Did you put in a written request for a comprehensive eval? You can detail your concerns in this letter. Put in specifics about how you think that his educational performance is being impacted by a suspected disability. I would address it to the district special ed director. Make a copy and see if the secretary will date stamp it as received and make a copy after it's date stamped. They HAVE to respond (within a certain number of days like 10 or 14). Put in your letter that you are requesting a team meeting to discuss your concerns. If they refuse to evaluate him, they need to send you a prior written notice stating that they are not going to evaluate him for X, Y, and Z reasons. If they don't do this, then they are in violation. If they refuse to evaluate him, you can go to due process. Of course, all of this becomes very adversarial and I would try to get them to look at your independent eval before you resort to any of that. We are in a ridiculous district as well and they don't seem to understand or care about even basic laws/mandates. It has been a huge source of frustration.
(google "child find mandate" to get more information about school districts needing to evaluate students with known or suspected disabilities).
I didn't detail anything in my two prior written requests. Over the phone, the Process Coordinator told me basically to make request and then they'd do respond in writing--which they did (refused eval, based on "record review.") I asked her at the time if I had any recourse if I disagreed with their decision and she basically said NO.
I didn't understand much of this at the time, though, so was really just looking for something with more "teeth" than 504, which wasn't being implemented at the time.
I guess my best bet is wait to see what neuropsych reveals, then write a detailed letter? (Unless she decides he is perfectly normal...ha)
I wish I understood what neuropsych is going to do, exactly. I know she said ADOS and possibly WISC-V (I'm going to ask for that specifically, now...the only FSIQ I have is old and also maybe compromised, besides which I don't have the whole thing, just report).
So, if he IS given a more comprehensive/pervasive dx--is school then required to eval?
I am very confident in this neuropsych's diagnostic chops. She worked with two friends' extraordinarily 2E children and came up with two different pictures (neither of them ASD, although it was suspected). The only downside is that what she *actually* diagnosed in one of them (NLD) is not an accepted dx so the 504 is via backdoor ADHD. And also that child has SLD, wildly asynchronous.
I guess what I'm saying is: I have no idea what they are required to do or not to do based on the diagnosis. I'm not willing to just allow DS to completely bottom out (and be withdrawn from program, only to re-experience all this at new school, etc.)
A colleague of mine who works with developmental kids has referred me to a local advocacy group--I guess I'm keeping that card in my back pocket for now. I don't feel able to be effective with the school because they have all pushed so many of my emotional triggers. And I feel like sending my child into an environment where he is universally disliked is akin to abuse. I *know* that is really ME, bc he is less sensitive but I am 100% unable to remove my feelings from this situation (despite making a huge effort).
