testing for 2E/dyslexia/LD's

[Zoo Keeper]

I think it is time to actually get testing for one of mine,

 

BUT

 

we cannot do out-of-pocket testing. Just too much of a price tag.  It will have to be through the school district, if at all. 

 

Does anyone have any experience with this? 

 

I'm not looking for ADHD screening (at least for THIS kid ;0). Nor am I looking for the end of year assessment type testing.  I need to know how this child's brain learns.  I'm fairly confident of dyslexia dx, but I think there might be working memory issues causing the dyslexia and the dysgraphia. 

 

What kind of testing should I ask for to help me evaluate this?  I want the right words to use when I call the school district office, so I don't have to turn this into even more of a run-around...

[OneStepAtATime]

Have you read any books?  Do you know any other parents in your area that have gone through the process locally?  Hopefully others will respond with specifics.  In the meantime, read past threads.  There are a zillion regarding this topic.  I HIGHLY recommend digging through other threads on this board and skimming through until you find ones that fit your situation.  So much info that you could tap into while you wait for others to respond.

 

I would also recommend reading The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide, How to Homeschool Your Struggling Learner by Kathy Kuhl and The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan by Ben Foss.  Each book has strengths and weaknesses but each might help you a bit with your quest.

 

Mainly, though, what is going to matter is what your specific school district is willing and able to do.  Some are really, really awesome.  Others are absolutely useless, even harmful.  And there is everything in between.  Network.  Talk to others in your area.  Find people who have done this within your own community and what their experience was.  Be prepared to do a TON of your own research so that you know what you are talking about and you can determine more accurately if they know what they are talking about.  Some school districts really are not capable of doing useful evaluations.  They haven't the training or the background knowledge.  You are the parent on the front lines and it will be up to you to find out if they really are capable of providing useful information.  Sadly, even though there are a lot of "experts" out there, there are really relatively few true "experts".

 

Also, to actually get the clock started you will need to submit your request in writing.  While an initial phone call will be important, they don't have to do anything at all until they receive a written request.  Even then, it could be months, depending on how they process things and what they have available.

[Zoo Keeper]

Thanks, One Step.  I do have Mislabeled Child; reading that was what made think that it is more than just "he will catch up as he gets older" kind of thing. 

 

I have a friend who worked in Special Ed in our district; her suggestion was to get an evaluation through the schools, but not services.  Her take was that our district would not really offer * help/remediation* for my guy, just *accommodation* if he were enrolled (since accommodation with an Ed Tech is cheaper than remediation with a licensed professional).  At least, that was what she saw over and over. 

 

My experience with parents in the schools here is that there is a real reluctance to have a dyslexia dx--at least in the middle to upper middle class families.   One loving parent I know well refused to have her daughter pulled out for "testing and extra help" when she was struggling in 3rd grade--she didn't want her child labeled as "stupid".    Autism or ADHD is the flavor of the month--and those are the dx that get the services in the schools.  Dyslexia?  Here's your Ed Tech to scribe for you or IPad to do interactive text.  There you go.  Problem solved. :cursing:

 

I just need some sort of more in depth testing so that I can know what I will need to work with at home. And to have some documentation if he will need accommodation for testing (SAT's, ACT's etc.) down the road. 

 

I'm unsure specifically *what tests* I should be looking into or asking the school to administer.

 

I know the more info I have, the better I can advocate for what my boy needs.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Zoo Keeper

[PeterPan]

How old is this dc?  Is there a discrepancy, at least to all appearances, between IQ and achievement?  Can you document that he is having trouble?  For instance, you've done these three typical, high quality phonics programs and he still can't read or tests significantly below where he should on standardized testing?  Federal law mandates that they *identify* students with disabilities, but it's the states (and sometimes the districts) themselves that decide whether to offer services.  The IEP process can be very confusing to us on the outside, but it's all defined by law and clearly laid out (hopefully) on your state's Dept of Ed website.  

 

So two good places to start gathering information are the NOLO book on the IEP process (your library should have it) and your state's dept of ed website.  Try to find the IEP process timeline for your state.  I think that too is federally mandated, but I'm not actually sure on that.  So look it up for your state.  

 

You have the legal right to make a formal written request for evals.  You'll state that you suspect learning disabilities and request a meeting to determine if evals for an IEP would be warranted.  This begins the legal timeline, so date it, copy, and deliver.  Then they will meet with you, within the time specified by law, to discuss your evidence that there is need for evals.  You'll sign a consent to eval form.  This is your first "get it right" form, and personally I would not go in with an "oh, don't bother about this thing" attitude.  ADHD is 60% comorbid with SLD reading.  There's no reason to skip that and in fact every reason to do the opposite and ask that question and have that test run too.  They're not going to just re-eval willy nilly, and it will probably be another 3 years before they'll do another major.  Now is the time.  If you have OT issues (sensory, handwriting, whatever), mention that.  Anything at all, now is the time.  Funky speech issues, anything.  Bring it all up.  

