What to expect at the school district's evaluation for special needs?

[marimara]

I posted just this week about my 4yo dd and suspected sensory issues and her sensitivities/shyness/panic etc. I finally worked up the nerve to call the school district after a friend suggested it and they said, yep she needs an evaluation. BTW, she is 4 (next week) and her late bday does not allow her to got to Prek this year. I didn't know they would even evaluate her if she's not in school yet, but yes they are sending me the packet.

Anyways, questions about the evaluation:

how long does it last?
what will happen in the evaluation?
do they ask the child things directly? I say this because my dd will say one thing and do something quite different. For instance, she will say she loves playing at the playground and while this is true, if some loud kids show up she will very likely have a meltdown or at least a crying spell and we'd have to leave. She will say she loves playing with kids but her behaviour is totally different. She will say she loves to eat meat but will, in reality, take FOREVER to chew it or not eat it all. Of course these things don't happen everytime all the time. I'm just wondering how much can you expect to believe of what a 4 year old says?
I also wonder how she will behave in front of the therapist. She often tries to be teacher/coaches pet and will do whatever they say, nicely (if she likes them, that is). It's when other kids come around or when mommy tries to leave is when the behavior comes out (the social stuff).

[Emmeline II]

I would research what you think her issues are and compare that to her behavior as you know it. When I went to our Dr. for a referral I had a bullet list of his behaviors, some of which I recalled due to reviewing Aspergers and theSensory Processing Disorder Checklist; I actually organized the list similar to the SPD checklist categories.

I haven't done the district evaluation, but it seems normal for districts to start evaluations for speech and motor skills at 2-3 years old.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by marimara

how long does it last?
what will happen in the evaluation?

it really depends on exactly which test they are going to run. I would ask the school this directly when the eval is scheduled.

do they ask the child things directly? I say this because my dd will say one thing and do something quite different.

My DD's eval consisted of:

• her being tested in a variety of ways (including IQ, puzzles, etc),
• me filling in bubbles on a HUGE pile of questionnaires,
• me talking to the dr. doing the eval,
• the dr. reading over input from her school, etc.

A lot of different things went into it.

I also wonder how she will behave in front of the therapist. She often tries to be teacher/coaches pet and will do whatever they say, nicely (if she likes them, that is). It's when other kids come around or when mommy tries to leave is when the behavior comes out (the social stuff).

my DD's the same way. The good news is that your DD will most likely really enjoy her eval because she'll be one-on-one with a nice adult.

If she has a preschool teacher or anyone like that who could summarize her issues, it would be helpful.

If you could do a simple bulletted list of why you think the eval is in order, it would most likely be helpful as well.

GOOD LUCK!!

[eewieew]

My school district has the evaluation for school age kids, and for infants and toddlers, aptly named the Infants and Toddlers Program, which is basically early intervention for toddlers that are lagging behind developmentally in at least one area. DD, who is almost 19 months, has global delays that we're pretty sure are attributed to her congenital hypothyroidism, that went undiagnosed until she was almost 1.

She was evaluated by a teacher and Speech Pathologist initially, but based on their findings they referred her to PT and OT as well. They came to our home, and brought out some toys to play with her, and otherwise just observed her doing her thing while asking me questions.

I don't know how it works for school-age, but I'm soooo glad we found this group. DD had so much fun "playing" with them.

[aslyn]

DD had a bunch of tests done..and I had a whole lotta papers to fill out! It really depends on what they suspect is the problem and the team (including you) will determine what tests at the initial meeting. The whole process from start to finish took about 6 weeks, but it felt like forever

[Linda on the move]

yes, it does take a long time. My DD didn't finish all her tests in one day, so we had to schedule another appointment (like 6 weeks later). Scoring and intrepreting all this stuff can take a lot of time, too. Part of the findings might be that another specific kind of evaluation is necessary.

I think that part of having a SN child is making peace with the not knowing. I just throw this out there because if you are hyped up thinking that the day of the eval you will get some real answers, you could end up very disappointed.

[aslyn]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

I think that part of having a SN child is making peace with the not knowing. I just throw this out there because if you are hyped up thinking that the day of the eval you will get some real answers, you could end up very disappointed.

Linda, the bolded should be in your siggy line..I remember reading that when I came to this board and asked the exact same questions!

But it is true, even long after DD's dx there are days I look at her and think wth is up with that!

[marimara]

Thanks everyone. I told them on the phone what her issues were: sensory things, social issues (being afraid of crowds, does not play in groups, meltdowns around other kids-esp loud crazy kids), her sleep issues, and how I can't leave her with anyone she doesn't know (like mom's mornings out, classes, etc.-I have to be present until she is comfortable with the people). She is also quite bright so I think they are going to evaluate her academic level (if that's even possible on a 4 year old). But she's reading so maybe they can.

[aslyn]

Originally Posted by marimara

Thanks everyone. I told them on the phone what her issues were: sensory things, social issues (being afraid of crowds, does not play in groups, meltdowns around other kids-esp loud crazy kids), her sleep issues, and how I can't leave her with anyone she doesn't know (like mom's mornings out, classes, etc.-I have to be present until she is comfortable with the people). She is also quite bright so I think they are going to evaluate her academic level (if that's even possible on a 4 year old). But she's reading so maybe they can.

Well with DD who was a non reader at 9 they used the preschool evaluation for her "academic" skills so I imagine if shes reading already they can use a different test..They were very very thorough with dd and I got back a "book" on my dd when it was all said and done.