eval and school team is ultimately what determines eligibility for special ed, though they will consider private evals.

I always suggest that parents go through the school based evals first. This is sufficient for many kids. If you disagree with their findings, you can then pursue private testing. Private testing has a longer wait and is expensive, which is why I recommend starting with school testing. You could respond to the email and say you are requesting a school-based evaluation for special eduction services because you suspect that your child may have a specific learning disability. Then, the team will have a meeting with you to discuss.

Also, in my experience, there is just as much variability in quality in public and private evals. A high price tag is not always a marker of quality.

Anonymous wrote:If you get the school eval and disagree, you can ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation, which will allow you to get the private eval on the school district's dime.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School psychologist here! It’s really a semantics question. We are not giving diagnoses in the educational setting, we are giving educational classifications. If I test your child and the pattern is clearly dyslexia, I will tell you that! But there won’t be a piece of medical paperwork for your child’s record that says that. Instead, there will be an IEP under the category of specific learning disability. I would not encourage you to get private testing at this stage, as the school will give many of the same tests for free.

How many hours of testing do you spend with a child when you conduct a school-based evaluation? Case loads are very high and time is extremely limited.

I probably spend 2-3 hours with each child and then observe them.. There’s also an educational assessment that is another 2-3 hours. Private testing might be 4-8 hours, they typically give several tests that measure the same construct, whereas I’ll probably only give 1-2 unless there’s an unanswered question about the child’s performance. Private testing can definitely be more thorough, but I find that testing that takes place in a child’s ecological system is often more accurate to their day to day. I’m also not sure that giving additional tests provides much added utility. I am not saying people shouldn’t get private testing, but if it’s a financial burden for you and not covered by insurance, school based testing can often do the trick of understanding what your child needs.

I worked in several school districts as a school psych. and did not have the ability to spend 3 hours with a student for testing. My caseload was through the roof. I was often interrupted for mental health, behavior, and safety/risk assessment emergencies. Plus, the number of meetings I was required to attend limited my time spent for student testing. Unsure which school system you work that allows you to spend several hours with one student. I was lucky to have 2 uninterrupted hours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School psychologist here! It’s really a semantics question. We are not giving diagnoses in the educational setting, we are giving educational classifications. If I test your child and the pattern is clearly dyslexia, I will tell you that! But there won’t be a piece of medical paperwork for your child’s record that says that. Instead, there will be an IEP under the category of specific learning disability. I would not encourage you to get private testing at this stage, as the school will give many of the same tests for free.

How many hours of testing do you spend with a child when you conduct a school-based evaluation? Case loads are very high and time is extremely limited.

I probably spend 2-3 hours with each child and then observe them.. There’s also an educational assessment that is another 2-3 hours. Private testing might be 4-8 hours, they typically give several tests that measure the same construct, whereas I’ll probably only give 1-2 unless there’s an unanswered question about the child’s performance. Private testing can definitely be more thorough, but I find that testing that takes place in a child’s ecological system is often more accurate to their day to day. I’m also not sure that giving additional tests provides much added utility. I am not saying people shouldn’t get private testing, but if it’s a financial burden for you and not covered by insurance, school based testing can often do the trick of understanding what your child needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School psychologist here! It’s really a semantics question. We are not giving diagnoses in the educational setting, we are giving educational classifications. If I test your child and the pattern is clearly dyslexia, I will tell you that! But there won’t be a piece of medical paperwork for your child’s record that says that. Instead, there will be an IEP under the category of specific learning disability. I would not encourage you to get private testing at this stage, as the school will give many of the same tests for free.

ha! every school psychologist I have encountered in my 10 years of FCPS has falsified documents/testing and maybe spent 15 minutes with my kid and even said things like "I have never had a student with dyslexia."

Ridiculous. No one falsifies testing.

Then, extremely wishful thinking testing results or improper testing. Granted, this was a while ago, my DC scored a “16” on the DRA at the end of first grade. The following September it was an 8, and we had worked all summer on reading and DC had improved very very slightly- they certainly had not backtracked. The school never ever fully explained what happened, despite being asked directly, but DC was “fast tracked “ into qualifying for an IEP that fall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School psychologist here! It’s really a semantics question. We are not giving diagnoses in the educational setting, we are giving educational classifications. If I test your child and the pattern is clearly dyslexia, I will tell you that! But there won’t be a piece of medical paperwork for your child’s record that says that. Instead, there will be an IEP under the category of specific learning disability. I would not encourage you to get private testing at this stage, as the school will give many of the same tests for free.

ha! every school psychologist I have encountered in my 10 years of FCPS has falsified documents/testing and maybe spent 15 minutes with my kid and even said things like "I have never had a student with dyslexia."

Ridiculous. No one falsifies testing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School psychologist here! It’s really a semantics question. We are not giving diagnoses in the educational setting, we are giving educational classifications. If I test your child and the pattern is clearly dyslexia, I will tell you that! But there won’t be a piece of medical paperwork for your child’s record that says that. Instead, there will be an IEP under the category of specific learning disability. I would not encourage you to get private testing at this stage, as the school will give many of the same tests for free.

ha! every school psychologist I have encountered in my 10 years of FCPS has falsified documents/testing and maybe spent 15 minutes with my kid and even said things like "I have never had a student with dyslexia."

Anonymous wrote:School psychologist here! It’s really a semantics question. We are not giving diagnoses in the educational setting, we are giving educational classifications. If I test your child and the pattern is clearly dyslexia, I will tell you that! But there won’t be a piece of medical paperwork for your child’s record that says that. Instead, there will be an IEP under the category of specific learning disability. I would not encourage you to get private testing at this stage, as the school will give many of the same tests for free.

Anonymous wrote:School psychologist here! It’s really a semantics question. We are not giving diagnoses in the educational setting, we are giving educational classifications. If I test your child and the pattern is clearly dyslexia, I will tell you that! But there won’t be a piece of medical paperwork for your child’s record that says that. Instead, there will be an IEP under the category of specific learning disability. I would not encourage you to get private testing at this stage, as the school will give many of the same tests for free.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School psychologist here! It’s really a semantics question. We are not giving diagnoses in the educational setting, we are giving educational classifications. If I test your child and the pattern is clearly dyslexia, I will tell you that! But there won’t be a piece of medical paperwork for your child’s record that says that. Instead, there will be an IEP under the category of specific learning disability. I would not encourage you to get private testing at this stage, as the school will give many of the same tests for free.

How many hours of testing do you spend with a child when you conduct a school-based evaluation? Case loads are very high and time is extremely limited.