Hi there. I’m new here as well. My dd is 9.5 and recently went through evaluation at school and I was told that she doesn’t “qualify” for special ed, but can get accommodations through a 504 plan. Apparently, they do the descrepency test and there wasn’t a big enough gap between her IQ and performance. I just don’t think this is a real reliable source in identifying any type of disability. Would it be worth going and getting a more in depth evaluation with our child psychologist? Will she get more services and/or will the school take into consideration what this psychologist says? Just wondering how YOU got your diagnosis. Thanks so much!
Christi
School evaluation or private?
Hi there. We had the choice of going through the school which were free, a peditrician which would be free or a child psychologist which our benifits didnt cover but we felt would give us the full awnser. I consulted my doctor who I really value her opinion and found out she went through the same with her son. Had the school test him due to him not good writting ability and restlessness. The said he had ADHD and wanted him on meds… she didn’t agree with the ADHD and took him to the psychologist who when did the full testing showed he was a gifted child with an LD in writing.. has to use a computer. Ever since.. he is doing wonderful. The restlessness and not paying atteniton was due to him not being able to do the written work properly. She explained that they ( the school ) only test the area that he is having trouble.. ie/ can’t write and doesn’t sit still/pay attention at times… they didn’t get into the whole area of testing.. same as a peditrician.. they go to school but only a small part of that is for learning info.. so they are not as reliable to do testing accurate. We went to the psychologist she did… and he was amazing. A full day indepth evaluation which my son enjoyed doing ( even the school’s psychologist was amazed at the indepth and test done) and it showed he has an LD. His reading and writing are behind due to his working memoery not being 100%. It showed that he is average to high average in intelligence, and above average in writing when given context to write with, and verbal. With this.. the school took more notice, and we as a team are working together now.
It is costly.. we spent about $1500 for the assessment ( worth it though) and now he is tutored once a week there by a turtor he has picked out for our son.
Good luck and take care!
School evaluation or private?
After school testing blamed all my dd’s learning issues on ADHD and her Bipolar dx, I requested and got a full Independent Educational Evaluation paid by the school district. We found, through that testing, that she had complex LDs and a 20 point higher IQ than the school testing showed. It put her into the high average catagory. It was well worth all the struggle to get that information because we have been able to put it to good use, get her the services she needs and she is more successful at school.
Re: School evaluation or private?
HI HAVEN’T BEEN ON FOR A WHILE JUST GOT THE RESULTS FROM MY SON’S PRIVATE EVALUATION AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW THE MONEY IS WELL WORTH IT. MY SON IS 10 1/2 IN THE THE FIFTH GRADE. NEXT YEAR IS MIDDLE SCHOOL SCARY!!!!. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A LEARNING DISABILITY NOTHING SPECIFIED UNTIL NOW. WE HAVE DONE THE SCHOOL ROUTE AND THE PRIVATE ROUTE SEVERAL TIMES. WITH THE PRIVATE ROUTE WE GOT MORE SERVICES FOR THE SCHOOL. ALTHOUGH THE LAW SAYS THAT THEY NEED TO PROVIDE YOUR CHILD THE SERVICES THEY NEED TO SUCCEED REMEMBER THE SCHOOL PSYCH IS WORKING FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. IF YOU LOOK AT MY SON’S REPORT CARD HE GETS A’S B’S AND SOME C’S BUT HE IS TWO AND 1/2 YEARS BELOW GRADE LEVEL. THE SCHOOL PSYCH. HAS A LARGE CASE LOAD AND IS OVERWORKED. FOR PEACE OF MIND AND THE BEST FOR YOUR CHILD I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND PRIVATE TESTING. IF IT SHOWS THE SAME THING AS THE SCHOOL EVAL. THEN YOU WILL FEEL BETTER IF NOT THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GET THE SERVICES FOR YOUR CHILD. AS WE WERE TOLD BY THE PRIVATE PSYCHOLOGIST TIME IS OF AN ESSENSE. CHILD HAVE A GROWTH SPURT AT ABOUT 12 YEARS OLD AND IT IS HARD AFTER THAT THE START TO BRIDGE ANY LEARNING DISABILITIES. GO WITH YOUR GUT. WE KNOW BEST. GOOD LUCK.
