Backstory: I was a Special Education teacher before being a SAHM. So....I do understand how the system works and I was pretty sure my DS 3.5 would be denied an assessment because he has no specific disability markers, some tendencies, but nothing concrete enough and doesn't qualify for any services.

Yesterday I spoke with school psychologist said she would like to assess him!

How I got to the right person: I first left a message for the Special Education director, she gave me the number to the school district preschool SPED department, they relayed my concerns to the school psych and then she called me back.

We were looking at private testing and weighing out the cost and whether or not it could even help us with our local school district in any decision-making. I think that schools are more receptive to their own school psychologists and so I decided that I would go this route first and see it all the way until I got an absolute "no".

I was honest and I expected her to say that because Autism has been ruled out and he doesn't qualify for any other disability category that there was nothing she could do. Instead, she thought that it was imperative that he be tested for making school decisions before entering K.!!! She said that his knowlege is on the extreme end of the scale and that she will do a full assessment. A school evaluation consists of: gathering information from family, teachers and even a preschool observation and then the cognitive and academic assessments.

I felt like I had just won the lottery. It very much restores some of my faith in the public school system that I was once an advocate for. I felt like I was finally talking to someone who "gets" it.

I just hope this gives anyone out there hope if they would like to pursue public school assessments in the U.S. So many of you have given me hope and encouragement that led me to decide to have him formally assessed and I am so thankful. [u][/u]

What a great story. I feel your relief and elation GGG at finding a system that seems to work. Perhaps others have great stories but they don't come and tell us because we are more likely to seek out forums like this when we are struggling. We need to see that there is hope, so thank you.

Great to hear! I would just like to add that this is how all our assessments looked when I had preschools. (And it wasn't unique to me; the systems I worked in routinely responded to parental concerns. Especially because the criteria for preschool IFSPs are designedly looser.)

Especially because the criteria for preschool IFSPs are designedly looser.)[/quote]

I didn't realize this, aeh. Good to know. The youngest kids I worked with were K, the SPED credential for preschool is it's own field as I'm sure you know. I was surprised at how receptive they were.

I am glad you are getting an assessment!

I will agree that IFSP are easier to obtain than IEPs once they hit K. We lost our IEP because we are in a state w/o GT services and her areas of concern were not proven to affect her academics (since she was reading and writing in preschool) and she did not have any major behavioral issues.....

We had an assessment at 3 and the information was very helpful , BUT the cognitive simply was done to average (and that is noted in the paperwork-- that cognitive was done to average level and then discontinued even though child was still correctly answering questions. It was also added that the tester suspected if complete testing was done, the child would score signifigantly higher .Due to age constraints (accuracy of a cognitive assessment in 3 year old) and time--- it was only completed to assure that there was not a cognitive disability.

We WERE able to get OT support for sensory concerns (SPD & auditory sensitivity), which was fabulous....we also got social skills support and some PT from age 3-5. All were discontinued when she moved to 1st (she did not do K) due to lack of academic impact since she was above grade level.

For quirks, we have had wonderful support w/o an IEP from 1-4th grade. Lots of informal accommodations that have helped a lot! (closed captioning on videos, omit timer on testing, preferential seating, visual cues, etc)


I do hope you get a helpful and thorough evaluation that helps your DC placed in K in a way that is beneficial for your whole family!

I have never heard of an assessor D/Cing an assessment before a natural ceiling because they had enough data to rule out cognitive disability. I'm guessing your LEA is even more short-staffed than most, if that's the approach they're taking. I would have chosen a briefer instrument, but administered it under standard conditions. The RIAS/RIST starts at age 3, and the DIAL-4 is a screening instrument that starts at age 2-6, but is specifically designed for this function--ruling out/identifying delays in the Big 5 areas of child development (including cognitive). And it only takes 30-45 minutes to screen all five areas covered by IFSPs. Seems like kind of a waste of an intelligence test administration to give half the test.

Glad to hear you are essentially getting 504-type accommodations even without a 504. You might keep an eye on this (and document carefully that these informal accommodations have been part of her routine instruction) heading into middle/high/college years, though, as it may become more important to have formal support as the expectations ramp up. Also if SAT/ACT extended time accommodations become an issue, she MUST have a 504 or IEP. Not one created the year of testing, either, preferably. And secondary teachers are a different breed than elementary teachers; they might not be quite as happy to provide these on a mere request.