Update - first evaluation

[tryingtocope]

So I took my difficult child first the first part of the evaluation at the children's hospital yesterday. It went well. The developmental pediatrician was great and she actually spent time engaging with him. My experience this time was very different then with the psychiatrist who didn't talk to him much at all.

At the end she suggested that I have him evaluated by the school district because he is supposed to start kindergarten in September. Also, she said that she was concerned about his ability to process language. His language issues may be what is effecting his social interactions. She said that he did not seem to have a problem with attention span. She said that it is possible that he is on the autism spectrum, but she doesn't think so. She still wants to gather as much information as possible. She also wants me fill out a form and have his former teacher fill out a form. Also she wants me to find out about intergrated preschools and at the very least get him involved in some activities like gymboree or a sport to give him an opportunity to interact with kids.

My second session with the developmental pediatrician is on May 9. So now I'm on the phone. Has anyone had their child evaluated by the school district? What are some things that I should to be concerned about?

 

['Chelle]

My son was evaluated through the school, but was already in grade 2 when his problems blew up to meltdowns. I would suggest you get a letter from the developmental pediatrician. recommending testing prior to kindergarten starting and send a copy of that to the school or district where your difficult child will be attending, with your request for testing. I'd suggest maybe also posting in the Special Education 101 forum and reading the Special Education archives, you may get more advice there on how to get this started through the school.

 

[SRL]

A developmental pediatrician is a great first step for a young child--good for you.

A school district evaluation can help round out the evaluation process by yielding additional data. You need to request the evaluation in writing to the director of Special Education in the district in which you reside. Make sure to do it in writing (certified mail) because that sets legal timeframes into motion. This is a very busy time of year for sped staff and you don't want to be pushed to the bottom of the list on a technicality.

If you have insurance or can otherwise afford it I'd advise also getting private audiology and speech/language evaluations done. The school district doesn't have the equipment for the audiology part and the private evaluations are often more thorough than what the school will do. You can ask the developmental pediatrician for a referral.