Evaluations
Before any steps can be taken to help a child struggling in school, it is necessary to understand how that child learns. All children have areas of strengths and weakness and only by understanding these can you and the school system address the areas of weakness and build upon your child’s strengths.
It makes sense, then, that the first step to accessing Special Education services for your child is the evaluation process, which is discussed in detail in the New York State Education Department’s Parents Guide. Many school districts, including New York City, use their own staff to conduct the mandated evaluation. Some suburban districts use local, private schools providing special services to conduct their evaluations, particularly for pre-school children. It is important to remember that this evaluation is at no cost to you and needs to be performed (for school aged children) and recommended services implemented within sixty school days of your consent to have your child evaluated. It usually is a good idea to see the results of this evaluation before seeking any additional evaluation on your own.
The quality of the evaluations done by public school systems can vary widely. Read the evaluation provided by your school system carefully; it should help to explain areas where you have seen your child struggle. If it does not help you understand how and why your child is having difficulty in school, you may want to consider obtaining an independent educational evaluation. It is important for parents, students and teachers to keep in mind that the real goal of any testing or evaluation process should be to understand how a child learns and where the child is encountering difficulties. The best evaluations also focus on a child’s strengths, since these are important in helping a child achieve success in school and life.
A Word About Labels
The IDEA requires a specific diagnosis or “label” in order to obtain services from your public school’s Committee on Special Education. Except for that limited purpose, a label is usually neither necessary nor sufficient to understand how a child learns. Many children have more than one learning issue. Some have behavioral issues that interfere with learning. Many learning difficulties will resolve with time and appropriate remediation. We urge parents, teachers and others to use labels sparingly and to be aware that children are complex individuals, and deserve a deeper understanding than most labels will provide.
Your child’s school district is required by law to have the results of an independent evaluation considered by the Committee on Special Educationas part of its review and development of your child’s IEP. There is an excellent explanation on the Wrightslaw website of how independent educational evaluations can be used by public school parents, including discussion about when a school district may be required to pay for such an evaluation.
These evaluations are most often done by a specialized psychologist called a neuropsychologist or by a specially trained physician, usually a pediatrician or psychiatrist. We have researched a number of individuals and centers in the New York metropolitan area that perform educational assessments. While we have taken great care to assure that the information in our listings is correct and up to date, we cannot guaranty its accuracy. You should check with each provider to confirm the details of their evaluation procedures. Please contact us if you encounter any problems with our information or any of the centers we list or if you would like to suggest another individual or center for us to include in our listings.
In each case, we asked the same basic questions:
- What are the qualifications of the individuals performing the evaluation?
- What kind of testing is done?
- How long does the testing process take?
- What age group do they serve?
- How long does it take to schedule an assessment?
- How long does it take to receive a written report?
- What is the approximate cost of the assessment?
- Do you accept insurance?