Question re independent eval

PASSWORD>aafeBg5zoc926Couple of things.1. If push came to shove, odds are quite good this director of special ed does not have near the qualifications the independent eval person does regarding assessing and diagnosing children for ld. (His expertice is probably in other areas, I’ll choose not to go into this). So, I wouldn’t get too worried, other than more than likely the assessment reccomendations probably point towards areas the district has failed to identify, or does not provide in programs…2. You need to make sure that you simply aren’t handing him a copy of an assessment, but you should submit the assessment along with a request to have it become part of your child’s records and have the reccomendations considered as part of your child’s IEP. (Others should chime in here regarding actual procedural protocols to be followed).3. No, he simply cannot refuse to acknowledge the report; although he may try to. You need to put everything in writing, including your understanding of the meeting and his responses. Request that he respond to you in writing to clarify everything, in case you misunderstood what was discussed. If he refuses to accept or acknowledge the report, you can do various things.a) Call (write in) for an emergency IEP meeting to discuss the report and findings.b) Have the evaluator there to respond to any questions at the meeting. It’s pretty chicken sh-t of the administrator to rip it apart in front of you (the parent) without an equal or greater than expert in the field there to explain what his/her findings were. This bully tactic is a classic sign of what an insecure creep your director is, so don’t you take it personally.c) After attempt to resolve things at the IEP level, if the district still refuses to accept the independent eval, then you can take it to the next level and file for due process. Start with mediation and then proceed to a hearing. This is a long way off so don’t worry about it now.Main thing is build a documentation/paper trail and limit all phone calls and conversations, do it all in writing.Good luck.Andy: When I took my independent eval in to the Dir. of Spec Ed, he ripped
: it apart, refuting several of the tests that were administered (he
: pulled books off his shelves, looking for the exams!) This eval
: (neuropsych) was performed at a highly respected hospital (Strong
: Memorial, Rochester, NY) that is just out of our area.: My question… can he refuse to accept these results? I am in the
: process of writing a letter (this meeting did not go well, and I
: want clarification on several things and want the paper trail to
: accompany it) and I am not sure where I stand on this issue. I
: haven’t been able to locat any info on the LDOnline links, either.: Anybody?

PASSWORD>aaI221mi7wL3IIf I remember right the neuropsyche did the WRAT and the WJ-R, those tests can be torn apart by experienced people. Some educators don’t feel the WRAT is the best measure of achievement. The WJ-R usually will test children higher than than they should. There are problems with both of these tests. Did the neuropsyche do a WIAT or a WISC for IQ? What were the other tests to refresh my memory..

Okay,you know I’m going to bore you with the regs. Can’t help it,they just spit out of my head..This issue is covered under the Parental safeguard sections of IDEA.[section 300.5029(c)]An independent evaluation must be considered by the local agency,if it meets agency criteria,in any decision made with respects to providing your child FAPE.1. The IEP and only the IEP team makes this decision,the Special education director is not a member of the IEP team. He does not have working knowledge of your child,it really doesn’t matter what his opinion of what tests were administered,AND unless your State Department of Education has a specific test that MUST be administered,then you have met the criteria.2. If they are rejecting this evaluation,ie. the Special education director,he must provide you with prior written notice,rejecting this IEE would also be not providing her with services,not changing her educational placement,etc.3. What a dufus.: When I took my independent eval in to the Dir. of Spec Ed, he ripped
: it apart, refuting several of the tests that were administered (he
: pulled books off his shelves, looking for the exams!) This eval
: (neuropsych) was performed at a highly respected hospital (Strong
: Memorial, Rochester, NY) that is just out of our area.: My question… can he refuse to accept these results? I am in the
: process of writing a letter (this meeting did not go well, and I
: want clarification on several things and want the paper trail to
: accompany it) and I am not sure where I stand on this issue. I
: haven’t been able to locat any info on the LDOnline links, either.: Anybody?

: If I remember right the neuropsyche did the WRAT and the WJ-R, those
: tests can be torn apart by experienced people. Some educators
: don’t feel the WRAT is the best measure of achievement. The WJ-R
: usually will test children higher than than they should. There are
: problems with both of these tests. Did the neuropsyche do a WIAT
: or a WISC for IQ? What were the other tests to refresh my memory..The neuro psych performed: Achenbach Child behavior Checklist Clock Drawing VMI Grooved pegboard (one of tests in question) Halperin Verbal Fluency MFVPT Oral and written Language scale, written expression subtest PPVT-III RCF, copy and delay recall SDMT TMT WISC-III WRAT-3Most of these mean nothing to me. He initially asked if if diagreed with the school’s findings last year. I told him that I was not saying that (but didn’t really explain why I had testing done– on the advice of our neurologist). I also am not asking school to pay for the independent eval.Erin

: 3. What a dufus.I agree!!! Thanks to everyone. I knew I could count on you to get me the Info I needed.By the way, I did not plan to meet with the Dir.. only to give him the eval and speak to him later. I went to the office on the advice of the school principal and was not prepared to defend the eval. Another lesson learned!

