Has anyone ever had their children's school ever wanted to do an evaluation on their child? How did you deal with it all?

Carole - posted on 02/17/2009

Thanks everyone for your input on this.  I have had alot of response and now I just need to wait and see what the results will be.

Carole - posted on 02/17/2009

I do have an open mind.  There is nothing wrong with my child other than he has a few delays.  He just needs time to grow.

Leah - posted on 02/17/2009

Certainly all school districts want more funding, and there is always room for improvement in any school system, but I highly doubt there are teachers out trolling for new inductees to evaluate. I have a son who is "very active" and has problems adjusting to school. I am terrified that someone somewhere is just going to blame ADHD or some other syndrome and never give him the chance to mature a little on his own before making a judgement. My son's teacher and I work very closley, and I have received nothing but helpful solutions to our problems from his school. not one person has forced me to do anything. The teachers know when something is off. You should stay completey involved and in charge of any decisions made about your child, but it's probably best to keep an open mind.

Lori - posted on 02/17/2009

Quoting Carole:

Has anyone ever had their children's school ever wanted to do an evaluation on their child? How did you deal with it all? Did they say what kind of evaluation? They have to tell you what they are evaluating for. It might be an AU (for Autistic tendencies) or just for learning disability. It may be because of RTI (Response to intervention) which is new to Texas but many other states have began. I am a teacher of Pre-K but have taught Kindergarten as well.

Patricia - posted on 02/17/2009

My son has ADHD so he has had lots of problems but they evaluated him and put him in a special class and he is making the honor roll now and they are letting him back into regular class next year in high school so ask what questions you need too make a list and go from there That special class helped him tremendously and as bad as I felt at first I now know it helped him to succeed

Melissa - posted on 02/17/2009

Hi .. My child's pre-school asked for testing. I felt like he marched to his own beat, but did not realize that he had Aspergers. I had him tested/ evaluated several times by many different groups, including a private psych. Now that he is older the school has also done testing (his elementary school). All have confirmed that he has Aspergers (who knew?). I am glad I found out more and the school has helped because of the diagnosis. My advice - don't be afraid... Sometimes thier teachers can see things that we, as parents, do not. I am a teacher myself and it took someone else to point out that my son was "a little different".

Carole - posted on 02/17/2009

Yeah that is what I meant, but since I wrote it in French, as I'm french and it is PEI.  But wasn't sure how you said it in english.  I did fill out a sensory profile last June and had the results and it did say he was sensitive to things.  Tomorrow he will get the second part of his evaluation done and then wait like 6 to 8 weeks for the report.  He will be going with his aid to the evaluation.

Besides that he had 5 A's, 1B and 5 C's on his report card in December.  He's in 2nd grade.

Terri - posted on 02/17/2009

My son will be on an IEP too, I think that is what you meant. It's ok, I always figure why not get the services for free. It can't hurt him. Sounds like he has sensory issues? I hope it all works out for you.

Carole - posted on 02/17/2009

Michel isn't overly active.  It's because they are wondering why he has so many sensitivities.  He can hear trains coming all the way in the classeroom and will know in which direction it is coming too.  Regular noises for us will be too loud for him.  He has a few delays on top of that as he was born a sick baby.  He did stop regurgitating his food at 2 years old and then is when he was able to do stuff he couldn't do before.

He's got one of those PEI thing that they work with him on things he needs to have worked on.  Like fine motors, gross motors and some of his tests are modified to his learning.

Terri - posted on 02/17/2009

My three year old was just tested for his speech and fine motor delay. He qualified for OT and speech services through the school. I think it is good to get them the help they need so things don't get worse. I knew my son had these delays b/c I am a social worker and that was my area of expertise. His classroom is half special needs and half typically developing students. He starts next Monday. We will get preschool for free and bus service, which is a bonus for me b/c I have a baby on the way and a 19 month old. You don't have to go by their recommendations, especially if they want him on medication. I have seen too many kids over medicated just because they are a little active. Be cautious about that and talk to your pediatrician. Hope that helps.

Carole - posted on 02/17/2009

Well at the moment my son has partially had his evaluation and I still don't know what the results will be but hoping that it won't be devastating.  As I have heard some therapists will try and put your child on meds just for the fun of it.  I know the school is looking for more fundings and so whatever the outcome if we think that is it rediculous we still have the last say in everything.

Melanie - posted on 02/17/2009

My son has struggled since Kindergarten. He has had a year and a half of Sylvan Learning Center for Reading, he passed Kindergarted (just barely). First Grade was a struggle, she (teacher recommended having his eyes tested, we did. His eyes were perfect. She then suggested having him tested for ADD or LD. We took him to an education psychiatrist. Negative on both, he actually was very low on the ADD chart and has a high IQ. The school tested him and found nothing that would be causing his learning problems in reading and writing. I now have him in vision therapy, because I'm just grasping at straws trying to find something that works. He tutored all summer and is now tutoring after school. He did make it to 2nd grade, but they are saying he is still below grade level in his reading and writing. No one has any answers. If anyone out there has a suggestion, please post.

Mae - posted on 10/31/2008

I agree with Angela. I am usually on the other side as well. I just wanted to help the kiddos so I would let them evaluate and see if they can help make school less frustrating for your child.

Amy - posted on 10/30/2008

the best thing about having my kids evaluated is that now they ALL get exactly what they need from their education! As a result of the tests 2 were placed in gifted classrooms to reap the benefit of additional challenges and 1 gets extra time for tests, additional resources in the classroom, a scholarship for private school if I choose to send him and, more attention in class and with assignments. I have to be active with the schools but it's worth it! No one is being shuffled through with the crowd because they all have been given an individual education plan. It's been a blessing for all of them.