Re: School evaluation or private?
HI HAVEN’T BEEN ON FOR A WHILE JUST GOT THE RESULTS FROM MY SON’S PRIVATE EVALUATION AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW THE MONEY IS WELL WORTH IT. MY SON IS 10 1/2 IN THE THE FIFTH GRADE. NEXT YEAR IS MIDDLE SCHOOL SCARY!!!!. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A LEARNING DISABILITY NOTHING SPECIFIED UNTIL NOW. WE HAVE DONE THE SCHOOL ROUTE AND THE PRIVATE ROUTE SEVERAL TIMES. WITH THE PRIVATE ROUTE WE GOT MORE SERVICES FOR THE SCHOOL. ALTHOUGH THE LAW SAYS THAT THEY NEED TO PROVIDE YOUR CHILD THE SERVICES THEY NEED TO SUCCEED REMEMBER THE SCHOOL PSYCH IS WORKING FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. IF YOU LOOK AT MY SON’S REPORT CARD HE GETS A’S B’S AND SOME C’S BUT HE IS TWO AND 1/2 YEARS BELOW GRADE LEVEL. THE SCHOOL PSYCH. HAS A LARGE CASE LOAD AND IS OVERWORKED. FOR PEACE OF MIND AND THE BEST FOR YOUR CHILD I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND PRIVATE TESTING. IF IT SHOWS THE SAME THING AS THE SCHOOL EVAL. THEN YOU WILL FEEL BETTER IF NOT THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GET THE SERVICES FOR YOUR CHILD. AS WE WERE TOLD BY THE PRIVATE PSYCHOLOGIST TIME IS OF AN ESSENSE. CHILD HAVE A GROWTH SPURT AT ABOUT 12 YEARS OLD AND IT IS HARD AFTER THAT THE START TO BRIDGE ANY LEARNING DISABILITIES. GO WITH YOUR GUT. WE KNOW BEST. GOOD LUCK.
Re: School evaluation or private?
Get the private eval too. We did. Our insurance covered the cost. It’s good to have a comparison. The school usually takes longer. Longer wait list. And the school will act upon your private eval. Goodluck.
Re: School evaluation or private?
Go with both b/c the school can reject whatever the private evaluator says. Start both processes at once b/c both can take a while. I know the district we’re in has 60 days to complete. If I had known that/this before, I would have started that process. We were referred to a private psych/educ. evaluator by our pediatrician, who we trust. We’re waiting a month just to get with him! It’s frustrating b/c you want to know/get to the crux of the matter asap b/c you don’t want your kids to fall behind, etc.
It definitely pays to cover all your bases just in case.
Re: School evaluation or private?
Private testing can give you more information. However, it won’t necessarily get you special education. Schools have extremely strict criteria for determining eligibility for services set up by the federal government. So, you may get more info from a private eval (which could be helpful for parents and teachers), but it won’t guarantee special education services. We have had times where the private recommended spec. ed, but we could not find the kid eligibile. The psychologist knows the disabilities, but doesn’t always understand special education laws and criteria.
Re: School evaluation or private?
Thanks for your site, Erin!
Very helpful. Your insight/advice is much appreciated!
We have our mtg. with our indep. evaluator today and are scheduled with our first school intervention meeting on 12/3. (the evaluator is also doing an in-class this wed.)
I’m just hoping for ANY extra help we can get for our son.
Even though I now feel knowledgeable about our rights, etc., and am trying to stay optimistic at this point, I find it very disheartening that all of this is some sort of uphill battle with school bureaucracy. Not just for me, but for any parent.
I know schools are scraping by at this point with all of the no child left behind stuff, but I feel this is leaving many children to fall through the cracks.
Man. If I had known that KG is now the new 1st grade, I would have started my son a year later!
School evaluations are highly unreliable. Here’s a link to info on IEE’s.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/test.iee.steedman.htm