: Erin, your independent eval. did not show any significant discrepancies between intellectual function (you reported average) and standard scores that fell in the 90-100 range mostly. The state laws give pretty specific criteria for qualifying as LD. You already have an IEP for a visual impairment, so your child qualifies under that category.

I asked the evaluator that question and she told me there are different ways to classify as an LD…. her impairments are considered LD’s even though the standard discrepencies aren’t there…..still pondering whether or not ot go with the LD.. teachers don’t understand the Visual impairment (she can see so she isn’t impaired..DUH!!)….I hate to have her classified due to their lack of understanding but that may be the only way she gets the help she need from some people (yes, I have tried to explain it to people..even given written info, but they JUST DON”T GET IT!!)

PASSWORD>aaI221mi7wL3IIt is interesting that the neuropsyche did some speech and language tests and he isn’t an SLP, but I have heard of this happening before. The PPVT is the Peabody picture vocabulary test and is used to test receptive language. VMI is a standard test conducted by psychologists. I am not familiar with the other abbreviated lingo..

: I agree!!! Thanks to everyone. I knew I could count on you to get me
: the Info I needed.: By the way, I did not plan to meet with the Dir.. only to give him
: the eval and speak to him later. I went to the office on the
: advice of the school principal and was not prepared to defend the
: eval. Another lesson learned!I gotta know this.. Why would the principal suggest you going to the Sped director with the evaluation? This is very strange. Is this an issue of eligibility or is this an issue of ed. placement? Regardless of the scores,this is an educational evaluation,the school psych should want to see this,a IEP meeting should be scheduled,and the team should be sending you notice of whether they intend on allowing the results or not. Something is very smelly in your district.. They are totally not following proper procedures,and in MAJOR violations of your child’s rights. Heck,if it would be easier for them to follow the eval,maybe they should be paying for it??

: That is the problem with independent evaluators. They are not accountable to the school district. An LD is a significant gap between the child’s expected achievement level and actual achievement level caused by a processing problem. We need to have both pieces, sometimes we get the gap then go on a fishing expedition to find the processing problem.I do not understand why you want another eligibility area. If your child has a handicap and is already classified……… Who is to say the vision problems didn’t effect the visual processing? I really don’t think any district would call the testing profile you shared LD. If she is in the average to low average range of achievement, then she can participate in her general education curriculum. You need her IEP to address the visual issues, perhaps to give the modifications and accomodations that are needed (is there a visual impairment consultant on board, helping?). I might not even expect her to need pull-out services at this point, from what you described. Generally if a child can function in the classroom, they remain there. Or, she might receive very minimal pull-out services.

: When I took my independent eval in to the Dir. of Spec Ed, he ripped
: it apart, refuting several of the tests that were administered (he
: pulled books off his shelves, looking for the exams!) This eval
: (neuropsych) was performed at a highly respected hospital (Strong
: Memorial, Rochester, NY) that is just out of our area.: My question… can he refuse to accept these results? I am in the
: process of writing a letter (this meeting did not go well, and I
: want clarification on several things and want the paper trail to
: accompany it) and I am not sure where I stand on this issue. I
: haven’t been able to locat any info on the LDOnline links, either.: Anybody? Erin,if you go to yahoo.com…then, type in LD …it should give you some websites….if it brings you to some other categories…click on Learning Disabilities. I can give you the exact URL if need be. Good Luck!Susan L.

Are you Susan Long? I am Sharon (from Atanta and we e-mailded each other several times.) If so I just wanted to thank you for all of your help two or three years ago remember all of the specific goals with phonemic awareness, the anxiety issue and just about every other issue there could have been? Although my daughter has significant LLD and could not go any faster, The goals are there and I know you set the stage for reading success. If you’re not Susan Long, sorry but through a computer crash I lost everything including all e-mail and correspondence and always wanted to let Susan know how things were going. Also, the last time I talked to you, you began home schooling your son, and I hoped things were going better for you. Sharon G.