What to expect at school evaluation meeting?

[~cassie]

We have Aidan's evaluation with the school system first thing Monday morning and I am not sure what to expect.

Is there going to be multiple professionals(OT/ST, etc) doing the evals or just one person? Will they tell me how he scores on their tests right then or will I get a report? Will they tell me their recommendations for amt of therapy/how many days he should attend right then or wait for a full report?

Oh and will I need to be prepared with what I want for him or that can all wait until the IEP meeting?

[CarrieMF]

In my experience working in a school, the specialists are not all there at the same time. Our specialists all have to come from the city 3 hours away. When they could come depended on their schedule. It took 7months for their evaluations to all be completed. We had an OT(twice), SLP(twice), behaviour psychologist & another psychologist. They will give some suggestions but there will also be a formal report later. Here as a TA I do everything, the specialists only come 1-2 times to observe. They don't do any actual services. no I do not have the training. The last psychologist suggested the school spend their money(what little there is) on trying to get the OT & SLP to come in to work with the boy. He is severely special needs & the school(rural in a village) does not have the ability to provide what he needs. He CANNOT be left alone ever & even though he is so severe he is only funded half time.

You could take a list of things you want & the specialists could give suggestions, but it's better for the IEP meeting.

[2boyzmama]

It probably varies by state, and even by school.

In our area, it's a several-step process. The first meeting is just a "screener" where a few professionals will do a general eval to determine if they think he needs further screening. YOu'll also fill out a TON of paperwork.

If they say he needs further screening, then you'll get appts to do individual in-depth screenings, one professional at a time usually.

THEN there will be a meeting to go over the various results, that's when you'll get the big report.

THEN there will be an IEP meeting to discuss services.

In our case, it was 4 different meetings, spread out over several weeks.

[Drummer's Wife]

I was sent home papers that described what the evaluation included and a desription summarizing how my DS did in each area. Then, it was discussed at length during his IEP. His was just done by a SLP - but I'd guess each therapist would evaluate separately,

The consent form I signed before the initial screening, as well as a more thorough evaluation pretty much outlined it all, so I knew what to expect.