hnz1979, you mentioned that your ds has been through a psych eval in a previous post this fall and noted this:
Processing speed was an issue. Dr gave an unspecified ADHD diagnosis w/ possible red flag for LD. Wants to test again in two years. She said she couldn't be sure if the issues were sensory or ADHD. She was afraid he would have issues with comprehension and processing info.
I think this was a private eval (?). And now it sounds like your ds' school wants to evaluate - not for learning challenges, but for ADHD or anxiety (OT comment). This is jmo, but from our experience I feel that it's best to get the diagnoses for medical and emotional/behavioral issues from private professionals, and that the school's role is not diagnosing, but evaluating how your child is functioning in the education setting - not the same thing as diagnosing ADHD. It's possible I'm interpreting what is happening incorrectly, so if I am - please ignore my reply!
I wouldn't necessarily *not* let the school do their eval - but I would suggest two things:
1) Was your private psych a neuropsych? There was a mention of potential LD and a suggestion to return for further eval in two years, presumably when it would be easier to determine what the root issue is, ADHD, LD, sensory. If the evaluator wasn't a neuropsych, I suspect a full neuropsych eval might pull out more definitive info for you, and that would be info I'd really want to have at this point. In addition to getting closer to understanding his diagnosis, I think that you need to move from things such as letting him scribe when he needs to "take the edge off" to a clear plan of when he needs accommodations and what should be provided, and a neuropsych eval can help with formulating the plan, which gives you a document and direction to start from when advocating at school.
2) I'd request that the school consider LD along with looking at ADHD/behaviors/whatever they plan to look at in their testing. If you think there is a challenge with writing, for instance, request an OT eval through the school and also the TOWL (Test of Written Language).
I hope that makes sense - it was written in a bit of a hurry!
Best wishes,
polarbear
ps - I have a question - you have a report from a private eval stating that there is possibly ADHD but possibly the behaviors noted could be sensory or LD and your ds is too young to tell at this time. Does the school dispute the report? Do you question the report? If *you* don't question the report and believe another go-round of considering ADHD would be either redundant or you don't want to go there with the school, I would stand up to the school and not allow them to repeat testing/eval that has already been done very recently.
I do think having another go-round of ability/achievement testing will be a good thing, and it sounds like the school psych is willing to spread out the testing over a few days. I would just want to feel comfortable that the school is going about the testing with an open mind, and not testing to rule in/out ADHD exclusively because they have a preconcieved notion that is what is going on.
