Eval through school?

I was speaking with a co-worker yesterday whose son has an ADHD diagnosis, and co-worker brother is a child psychologist.

Both recommended going through the school district for the eval or I might be throwing $$$$ into the wind for an evaluation that is not covered by insurance, and not as thorough.

I called the school yesterday and the woman was extremely sweet and told me she would send the intake packet in the mail and I should get it this week.

Family is kind of negative about going through the school though (wait time, "labeling", etc.).

I will probably still consider seeing an outside therapist in the meantime if the wait is gonna be awhile.

What are your thoughts if you have gone this route? (School)

DS had another severe melt-down last night when I got home from work.

I often wonder what the neighbors must think.

Re: Eval through school?

We went the school route after seeing a neuropsychologist and they were wonderful!
The neuropsychologist and the school evaluations matched up. DD received her diagnosis from the district as well.
It can never hurt to have your district do them! If you're not satisfied, you can then pursue outside evals.

Re: Eval through school?

What are your goals?

If you want related services, you should go through the school. However, schools cannot diagnose.

You can get services privately (through insurance), but you need to be aware of your lifetime cap. Multiple services a week can add up.

If you are interested in medication, you would need a neurologist or dev ped. You can blind medicate (the school doesn't know).


From an educators pov, knowing is half the battle.

DS has an ADHD dx, but we were not required to use that for CSE. ADHD usually falls under other health impairment (OHI), but we chose to use the speech hearing impairment label (he has receptive and expressive delays), partially bc of stigma...so I know what you are saying.

As for wait time. Once you sign and deliver those papers, the district has 30 school days to hold a CSE/cpse and 60 school days to place. I don't think the summer counts though? But if it's cpse, you go through a private company anyway.

Eval through school?

Thank you so much. This is very helpful. I work with adults so I am totally clueless on the process to get a child service.

I have to call my insurance company today too. The majority of outside psychologists do not accept insurance and their rates start at $85.00/hr. which for a few sessions, we would lay out, but like you said, if there's an ongoing need, that will be a hardship for us.

I would like to have him evaluated and try maybe some kind of behavior mod strategies before I went a medication route. I welcome an outside perspective, but on a personal level, I don't think it's that severe yet.

Re: Eval through school?

Re: Eval through school?

How old is he? Not in elementary school, right?

Based on your posts, I would definitely have him evaluated through the district. The reason I say that is, first, its free. Depending on the evals they suggest, the professionals who evaluate him can point you in the right direction for the next step. Or they can suggest issues or solutions you might not have thought of.

IMO, it cant hurt.

Eval through school?

Thanks everyone. I got the paperwork in the mail yesterday so now just need to sit down and fill it out. Is there an agency you would recommend. I googled a few of their websites last night and since it seems to be primarily behavioral I was thinking of trying "Up Wee Grow". Or if you have a better suggestion let me know!!

P.S. He's 3 1/2.

Re: Eval through school?

Do you suspect ADHD? You do not have to medicate. We are not considering it until first grade (1 more year) and then we will still try to avoid it. A neurologist is more likely to prescribe meds. Our dev ped has DS on fish oil.

If you can find the front line episode, the medicated child, I highly recommend it. It is on Netflix, but I imagine it could be on the PBS site too.