 

That consent form begins the next chunk of time, during which they eval.  They'll then meet with you and do an ETR (evaluation team report).  I don't know if it's called that in all states, but it's what it's called here.  That ETR form with those reports becomes the documentation to substantiate the IEP.  Ironically enough, although people don't think they need an IEP, the IEP process *would* indeed give you information on how they would approach the dc.  It's true the school may not have an OG-certified intervention specialist (even though OG is THE STANDARD for dyslexia instruction), blah blah, but I still think you'll learn stuff.  I don't think you'll have the cathartic wow you are wishing for (if I'm reading you right, lol), but you'll learn stuff.  I'd just make sure you go in open to more things and letting things get flagged, so you're really interacting with people and learning.

 

As far as the actual SLD reading, it's probably going to be a lot faster than you think.  A WISC, achievement, CTOPP, done.  For ADHD they will throw in maybe some EF surveys and a computer test.  Sometimes the SLP does the CTOPP, sometimes the psych.  You really want a CTOPP if you can get it.  My ds has language issues, so his private $$$ psych did the CELF5.  If you have evidence of language problems, get them to run that.  If there are social problems, MENTION THEM and let them run a pragmatics test.  We've had some people say they got really big differences between private and ps evals, yes.  However I also know any student in my (very poor) district can go in and get these tests.  I think that's a good thing, kwim?  

 

They're not going to tell you how to teach him, and they're not going to hold your hand, spend a long time, etc.  This is going to be in/out, because they have a ton of students to serve.  They're also going into their busy season, so prepare to wait in line.  Your best bet there is to know the legal timeline and document everything.  

 

If they run those tests, you'll be able to take those results (which you'll want to get copies off or ask for all the breakdowns on with the subtests and junk) and APPLY them yourself.  You can bring them to the boards here and sniff it out.  It's fun and you'll be able to figure out how to apply the info.  I really liked working with the IEP team at our school.  On the one hand, it's a sort of adversarial, funky situation.  From their perspective, they value what they do, meaning it sort of implies maybe I don't.  And it's really hard to work in that.  I sort of try to kiss but a lot, because if you actually spend time with them and listen and really ask for help, they DO have a lot they can tell you.  It won't be everything, because the ps machine is not cadillac care for anyone.  We homeschoolers are like I'm gonna get it RIGHT.  My kid might have every SLD, but he's gonna be a Rhodes Scholar.   :lol:   That's beyond what they're trying to do.  They're trying to help hundreds and hundreds of kids get a fair shake.  Sometimes there's a lot of cynicism in the hs community, but really I think it's ok to go in with an open mind and hope you meet nice people (which they probably are!) and get some evals and get some help.  Maybe not perfect help, but hopefully they give you some good help.  And then, legally you have the right to dispute the results and force them to pay for 3rd party evals if their results just don't even make sense.  But hopefully they will.  

 

It's not the most *efficient* way to get evals, nor is it the most cathartic, but the price is right.  I hope it goes well for you!  :)

[Zoo Keeper]

Thanks, OhE, for all that--I'll reply more when I've had time to google and think. 

 

Too close to bedtime for rational thought right now...

[geodob]

With school evaluations, they usually begin with a general assessment such as WISC.

As this provides an overview, and an indication of areas of difficulty.  As well as strengths.

This can then be used for more focused testing.

 

[mountains27]

I'm going through the same right now. I posted a couple weeks ago about my son who is almost 8. He sees a child psych for some anxiety issues he deals with and at his latest appt. the doctor said he worried about my son having possible LDs. He did a quick test in the office and concluded my son was far below his "grade level" and needed an IEP in a public school. Sure, OK, not going to happen Mr. anti homeschool but I did take his advice to get an eval because I too had had some concerns this year with wanting to figure out how my son might learn best, school work has been a struggle with him lately. So I contacted my school district and they told me to write the letter, I dropped it off the next day and the next morning got a call from our local elementary school to set up an appointment to have a meeting with some school professionals. I go tomorrow without my son to discuss some of my concerns, and then we will decide from there what specific tests to do. They have asked me to bring some samples of his work also.

I'm a little anxious about going to the school but private testing isn't in the cards for us. I do know most of the people I will see tomorrow because my kids attended this school for 2 years so that will help. I'm probably more anxious about having to confront his doctor again and get more negativity about my homeschooling choice :/

Good luck to you! I'll probably post an update in my original post after the meeting to maybe give some insight to others wondering about this process

[PeterPan]

Mountains, our ps has tried to be pretty neutral on the hiding. Yeah they'll stick in jabs sometimes. Reality is anything he needs you can learn, are willing to learn, and are committing to learn. You'll be fine! :$

[PeterPan]

Oops, that was supposed to be a :)