Nancy - posted on 10/30/2008

My son has been evaluated at school and I was fine with it but I feel you need to be proactive. Tell them you will sit in on meetings. Tell them to keep you updated. The schools want to do what is best for each child so if your child is struggling in school than by all means let them evaluate him/her. They can help..and good luck!! I know it can be tough on a mom!

Carole - posted on 10/30/2008

Well my Michel doesn't get into trouble. At all!

Carole - posted on 10/30/2008

Here the school has about 245 students in the school. But there are like 7 french catholic schools in the Sturgeon Falls, North Bay area. There is only one guy who does the evaluations and then he sends his report to specialists to analyze. So I was told.

Jennifer - posted on 10/30/2008

It is really scary how backed up some schools are. Makes me wonder how many children are falling through the cracks. Good luck!

Carole - posted on 10/30/2008

Thanks Jennifer, Amy and Cheryl for your feedback. Now I'm only going to wait for when his turn will come as I was told that the demand was made at the beginning of 1st grade and he's in 2nd grade right now.

Cheryl - posted on 10/30/2008

Let them do it. It's free, and wouldn't you rather know if something is wrong, sorry, different, with your child instead of pretending you're a perfect family and deny it all?
Independent testing as a second opinion is also wise.

Amy - posted on 10/30/2008

I'm a pediatric nurse, and my husband is a child psychologist so we see a lot of testing in our professional lives... you may have heard this already, but early intervention is one of the greatest ways of helping kids to reach their full potential. Sounds like he's getting some therapy already, so the evaluations they do are tools to see where he's at now and given them a way to measure whether the therapy is helping. You have the right to have all the tests explained to you, so if you don't understand what the testimg is for or what the results are or what they mean, make sure to ask!

Jennifer - posted on 10/30/2008

They are probably seeing something that he might need a little more help with or feel he might learn better in a smaller class setting.
You never have to do anything with the evaluations and they can't force any changes on you. You have to sign your consent for everything.
As for him not being capable of getting A's. Maybe he isn't at the moment, but that doesn't mean he never will be. My son needs help with things now but that doesn't mean he won't be able to excel in a few years. With the right tools some kids will overcome any learning disabilities that they currently might have.

Carole - posted on 10/30/2008

Thanks Kori and Katy for your feedback. Michel already is taken out of the class for 30 minutes a week for physio thereapy (learn how to catch a ball) since he is scared to being hit by it. Then he is taken out of class for speach therapy 30 minutes a week and every two weeks he leaves for about 1 1/2 hour to go swimming for 1 hour. He has an aid in class and he hasn't failed one grade yet. The teacher told me that they would take into consideration what he misses in class when he is being graded. As long as he has a B or C I'll be happy. No D's. I also know that my child isn't capable of getting A's as he wouldn't need all these services.

Katy - posted on 10/29/2008

Having your child evaluated does not mean you have to do anything with the results. I have a child that they wanted to put into a special group for reading. When I voiced my concerns about him leaving the regular class room during learning time the teacher told me "don't worry more then half my class leaves for some special class". Some schools really are after the funding but you can find that out. They have to disclose to you the percentage of children that are in special classes. I am not a teacher and sometime you have to have faith that someone who is trained may see a problem that you don't. Have the evaluation and make no commitment until you feel comfortable.

Kori - posted on 10/29/2008

I had both of my children assessed at a young age. I am a school teacher and noticed concerns as I compared my children to my friends who had kids the same age. I feel early intervention is the best way to go. We met about our 5 year old a few weeks ago and adjusted his plan. Our 2 year old is being re-evaluated do to the state standards. I strongly feel kids with needs, should be mainstreamed as much as possible. They need to hear and see what "average" kids are doing. I would suggest to approach the situation at every angle- have the school do what they think is best and also consult with your doctor and maybe look at other angles. It is very frustrating seeing students in your classroom who are not getting the help and are falling further behind, the larger the gap, the more challenging for all.

Nicole - posted on 10/29/2008

I am on the other end of evaluations as well. I think any chance you can get to help your child would be a benefit. Schools are trying to help and do what is best to help him or her succeed. I think having communication with the teacher(s) and team members that do the evaluations are essential to a great education for your child. :)

Carole - posted on 10/29/2008

Thanks to Angela, Annette and Laura for your feedback. All I know is that everyone is telling me he is normal and I do think he is but then again I'm not sure if it has to do with the school wanting more fundings. He may have been sick for the 2 two years of his life and has a few delays because of it but other than that I think that is all. I'm just a bit confused as to why they would want to do the evaluation on him in the first place.

Laura - posted on 10/29/2008

I have had the school do evaluations, but I also advise you to be proactive and have your own doctor, psychologist etc. do an evaluation also. I have had a bad experience with one school and just caution people on it. I was getting told my child had ADHD, when it was a learning disability that was the problem all along. Good luck!! Let us know how it goes!

Annette - posted on 10/29/2008

I had the opposite problem. My son was ADHD and I knew it, but his teachers, K-4th grade just insisted that he was "just a boy" "lazy" "doesn't want to do the work" or "rushes so he can go play on the computer". I finally went to the guidance counselor and got him tested. Unfortunately, he tested too high for the school to do further testing. I had to go to a psychologist to have him tested and he is ADHD, just not severe and with no anger issues. Whatever the outcome with the school's testing, I would have your child tested by a psychologist who deals with children to support the school's test results or for comparison. Hope this helps.

Angela - posted on 10/29/2008

I am usually on the other end of the evaluations. I will tell you that we (the schools) usually are trying to do what is best for your child. We are trying to find a way to help your child continue to grow and learn. So PLEASE, do not think of it as a bad thing. Just as a helping hand.