Would you allow your kid to be tested

[justamouse]

by a school licensed psychologist, rather than a private Dr you chose?

 

I want to get my son tested, and my dr told me to call the school. I did, and the school declined but the child study gave me the name of a school licensed psychologist. I have to admit, I'm wary. I really don't want to deal with a person that could, possibly, be a challenge toward homeschooling.

 

Am I just being too defensive? :001_huh:

[Joanne]

Does the professional work for the school or in private practice? I can't tell from your post.

 

In general, if I could afford it, I'd find a private practitioner.

[twoforjoy]

In our case, if we were going to have one of our children tested, we'd take them to the child development center at the university where we work.

 

Would something like that, if it's available to you, be an option?

[mommymilkies]

I've been thinking about this, as well...

[Night Elf]

I would choose a private doctor over someone affiliated with the school system in any way. I know homeschoolers who let their children do standardized testing in school environments. I do them at home. Do you have medical insurance? Is the kind of testing you are seeking included in that insurance? My ds has Aspergers and was diagnosed through a Kaiser psychiatrist.

[TranquilMind]

by a school licensed psychologist, rather than a private Dr you chose?

 

I want to get my son tested, and my dr told me to call the school. I did, and the school declined but the child study gave me the name of a school licensed psychologist. I have to admit, I'm wary. I really don't want to deal with a person that could, possibly, be a challenge toward homeschooling.

 

Am I just being too defensive? :001_huh:

Tested for what? Just academic skills? Do an IOWA Basic with some Co-op, and have the results sent directly to you.

 

If it is some other type of issue, I'd go private if I couldn't resolve it myself through my informal network.

[justamouse]

Does the professional work for the school or in private practice? I can't tell from your post.

 

In general, if I could afford it, I'd find a private practitioner.

 

Ok, I just found her bio, and yes, it's private. But she works with the schools, too.

[justamouse]

In our case, if we were going to have one of our children tested, we'd take them to the child development center at the university where we work.

 

Would something like that, if it's available to you, be an option?

 

Hmm, I could look into that.

 

I would choose a private doctor over someone affiliated with the school system in any way. I know homeschoolers who let their children do standardized testing in school environments. I do them at home. Do you have medical insurance? Is the kind of testing you are seeking included in that insurance? My ds has Aspergers and was diagnosed through a Kaiser psychiatrist.

 

I have to check with ins. I want him tested for giftedness, not a skills test?

 

No I would not. Or I might just outright ask them how they feel about homeschooling. If they are open minded about it or not against it then ok, but if they have already made up their mind that they aren't in favor of it then no.

 

I don't see anything wrong with asking that. I asked the kid's pediatrician that because I wanted a doctor who would be supportive of homeschooling.

 

Duh, asking WOULD be a way to start. I guess, though, that I have this automatic hesitancy of getting involved, automatically assuming that I'm going to contantly having to prove myself to these people.

 

Tested for what? Just academic skills? Do an IOWA Basic with some Co-op, and have the results sent directly to you.

 

If it is some other type of issue, I'd go private if I couldn't resolve it myself through my informal network.

 

I want him tested for giftedness. An IQ test or eval.

[gingersmom]

I think it depends what you want to do with the results.

 

Is it for yourself? Is your son in school and you are trying to get them to put him in a grade ahead?

 

I have never had my son tested by anyone associated with any school. I think they all have an agenda before I even walk in the door.

[Rivka]

In this context, a "school psychologist" probably means someone with a Ph.D. in educational psychology. These are going to be the people with the most child testing experience and the largest library of test materials to choose from, so yes, I think it would be a good choice. I wouldn't expect them to be hostile about homeschooling, but I wouldn't expect them to know a whole lot about it either.

 

If you are going in with a specific question in mind, word that very clearly. "We want to know whether our son is gifted and what his IQ is. We don't have any concerns or issues about homeschooling."

 

It's probably most helpful if you can express why you want him tested. "We want to know his IQ to find out if he's eligible for certain programs" sets up a very limited scope of evaluation. "We want to know if he's performing at his full capacity" sets up a much broader one. "We want to know what his strengths and weaknesses are" is somewhere in the middle.

[wapiti]

I want him tested for giftedness. An IQ test or eval.

 

Then no, I would not go with school psych, unless they also happen to have extensive experience with gifted kids. (In our experience, school psychs often spend more time testing kids with LDs and I was not impressed with the expertise; in our district, they now only administer the CoGAT to look for giftedness). Look for a psych who is very experienced with gifted kids, not who just tests gifted kids once in a while. I'd start by looking at the list on Hoagies website. Another way, besides word-of-mouth, would be to look at the websites of any gifted schools near you - in the admissions sections, they may have names of private testers nearby. And, as one of the PPs mentioned, a university psych or neuropsych department may have testers who specialize in gifted kids.

Edited September 30, 2011 by wapiti

[gardenmom5]

In our case, if we were going to have one of our children tested, we'd take them to the child development center at the university where we work.

?

 

except that can have a really long waitlist. The children's hospital has a nine month wait list. the medical school CDC wait list is shorter, but after six weeks worth of paperwork JUST TO GET ON THE LIST, we still have no idea when we'll get an appointment, and that was the end of May.

 

school districts must start testing within 30 days.

[wapiti]

school districts must start testing within 30 days.

 

While that may be true for learning disabilities, that may not be true for giftedness. Many districts do not offer one-on-one testing for giftedness, and those that do often only offer abbreviated testing or screening tests.

[Denisemomof4]

I understand your concern, but my bigger concern is how helpful will a school psychologist be vs. a private one. My ds was IN school when his teacher told us we'd be better off doing private testing. She was looking out for what was best for ds, and she always recommends private testing. The same was true for one of my bf's who was told her dd would be better off being privately tested.

[Denisemomof4]

for giftedness I'm not so sure. I usually don't read entire threads before posting a response.:tongue_smilie:

[justamouse]

In this context, a "school psychologist" probably means someone with a Ph.D. in educational psychology. These are going to be the people with the most child testing experience and the largest library of test materials to choose from, so yes, I think it would be a good choice. I wouldn't expect them to be hostile about homeschooling, but I wouldn't expect them to know a whole lot about it either.

 

If you are going in with a specific question in mind, word that very clearly. "We want to know whether our son is gifted and what his IQ is. We don't have any concerns or issues about homeschooling."

 

It's probably most helpful if you can express why you want him tested. "We want to know his IQ to find out if he's eligible for certain programs" sets up a very limited scope of evaluation. "We want to know if he's performing at his full capacity" sets up a much broader one. "We want to know what his strengths and weaknesses are" is somewhere in the middle.

 

Ahh, that's what the counselor in Child Study told me. She did say that this Dr would ahve the largest resources to pull from in finding out his capabilities-you explained why.

 

And yes, I see how wording questions like that would help.

 

thank you!

[justamouse]

Thank you PJ, I appreciate your whole post. I'm hoping for the same outcome, and now I see it can be done.

 

(smartapalooza, *chuckle*)