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    Joined: Feb 2014
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    slammie Offline OP
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    Hello,

    I have a DS8 who has been diagnosed with mild Aspergers almost 2 years ago. This is before I discovered my DD is highly gifted and I feel some of his behavior can be attributed to giftedness. He was given a brief DASII test at the time that indicated almost superior verbal and gifted PRI. No WM or Processing subsets were given. He also vision issues. We dealt with his convergence insufficiency but he still has intermittent exotropia in one of his eyes.

    Fast forward to now. DS is having major perfectionism and anxiety issues to the point where he is having breakdowns on a daily basis. I am feeling that he needs some supports in school to help with his perfectionism and anxiety. Otherwise he is doing very well at school (gifted magnet school - 4th grade).

    Bearing in mind his sister is a DYS, I would like to get more comprehensive testing done for him but need guidance.

    I have talked to the educational psych who tested my DD. She is a tester listed on Hoagies and we really liked working with her. She will do a battery of tests including ones for attention/focus.

    How is this different from a neuropsych testing?

    Or should we request an IEP and let the school do the assessments? I would really appreciate some advice as I have no clue. Thank you!!

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    I don't really know the answer to your question. But I can tell you that our school was enormously more open to the idea of giving my son an IEP after they tested him than to giving my daughter one after we had her tested. Does he already have an IEP/504 plan?

    I think it is also easier to find an outside professional to administer a different IQ/achievement test after he is tested by the school, if needed, than it is to convince the school to use an "unfamiliar" instrument because he has already been tested with the one they typically use.

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    slammie Offline OP
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    Good point, thank you. No, he does not have anything in place at the moment and realizing he would benefit from supports in school as he progresses to late elementary years. I am wary about approaching the school about another "special needs" child. It's so stressful!

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    aeh Offline
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    Where he already has a Dx on the autism spectrum, I think the school would be more open to doing an eligibility eval for an IEP. The verbal cluster of the DASII is relatively limited (and I also find that, depending on whether he was given the preschool or school-age version of the DASII, it is easy to underestimate verbal ability (preschool version)). WM and PS subtests are optional on the DAS.

    You have a very reasonable concern with anxiety, and it sounds like, executive functions, which is where I would start from, in terms of requesting a school-based eval. This also meshes with ASD, which, again, will make it more likely that the school will understand and be on-board with evaluation and possible IEP eligibility.

    If the school outcome is not to your liking, you can then request an independent educational evaluation, which the district is obligated to pay for, but which you will be obligated to share with them (presumably an outcome you would want anyway). You may be somewhat more limited in your evaluator at that step, but most districts are willing to listen to your choice, as long as they are not exorbitantly expensive.


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    slammie Offline OP
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    Thanks for Aeh. He had just turned 7 (he turns 9 next month) when he was given his evaluation.

    Yes, we definitely see executive functioning issues such as finishing tests last, being disorganized and taking a while to finish his homework.

    Do you recommend a school based evaluation as a first step as well, rather than approaching the school with our own private results. Of course cost is a factor but concerned about schools doing a thorough job.

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    aeh Offline
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    Keeping in mind that I am a school-based psych...so I may be a little bit biased! I do think you can get a thorough eval through the schools, but it depends a lot on who is doing it. I would still start from the school, as a private neuro can use the school results as a starting point.


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    He is in a gifted school? Surely he must have had a lot of testing already? Or am I just confused because I am not in the US?

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    This is complicated. I see school testing and outside testing as having different but related purposes.

    School testing is necessary for qualifying for services (whether gifted or IEP)-- for that reason, I'd say start that process by requesting the eval in writing ASAP. School testing concludes with educational information (not with a medical diagnosis), a team meeting to evaluate the child's needs, and a determination of whether services are necessary at school.

    Outside testing gets you diagnostic information and often a fuller picture (since they will consider not just educational aspects but the whole deal). However, since you already have the ASD diagnosis, I think you may not need to start with further outside testing.

    Devil's advocate, however: people who understand children with ASD may be more sympathetic testers (i.e. more able to notice where anxiety is hindering performance).

    I'd start with school, but if the results are not in line with what you expect, go private for followup, making sure that private is using tests your district also recognizes as valid.

    DeeDee

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    ITA with everything DeeDee said smile

    Our 2e ds has had both private and school evals - here are a couple of other things I'd add to DeeDee's list of things to consider:

    * Our school district has very specific guidelines (and rules re #s on test scores etc) that are presented as "bars" to fall under when qualifying a student for an IEP. The intent of IDEA is that eligibility is a team decision and that you need to consider each individual child's needs - but the reality (for us) was that you couldn't open a door to even discussing consideration for certain types of in-school services (such as OT etc) if your child's test scores didn't fall below the cut-off mark or fit a specific set of "guidelines" - yet they might very well be services that would benefit your child tremendously. This is just an example which has nothing to do with your situation, but our ds was extremely challenged with expressive language in elementary school - yet he couldn't qualify for speech therapy because he didn't have an issue with articulation.

    * WIth our neuropsych evils we had more freedom to ask and answer questions relative to the diagnosis - which in turn helped us understand better how to help our ds - at home and at school. The recommendations included things we had to do privately (with recommendations for private providers) that the school would not have suggested because ds didn't qualify per their rubric - yet in most cases, they were things that helped ds tremendously and I don't regret having done them.

    * With a school eval you are most often looking at a suspected issue and targeting the assessment based on your suspicions of what the issue is. A neuropsych eval starts with a broad look at a child's functioning, then narrows down which tests etc to run from cues based on your parent interview, nueropsych observations, and results from the generic testing. This gives you a chance to potentially uncover issues that aren't all that obvious and that you weren't looking for.

    Re the OP's question about the difference between educational testing (private) and a neuropsych - our experience has been that the psychs who are offering services as "educational psychs" usually don't include tests for executive functioning, visual motor integration, behavioral surveys etc. It sounds like the tester you used for your dd may include *some* of that.

    Best wishes,

    polarbear

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    aeh Offline
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    If you want to maximize your chances of getting the school eval to include the areas you want assessed, name them in your letter requesting evaluation. E.g.,
    "I request special education evaluation for my child. I have concerns with his function in the following areas:" and then name the concerns, not the suspected diagnosis. The way a good school eval flows is not unlike what a good neuropsych does. No psych should be fishing for disabilities (although, unfortunately, I know some who do). He/She should be starting from the presenting problem, and then tailoring the assessment to the needs. If stuff comes up in testing, then you follow it up with further assessment. A comprehensive cognitive and achievement make sense as a starting point for school-age children with school-related referral questions, because it gives you a context, and usually tips you off to areas to pursue further, like working memory, or visual-motor integration. I usually survey any child with a vague referral question with a social-emotional-behavioral-attentional rating scale, such as the BASC-2, just in case there is something there that no one has mentioned. If I get a red flag, then I follow it up with more assessment appropriate to that area.

    The number one factor is the specific evaluator with whom you are working, not what their nominal specialization is. That's why it's so important to talk with the evaluator, whether school or private, ask as many questions as you can, and give them a comprehensive view of your concerns and your child's background. Most school-based psychs would love to run an eval as extensively as private psychs do, but don't have the time to do so, except when forced to take the time by parental pressure or administrative pressure (which causes admin to cede the time). If you take the initiative to talk to them collaboratively and collegially, and subtly offer them the opportunity to exercise their assessment skills the way they were trained to, they are likely to do so. Certainly all the ones I know would love to have a case where they get to do more than a WISC and a WIAT and call it a day.


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