Independant evaluation | Autism PDD

Wrightslaw says that you do not have to choose from a school district approved list of evaluators.  See the Wrightslaw web page at
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/test.eval.choice.osep.htm
They are quoting a letter from the Federal Office of Special Education Programs to the assistant superintendent of education in CA.  (They have a link to the letter.)  Someone recommended asking for the list and then choosing someone not on the list, so that you will get someone too cozy with the school district.

That being said you probably want suitable qualifications.  And it probably would be helpful if your evaluator would refer to the legal definition of autism rather than the DSM definition since they differ.  And it is nice if they know the system.

That being said the school distict only has to "consider" outside evaluations.  We have paid for a number of evaluations.  One (for elder son) was selectively quoted to disqualify my son from services, even though we had spent 1/2 an hour with the evaluator discussing what services would be appropriate.  The evaluator backed down and told us to accept the SD offer --- it turns out that the evaluator had consulted with the SD in the recent past and was trying to get another contract at the same time as this.

It does not seem to work well if the author of the evaluation is not present.  Maybe the SD thinks that we cannot understand an evaluation even after going over it with the author.

In another case an evaluator (whose livelyhood was independent of the SD) gave a pretty impressive, impassioned description of what it was going to be like to treat our other son, and we think that this increased the offer of services.

We are trying two new evaluators for this go round of IEPs (have two sons on the spectrum gives us lots of IEPs).  In one case we are asking our son's current (but outside the SD) SLP to come to the IEP since she has been doing this for 30 years.  In a couple of months we will know how it went.
Dad2Luke&Alan39182.0118287037The school district is REQUIRED to give you a list. However, you are not required to USE the list.  What I do is choose the evaluator and then tell the District. I make them make all the financial arrangements. It's true that Districts can put a limit on the amount of money spent, but that limit has to be in line with the usual charges for the sort of evaluation sought, not less.  I avoid all this by letting THEM negotiate with the evaluator.  I've actually had very few outside evals and have never run into trouble doing this.  The districts are allowed and actually even required to make sure that the evaluator you choose has at least the same qualifications as the evaluator they've used (for example, if they've used a certified OT for an eval, you can't just go to a chiropractor to get another opinion).  HOwever, beyond making sure the qualifications are sound and the price is fair, they cannot restrict the IEE further, although many districts will try.  In that case, you can pay for the eval yourself and seek reimbursement through mediation, a resolution session, a hearing or even by submitting a state complaint (tho none of these methods is guaranteed to get you remibursement).  One of the choices is to get an independent eval using your own funding (either direct pay or insurance).  If course, this costs you money. However, the big advantage is then YOU are in control of the results. When you get an eval paid for by the district, THEY get the results first and the results HAVE to be a part of the official record, just the way the results of the original eval are.  If YOU pay, YOU get the report first and you can CHOOSE to share the results or not. You don't even have to tell the district you're getting your child evaluated unless you CHOOSE to share the results.  I am not advocating avoiding an IEE paid for by the district. I'm just pointing out that there is more than one way to skin a cat and also that there are options based on how much control you need in a given situation.

I have requested an independant evaluation from my school district.  And under my impression I thought I was able to choose the doctor who does the evaluation myself.  They gave me a list of about three places to choose from, two wernt even doctors they are other school districts.  Then when I asked if I could choose my own they said well I guess but they have to do the evaluation our way. 

It seems like a crock of junk to me.  And even if we get the diagnosis with the independant evaluation they are just going to consider it and will probably still deny him. 

Anyone have any experiences with independant evaluations??

I'm in the same boat right now.  My district uses a diagnostic center that only does work for school districts.  That doesn't seem real independent to me.  I have a M.D.'s report saying my daughter needs more speech and pyschological counseling, and the school totally ignored that and flatly refused. This is when already being part of your local autism community comes in handy.  The BEST way to find out the good evaluators is to ask people who've used them.  One of the MOST IMPORTANT things about getting an Independent Eval is how well the evaluator writes the report.  A report for a school district has to be worded quite differently than a report to an insurance company.  To find out the best evaluators, try getting in touch with your local chapter of the Autism Society of American or even with CHADD. Oftentimes, the doctors and other evaluators who work well with ADHD kids and write good reports for them will be good for ASD kids, too.  Thank you very much everyone.  Is the best way to handle this just call up and ask if they do educational evaluations probably??  And do you know of any good ways to get a good referral for a dr?  Or any dr. research sites?  I just cant believe they are trying to send me to another school district evaluation site.  I told the lady sorry I want someone who is qualified with a phd.  I kind of got a really dirty look lol.  Then they tried to tell me that they are not associated with the other counties school district evaluation team so it would be completly unbias.  But I disagree they all get their funding from the same place.  In fact my husband asked them why their evaluation process is the way it is and they answered "sorry we cannot tell you that". 
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