Why do you need a comprehensive evaluation by an independent evaluator when the school is already testing your child? We did so we could develop a good IEP. To have a good IEP you need precise and reliable information about your child's present levels of functioning and to do that you need a comprehensive evaluation by an independent evaluator. When you have accurate and specific information on your child you can develop realistic goals and objectives and have it put into the IEP.
When you have a comprehensive evaluation done on your child be sure to have the evaluator put in their summary:
• diagnosis
• what the tests results mean and what your child needs help with
• what should be addressed first and how
• what other deficiencies your child has
• how to teach your child (learning styles, treatment interventions, etc.)
• what educational setting your child needs
• how to address your child’s behavior problems
• what accommodations and modifications your child needs
• what special education services your child needs and how much and how often
• what assistive technology your child needs
• any information that can help your child reach to their fullest potential
By getting a comprehensive evaluation by an independent evaluator you have control of situation and can get what information you need to help your child. For us it was worth every penny and it helped us tremendously in getting what our child needed.
NOTE: Even if you get the school to pay for the independent evaluation, remember who is paying for it and you should really wonder how much the evaluator will share that is not to the benefit of the school.
* Have the person that tested your child come to the IEP meeting if you can or do a conference call. We did and it made a BIG difference in getting what our child needed.
* Remember that it is not the school’s job to do everything possible for your child. They only do what is "appropriate" so your child can be educated in the least restrictive environment and receive FAPE (if you are lucky). After fighting tooth and nail for certain special education services you might find them sorely lacking (as in our case, we sure did). Find help elsewhere. You might have to pay out of pocket for this (insurance can help for some), but we are glad that we thought outside of the box and got the help our child needed. He wouldn’t be where he is today if we had not gone and found tutors, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, etc.
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2 comments:
Thank you so much for all the info today and for doing this post. I see the importance now. I was lost with what they were talking about on that network.. heck, I am lost most of the time when I read stuff about all this and then I have to study even more - you are so wonderful to help out with all of this posting!
((HUGS))
Rebecca-
I hope this helped. You cannot always rely on the school to do a quality evaluation of your child. Having someone do the testing yourself you will know exactly what your child needs.
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