No, it wasn't for nothing. It was a key step. The school folks are legally *required* to do their own assessment process before they identify or re-identify a child for special ed-- this is an educational (not medical, not psychological) evaluation. They can take private testing into account so that they are not starting from scratch-- for that you do have to give them the written report.
You didn't go the psych's office for nothing. That expert opinion (hopefully) gives you confidence that the diagnosis is accurate; the school people aren't qualified to diagnose anything, only to determine educational needs. The psych's assessment should form the basis for what the school system will do; ideally the private report will include recommendations for the educational setting, and those should be adopted by the school. It gives you much better information and leverage to have a private diagnosis from outside.
Without the private psych's guidance, things can more easily be overlooked or misread in the school's assessment-- but with it, you stand a much better chance of getting what your kid really needs.
You might get the book From Emotions to Advocacy, which is very helpful in spelling out the process. I also recommend the OASIS parent forum at aspergersyndrome.org-- that's where I did most of my learning about how to get through the maze.
DeeDee
