I'm not sure what to suggest, but your school district sounds like ours. Ours would have never initiated or agreed to any assessments or interventions, though.
If you put a written request in for a comprehensive evaluation, they have to do it, and if they refuse, they are supposed to send you a prior written notice. You can then take action, such as going to due process/a hearing. With a school district like this it may be better to get your own eval if you can afford it and present it to the school
He has a 504 for OHI (ADHD) and the district coordinator ordered OT eval at last meeting--I think largely bc she must have noticed that the teacher's (one in particular, I'll nickname her The Bully)agenda seemed to be to REMOVE each of his accommodations. Each time The Bully spoke up (wanting to remove extra day for incomplete work, even though ALL the students are allowed to turn in late work, for instance), 504 Coordinator said NOPE, that is standard for ADHD. And then 504 Coordinator ADDED things (which made me happy, I was feeling outnumbered) that I would never have considered asking for. One of the *many* things The Bully complained about is that my son has trouble handling his Trapper Keeper--and bumped things on her desk. Also, he is very physically slow and it takes him forever to get his things out of his backpack and vice versa. So the counselor said--"maybe a motor delay?" And I said, I haven't considered that but he is very slow. Before I knew it, 504 Coordinator was ordering OT eval to screen for motor/sensory issues, telling me even if they can't provide services, it would give me a better picture.
The Bully was visibly annoyed by all of this. Small victory.
I have asked (and been refused) for SPED eval twice since third grade when his then-counselor told me she observed in classroom and he seems to be in "his own little world." I have had Asperger's in the back of my mind since then but just based on DSM criteria, it didn't really seem to fit.
I inhaled the OASIS Guide in the last 24 hours and am seeing my child in it--looks to me like this is a much more nuanced diagnosis that I recognized.
Met with neuropsychologist today. Some of her questions were not what I was expecting and came away feeling pretty overwhelmed (onaccounta--he evidently really does have some pretty significant indicators). She sent home parent rating scales for:
ABAS II
BASC-2
BRIEF
She herself used to teach in this program, and was so informative, patient, and user-friendly that I'm glad I took this direction. Even though it is costing a small fortune, out-of-network, that I can't afford.
I love my son exactly how he is and my mantra is: "Just let DS be DS" because I see the beauty in his brutal honesty, guileless, open-faced personality, and warmth, love and affection toward his family, friends, and pets. One of the most difficult things yet was when we brought him into a team meeting at his school this year, and he looked like a defended, skittish stray dog. I saw then what his teachers see and understand why they don't like him...but I didn't even recognize that child and it broke my heart.
