hi,
my name is melanie. my son noah ( who just turned five) has been "difficult" from the time he was born. I was always told that he was just a normal child and he would grow out of it. but he never has, and FINALLY after switching ped. this last ped. has recommended a full evaluation to check for certain things such as autism spectrum.
my big question now is, who is the best person to go to for this? He recommended a few developmental pediatricans but I cant get an appointment for a year.. so I called a local OT and speech therapy place and they can take him next week to evaluate him ( he has alot of stuttering, stammering when he speaks) well once I booked that appointment a different deve ped called me and said they could see noah this week. here is my question. is he better off seeing a dev ped or would the speech and ot be able to see any of these issues as well? I mean, I think most of his problem is the sensory stuff.. so wont he end up going to an OT anyway? I feel lost right now and dont know what direction to go in. Plus, the three other dev ped I called couldnt take him for a year, so why is this one so easy to give appointments out? does that mean he isn't good???
any input would be wonderful
thank you all for your help. I am in Massachusetts. I am going to try and do all appointments if I canAn OT evaluation is a good step following your DD appointment. You need a script for OT and ST services anyways. Hopefully your OT can assist in the sensory work-up... make sure you fill out a sensory profile during the evaluation, it will be helpful!
We must have it good here in bucks county Pa. When i realized there was something not right with my son Michael I called the early intervention program in my county and asked for an appointment to eval. they called back within a week or so and did a screening to see if he had delays. He did, so they set up appointment for a full eval. By law they must do it within 60 days of screening, It happened way sooner than that.
I was pleasantly suprised when i got there and there was a Dev ped and an OT there to eval my son. Within a week we had an iep meeting and got him set up in classes 4 days a week, 3 hours a day. Transportation to and from.
I have had a few complaints with the program but for the most part i am pretty happy.
What state are you in??? i would research the EIP and see if it would work for you or if it has a good name.
Good Luck.
Call your local chapter of the AUtism Society of America to get a recommendation for a good evaluator through your medical insurance. It will cost a lot and you'll have to wait for an appointment for months, but it will be good to get an eval thru a true expert.
HOwever, TODAY contact your local school district and send them a request, in writing and dated, for a full special education evaluation. From the date on your letter to the day your son gets intervention cannot be more than 60 days (which is why the date is critical). Say in the letter that they may consider this your consent to evaluate.
It's FAR more important to get school intervention than an official diagnosis. Educational interventions do the MOST to help. The medical community can help with drugs, when needed, and with official recommendations for the school. HOwever, the schools do the most for our kids.
noah is starting private K in sept. so does that mean the school system wont do anything?We had up to an 8 month wait here...I found a dev. pediatrician that was private and could see our dd within 2 weeks. He didnt take insuance but the knowlege of knowing sooner than 8 months was so worth it:) I would try to go that route if you can...our neurologist evaluated her as pdd but only spent like 15 min. with her compared to the 3 hour+ from the development pediatrican. The school should do a evaluation from their autism team for free..contact the special ed. coordinator to get him seen by them. Good luck!Hi Melanie, I know you from babycorner. I'm glad you are going to finally get a good eval for Noah. I'm sure he is better off seeing a dev. ped. because the others can't diagnose autism. Good luck with the dev. ped appt.make both appts--go to the dev ped--he may have had a cancellation. It says nothing about his experience if he is able to see you quickly! That is a good thing!
Use the Dev Ped for an evaluation for autism. Use the speech pathologist for an evaluation for speech therapy. Call the school and ask them to evaluate your child for special education. Once they do the evaluation, they can place him in a classroom helpful for him.
No, they wont help you with private school.
I am sorry you are going through this.
Hi Melanie-
Here in Maryland, private schools don't follow IEP goals, but the public schools still provide services such as OT and ST. It is a bit of an inconvenience because the parent has to take to kid to the local public school. Public schools are required to provide evals and testing for all kids, but it's not up to the private schools to provide treatment/therapy.
No. The school system still must evaluate and it also has Child Find responsibilities. Go to www.wrightslaw.com and search "Child Find" and search "private schools."
In NYS, the state requires that the public schools implement the entire IEP through the private schools if the private school is willing. SOME private schools are not willing, though, because if they accept even a single penny, they are obligated to obey non-discrimination laws, which they don't want to obey.