Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Think we are getting somewhere, close, finally

Have finally spoken w neuropsych so she could complete developmental interview. She said it will help with her recommendations to school.

Conversation was autism, social skills, perception (of school personnel), EF, etc.

She still did not actually say ASD or give diagnosis but I'm pretty sure that's forthcoming in her report, based on the language she used. I asked for interim recommendations (e.g. should I pursue language eval, specifically pragmatic language, what kind of things should we be doing this summer).

She said:
No language eval needed, he has pragmatic language deficit, will be included in report. Said 2e kid might pass typical eval anyhow bc might be able to provide correct response, even if unable to execute correct behavior in context.

She thinks school is open to in-service and is "at the table" in terms of planning for next year.

Recommended social skills group.

Recommended getting special ed student w specific emphasis on organizational skills to help during school.

Referred to "other kids on spectrum" several times so I think that is her conclusion, although she did not state it explicitly (not sure why, really).

Said she will write and email report ASAP then discuss in more detail mid-July after vacation.

She said I'm on the right track, building support team and that it's all going to help.

So that is my kinda update.

Sounds promising eco! It must be a relief to know you're going in the right direction.

I hope! This whole process has felt a bit like psychological warfare/torture. So. Slow.

Slow but moving ahead. Well done, eco.

Glad you are making progress. I wonder what she meant by her school comments...has she been having conversations with someone there?

Thank you. Everyone here has helped so much (and been very patient with me).

Yes, I signed communication release (both directions). Neuropsych taught (and was a student) in this program long before pursuing doctorate. Her dissertation and fellowship, post-doc work...all in 2E. IOW, she has known the coordinator for a long time and they have a good rapport. I feel like this is a good thing, bc there is a lot of respect for our NP in the gifted ed community, here. Coordinator actually suggested her for NP (as did a few others I know well) and was very open with me about how it seemed important to have these social issues evaluated.

She has spoken with the coordinator and school counselor via phone about DS' situation, as well as collecting several formal surveys and also informal written info from the core (program) teachers.

She also said she'd make herself available (to a degree) for consultation regarding recommendations. Today was the first I'd heard about a possible in-service for teachers--my impression is that is the coordinator's idea.

The gist of the conversation seemed to be:
DS needs to learn how communicate without being rude.
DS needs to learn how to ask for and receive assistance.
School personnel need a reframe so they can conceptualize this as a disability/challenge and not willful behavior.
I need to seek outside help and form a team for social skills support and managing EF deficits.

It all seems reasonable to me. I've given DS the assignment to "begin thinking about" what his struggles include and how to address them. So far, his only answer is "teachers." So it may be like pulling teeth--but at least he's thinking.

What does that mean, "in-service for teachers"? Also, remember that it's the school's responsiblity to deal with the social skills deficit as well, and EF issues, it shouldn't be your responsibility to "seek outside help" and the school is off the hook. DS actually has "organizational skills" in his IEP, and it's a service, a sped teacher is in charge of this, checks in on him, and works with classroom teachers.

It's great that she has a relationship with the school already. That should help a lot in terms of the school cooperating.

I'm hoping the in-service means educating the teachers about neurologically based social skills deficits. Or even just 2e generally. Next year's teachers should have a lot more experience, but a refresher might help?

DS doesn't have an IEP. I hope that he will get one next year, but if he doesn't, we need a much stronger 504. Ideally, he could use "learning lab" time (study hall, all 7th grade students have this) to check in with a resource teacher? I don't know what services are available through school, with an IEP--NP did mention maybe speech/language services. I've been strongly discouraged (refused twice for evaluation) so far--but it may have been bc I didn't know enough about how to request.

I think, in general, the recommendation for outside help was because there is a specific therapist in town who works with social skills groups in "high functioning" or whatever you want to call it population.

And getting some help at home (a tutor/childcare person after school) who has actual organizational coaching skill set was something I brought up and she thought would be really helpful to relieve home stress. So maybe I can just be mom some of the time, is my thinking.

I am hoping to get services from school but am kind of in "plan for the worst" mode.

I'm hoping your NP makes it clear in her report/recommendations that he should have an IEP. My experience with 504's is that they are just not adequate (unless maybe you have someone spectacular supervising/monitoring it). With DD, no one really bothered to follow it, and when I complained to the 504 coordinator she would go to the teachers and say "mom says you're not doing X,Y, and Z in the 504." That just succeeded in making everyone mad at me. At least with an IEP, they are more "on the hook", they have to monitor and document progress, there is a "manager" who is required to do certain things, etc.