SN Eval outside of schools?

[Stephenie]

My son is three and has some neurological issues - scarring on his thalamus which has caused some seizures and SPD. His neurologist suggested a school district eval to see if there were any other issues going on. I am thinking Asperger's or something like that could be possible, or it could be that it's just SPD. I don't know, I do know that his nuero really wanted him to get that eval. We just moved from WA to TX. I called the school district yesterday and talked with a preschool special needs evaluator... and I am so not impressed with the district if she is representative of it. She asked me to describe my son's behavior and said "Eeew" over the top of me when I was doing so. Her general attitude kind of annoyed me as well, it's hard to explain. So I want him further evaluated because his neurologist felt so strongly about it, but I don't know where else to go. His SPD eval was through a private OT.... I know he thought my son would do well with a whole panel of people like they do at the school districts... but this woman would be on that panel and I am not happy about that. I plan to contact the school district about her because she has no business working with special needs kids if that's how she reacts to their behavior being described.

Anyway, does anyone know of other options for evaluation that have a whole team like that? We have pretty good insurance, so cost shouldn't be much of an issue, assuming it would be covered.

I may go ahead with the district eval, I just want to see what my other options are.
Thanks .

[Polliwog]

I would have private evaluations done along side the school district ones (which are less comprehensive.) Then bring both sets to the table when you have the meeting.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by Stephenie

I am thinking Asperger's or something like that could be possible,

he's too young for an asperger's dx. All of the symptoms of Asperger's are normal in varying degrees in typically developing small children. One thing that you might want to try to make your peace with is that your son may end up with evaluations at different ages. You might do one eval. and get information that is really helpful for the next several years, but when he is in early elementary he might need a new eval. (sorry, I know this isn't happy news)

I am so not impressed with the district if she is representative of it. She asked me to describe my son's behavior and said "Eeew" over the top of me when I was doing so.

what role will this person have in the process?

So I want him further evaluated because his neurologist felt so strongly about it, but I don't know where else to go. His SPD eval was through a private OT....

My DD (who has PDD-NOS) has specialist who has a Ph D in psychology and specializes in testing who coordinates everything. She decides what tests, reviews input from teachers, my DD counselor, etc. It's just one person, not a team, but her role is to look at the big picture. Our insurance pays for it.

I had a hard time finding her and she had a heck of a wait list.

[Stephenie]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

what role will this person have in the process?

She said she was the "special needs evaluator for all preschool aged kids" and would be "handling our case" so I am guessing a fairly large role.

My DD (who has PDD-NOS) has specialist who has a Ph D in psychology and specializes in testing who coordinates everything. She decides what tests, reviews input from teachers, my DD counselor, etc. It's just one person, not a team, but her role is to look at the big picture. Our insurance pays for it.

I had a hard time finding her and she had a heck of a wait list.
I will have to look for someone like that here, thanks.

Thanks for all the info, I haven't had a ton of time to try and figure out what's going on. For the longest time we just thought "It's all because of his traumatic birth" and then it was that, plus SPD. Then, right before we moved 2500 mi we're told maybe it's something else on top of all of that, and I honestly hadn't considered it. In researching, Asperger's sounded like the closest fit, but even that doesn't sound quite right and I didn't know they don't diagnose it this young.

I am going to move forward trying to find private evals. I don't know if I will continue with the school district as we plan to homeschool. I wouldn't have started with them in the first place had my nuero not suggested it. I think at this point, school would be a disaster. He can't handle story time at the library without crying in my lap, I just don't think school would work. Add to that the fact that he's actually quite smart but is always crashing into things and spinning around in circles... I just don't think it would go well.

Anyway, thanks again for your input. I appreciate it. I feel so lost with all of this.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by Stephenie

I don't know if I will continue with the school district as we plan to homeschool. I wouldn't have started with them in the first place had my nuero not suggested it. I think at this point, school would be a disaster.

the decisions of whether or not to homeschool and whether or not to go through with the school eval are two completely different decisions. You can always get both the school and private eval.

We homeschooled for a long time, and my advice is to get all the information you can about your son, both so that you can provide him with the most appropriate learning experience possible and so that you create a paper trail for later.

Skipping an eval because you plan to homeschool is not, IMHO, a good idea. If you want to take full responsbility for your child's education, which is a bigger decision with a sn kid than a typical child, then you need to find out everything you can about how his brain works.

[Stephenie]

I understand what you're saying, I just don't know if repeating it all twice is worth it. At this point I have no respect for the school district. None. If that woman heads up the preschool evals, and she can't even act respectfully to me on the phone I can't imagine dealing with her face to face. Or having her interact with my child. I may go back to the school later, but I think I am going to peruse private evals first and let myself cool down. I can't deal with my district without dealing with her and I am too upset by her to deal with that right now. Maybe I am being too sensitive, but she was rather dismissive of me and my child anyway, so I am not sure we would have gone very far with it. She said that "sensory problems never effect learning" among other ignorant statements. I just can't emotionally handle it right now. But you're right, I shouldn't say I won't ever do it- but I will start with the private evals first.