Officially Started the Process!!!

DS3

New Member
So I went today and got my paperwork to fill out, my 'safeguards', and I signed the consent for evaluation. She said that she should have the evaluation done by the end of next week or early the following week. Then we start the ARD process. At least we're getting it moving! :abouttime:



And on a side note... Happy Dance!!! :dance:
 

DS3

New Member
They're just doing speech evaluation. He has his Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation outside of school in a couple of weeks. But basically the school wouldn't cover it, so my insurance is.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
He's 4, so they won't do the full background noise test - don't know if they can do it at all that young - will be interesting to see which tests they actually do run...
 

DS3

New Member
Your post made me remember that they are also doing a hearing screening as well as a vision test. There were only two things listed under the Pre-K, and I believe that is it. The Speech evaluation and the screening tests.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Both screenings are good to have. You might be surprised how many kids can get th kindergarten with nobody noticing hearing or vision issues... and those are important too!
 

DS3

New Member
I'm not concerned since he just had both checked in may and they came back fine. It's something we're always doing since he had tubes in his ears and since he was a preemie, they were concerned about the retina not attaching correctly to the eye. He's so use to both docs by now, it doesn't even phase him. But yeah, good hearing and perfect vision with astigmatism were the results from May.
 
L

Liahona

Guest
He is the one that is probably CADP? With the teacher complaining and refusing to fill out forms? Could you also ask for the school psychologist to do a FUBA? That is where he watches him, sees what the negative behavior is, and what comes before and after the negative behavior. Glad you got the ball rolling.
 

DS3

New Member
He is the one that is probably CADP? With the teacher complaining and refusing to fill out forms? Could you also ask for the school psychologist to do a FUBA? That is where he watches him, sees what the negative behavior is, and what comes before and after the negative behavior. Glad you got the ball rolling.

Yep. That would be him. Don't know if they are going to do the Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) or Auditory Processing Disorders (APD), or both. Definately a sensory processing disorder (SPD) though (hopefully the Occupational Therapist (OT) will be able to catch when we see them on the 14th Oct.). They have sat in the room and observed him before. Which is what got him a referral (after my request) for the evaluation to be done. So now it shuld be in motion. We shall see what they say.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
At 4, they can't really do Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) or Auditory Processing Disorders (APD)... usually, "other problems" need to be identified and managed first, because the testing is really intensive and requires good focus. First question we got before they would even do the testing is... any chance of ADD/ADHD (diagnosis or not)? Because unmedicated ADD/ADHD has many of the same symptoms. Also, we've been told the testing isn't geared for kids this young - more like 7 and up.

This is NOT bad news, though. He's 4 now. Lots of testing can't be re-done for 3 years... which puts him at 7. If they can pre-screen for any of this at all, and get "hints" of it, then hopefully you'll end up with a "rule out" statement about Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) or Auditory Processing Disorders (APD)... which means ** this needs to be re-tested later and a diagnosis made or diagnosis ruled out **. Which means that, in between, school needs to treat him "as though" this is an issue... to what extent depends on the school system where you are.

Don't know if the school Occupational Therapist (OT) will catch sensory issues - but do flag the Occupational Therapist (OT) about the question - even if testing can't be done, might be able to tell you if there's stuff going on that requires a more complete Occupational Therapist (OT) test.

Keep us posted!
(don't really need to tell you that - you're doing good!!)
 

DS3

New Member
Don't know if the school Occupational Therapist (OT) will catch sensory issues - but do flag the Occupational Therapist (OT) about the question - even if testing can't be done, might be able to tell you if there's stuff going on that requires a more complete Occupational Therapist (OT) test.

Keep us posted!
(don't really need to tell you that - you're doing good!!)

The school doesn't have an Occupational Therapist (OT), so my insurance got him referred to an outside source.

Now here's the question, if ECI can catch a sensory processing disorder (SPD) in my 2 year old, why can't the Occupational Therapist (OT) catch it with my 4 year old? I know he has one, it's just a matter of getting the doctor's to see it.

Speaking of therapists and what not, we have a behavior anaylsis (ABA) coming out on Monday to see difficult child. So if the Occupational Therapist (OT) doesn't catch it, will he? Is it something I should ask him about?

And I did do up a Parent Input/Assessment. All of his docs seem quite impressed with it. I included an in depth medical history and did one up for both of my sons. I also figure that should something happen to me, there's all the information that they will need. Even hubby since he only gets the 'cliff note' version from me over the phone inbetween appointments. So at least now we have the records straight. Even created some spread sheets to track difficult child's behavior for weekly, monthly, and yearly (one for school, and one for home). And I remembered to save it to more then one device (LOL). I seem to forget that a lot and have lost information in the past when the computer decides to die (yay external hard drives and thumb drives!).
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Now here's the question, if ECI can catch a sensory processing disorder (SPD) in my 2 year old, why can't the Occupational Therapist (OT) catch it with my 4 year old? I know he has one, it's just a matter of getting the doctor's to see it.

Has he had an earlier Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation that missed this? or is this the first one?
There are specific tests Occupational Therapist (OT) can run, for sensory issues. These seem to be fairly reliable. But remember... you can be doggone close to the "cutoff" and not "meet diagnostic cut-off". So... ask specifically for detailed testing - and for detailed results.
 

katiedid

New Member
you can be doggone close to the "cutoff" and not "meet diagnostic cut-off". So... ask specifically for detailed testing - and for detailed results.

So, you'll want to know both with the speech evaluation and the Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation, how far below the mean your kiddo is, as well as what the cutoff criteria for qualifying for services is (in case of speech). Some districts will qualify for services at 1 SD below the mean, others at 1.5 on one test. Others require multiple tests to qualify.

Also, on the Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)/Auditory Processing Disorders (APD). . .while it's something that can be tested for, it's still a somewhat controversial diagnosis. Make sure the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) is doing not only speech testing but also testing for receptive/expressive language disorders. Receptive language disorders in particular can look a lot like a hearing/processing disorder.
 

buddy

New Member
Speaking of therapists and what not, we have a behavior anaylsis (ABA) coming out on Monday to see difficult child. So if the Occupational Therapist (OT) doesn't catch it, will he? Is it something I should ask him about?

They are not able to diagnose sensory integration disorder per se but they are likely to have had so much experience with kids with autism that they are very very aware of sensory issues and how they affect behavior. They must consider any "antecedent" or things that trigger behaviors. For many kids sensory issues contribute to that. Certainly worth mentioning to them and reminding them to consider it. I dont know the behaviors you are going to consult with them about so this may or may not apply, but be wary of any behavior person that judges most of the behaviors as "attention seeking". First, seeking attention is actually a good thing to have (try doing therapy with a kid who doesn't even care if anyone looks at them or talks to them etc....really tough) it is often viewed as seeking inappropriate attention. In fact the behavior that might appear to be simply attention seeking is because the child does not have the skills or the ability to use skills in order to seek attention in an appropriate way. The intervention is often then, ignoring the behavior-usually makes the child feel ignored/frustrated (and which is another method that just doesn't really work because the very act of ignoring means you respond to a behavior in an unusual way,so really you are paying attention to it!) It takes an amazingly strict protocol and environment to really do a good ignoring procedure where you can just ignore the target behavior and not the full child, etc. In most settings, some kid in the setting or outside adult is going to glance or say something etc.
Just mentioned it because nearly every FBA or any other behavior report I have received for my difficult child, or have been a part of writing, has had one or two people who are short sighted that way. It is the number one (in the books and research I have read) error in doing behavior analysis.

My best to you,
 
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