Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Testing for client with possible LD

aeh summarized the process really well - just a few things to add:

1) When a parent submits the first written request, it doesn't have to be a formal letter, email counts to get the process started and the clock running on # of days. It helps to have the parent include a specific line in the email stating that they would like to have a response by x date (10 business days out from the day the letter/email is sent).

2) If there's a parent advocate group in your area, the advice can be worth it's weight in gold. You can call them up and ask specific questions such as how to word the written request, what to expect from this specific school in terms of response, are there potential roadblocks or concerns that might come up that are specific to your local area/school.

3) The testing needed depends on what type of challenges are going on or suspected. My advice to the parents would be to *also* see their pediatrician to explain what the concerns are. The pediatrician may be helpful both with narrowing down areas of concern, recommending what type of testing to look for, and may have insight into your local school system's process and responsiveness too.

Best wishes,

polarbear

eta - I wouldn't recommend getting overly specific about requests for certain types of testing, but would instead recommend focusing on what areas of the child's functioning are impacted, and let the professionals take a bit of an overall look rather than trying to figure out what's up ahead of time. There are a lot of symptoms associated with LDs as well as other challenges that can look the same but actually be from entirely different causes.