Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment They want a Psych. Eval., should I be concerned?

In the time it took me to write my post, and chase a 2 year old around, I see that someone else mentioned the Family Consultant. I'm sorry to hear that yours in not being more assertive. We are on our 2nd FC (the first one moved on to other pastures) and there is a great deal of variation on how they are willing to work with the schools. Maybe you can ask explicitly for a letter to your child's school? Perhaps if they receive a letter addressing how rarely these kids come along and what their needs are, then your school will agree to the stepwise approach that our wise Grinity has suggested.

Actually, (reading your latest post) our second school gave the new grade acceleration (from 7th to 8th) after we paid for the Woodcock-Johnson achievement test. Schools don't seem to know what to do with IQ tests so much as seeing where they are academically. Maybe that is what your FC is hinting at?

Do you have recent achievement testing? (see that danger of not reading all of the posts!!)

I think you should be a little careful here- what if the school comes back and they say, in their professional opinion, that your child has manic-depression/bipolar disorder? It could be your child is simply high-spirited and bright but the school tries to put them into a category that is wrong and not in your best interest. You also don't know how good the school's "professional" is.

I don't think he sounds 2E either. However, imo wanting to have him evaluated by a psychiatrist implicitly suggests that they think something is "wrong". I personally wouldn't do it unless they gave me a really good reason why.



Especially if he is a DYS, I see no point in retesting his IQ, especially by someone who's qualifications and motives may be questionable. Best case scenario is that they find out what they already know. Worst case is what you describe here. I don't see what is to be gained.

I don't really see what harm could come of him visiting the classroom for a day or two.

I'm going to encourage you to share your perspective with your FC, and let her know that you need more from her. Be as specific as possible. If she or he seems uncomfortable, then ask to speak to her higher-up. The only way the program can reach it's goal of providing support is if we let them know. DYS knows it's in new territory and is very good about accepting feedback.
Love and More Love,
Grinity

I would be very cautious about letting the school do a psych eval for vague reasons.

I would say that if there are significant behavioral concerns, then doing a psychological evaluation would be appropriate. Also, if I were testing a current K student whose last IQ test was 2 years ago, I would, in fact, want to repeat that testing.

However, I would not have a psychiatrist do any of that -- they are not generally trained in personality assessment. "Just talking to him" is not likely to be helpful anyhow -- my professional experience has been that doing projective testing (Rorschach, storytelling tests, drawings, etc) has been much more useful than just talking to a GT-maybe-2E kid in understanding what their inner world is really like -- most kids' behaviors make *sense* when you take the time to really sit with them.

I agree that "pediatric bipolar" is so massively overdiagnosed that it would be wise to find a practitioner who had a skeptical viewpoint on the topic and who was well-versed in the other possibilities.

I also agree that I would also not be comfortable with having a school psychologist do the evaluation. In most cases, they are *also* not trained in this kind of evaluation, and the amount of training and supervision they get is nowhere near what a psychologist gets. (There is a constant back-and-forth politics-thing in which psychologists want school psychs to stop calling themselves psychs because they really really really aren't.) Plus, they are tasked with answering the question of, "Does this kid need services?" not, "What is this kid really like as a person and what is going to help him?" And they typically have *zero* training in GT/2E issues.

Unfortunately, testing is one of those things where free tends to be worth every penny.

So very true!


Thanks for the feedback, we've called off almost everything. No psychiatric eval, no IQ testing. All they will do now is test him academically to see where he falls in line in their curriculum so we can figure out proper placement.

As for psych. eval, we will still do this privately. I really don't think he's 2E, but at least if someone evaluates him, we will have something to go on.


As for an evaluator, is it better to have a neuropsychologist or a psychologist? I've done some research and seems as if neuropsych will also test for how he learns etc. I have a list of names, but now I have to make phone calls to see about experience w/gifted kids. I have a feeling I'm not going to come up with much.

My pediatrician recommended a neuropsychiatrist, she said she had experience w/all types of kids etc. (they will all say this I'm sure). But my husband just received a list of in network providers to take a look at.

Oh, and I did ask my FC at Davidsons and got a great response. At least now I feel like I'm on the right track, just have to choose someone for the evaluation.

I'd go with a neuropsychologist. Our child development center actually uses a combination/team-- developmental pediatrician for physical exam, neuropsych for the testing.

DeeDee

Sorry, I haven't checked in on my own post in a while--

ebeth--sounds like a very similar situation, what school did you change to? A private school? Different school in your district? Good to hear there's some light at the end of the tunnel!

This would be my main concern -- you have a small boy who likes to karate chop stuff.....and they want him to be evaluated.

This is a bit concerning, but if they give clear reasons for the eval, such as others have suggested, maybe it would be reasonable:
'we want to make sure he'll be an ok fit for skipping'
what specific eval tools they'll use (what screening instruments), etc. should be determined ahead of time. How long has this evaluator been doing this sort of work? How long within the school system? You should ask to speak with them first if at all possible.