Who Can Identify Your Special Needs Child?
As Seen in The Mother Connection (TMC) Newsletter, Feb/March 2019
In my first special education article for TMC (Nov/Dec 2018), I discussed how to begin the special education process with your public school. However, you may be wondering who else can evaluate your child and where to get support outside of the school system. Fortunately, there are multiple options and resources for both.
Your pediatrician is a good place to start if you have concerns about your child’s development. A nurse practitioner at our pediatrician’s office accurately identified that our three year old had low muscle tone. While low muscle tone doesn’t necessarily lead to special education, it did put us in touch with Early Intervention (EI) services. Early intervention services help young children who have developmental delays or specific health conditions and are available in every state. According to Part C of IDEA (Individual Disabilities Education Act), the purpose of EI is to lessen the effects of a disability or delay. Possible service areas include physical development, cognitive development, communication, social/emotional development, and adaptive development. You can ask your pediatrician or insurance company for a referral for EI services. On a side note, if you have a child under 3 years old your school district must evaluate children who are two and a half years of age and who may be receiving services through an EI program according to Massachusetts law and upon referral. An initial evaluation must be conducted in order to determine if your child is found eligible for special education and if they are, special education services should begin promptly at age three.
Some parents elect to have their child evaluated by a local hospital. Fortunately we live in an area with excellent hospitals that specialize in evaluating, and in some cases treating, children with special needs. The Learning, Emotional and Assessment Program (LEAP) and Lurie Center for Autism at Mass General, Boston Children’s Hospital and Tufts Center for Children with Special Needs can perform evaluations to determine developmental, learning, emotional and behavioral disabilities. Please be aware the waitlist for evaluations at these centers can range from several months to more than a year. I would highly recommend getting on their cancellation list in case a last minute opening becomes available.
Private neuropsychological practices are another option for evaluations. When looking for a private evaluator, you should consider asking for the evaluators credentials, specializations, costs, timeframes (often similar to hospitals plus 4-8 weeks for the report), if they will observe the child in a school program, speak with school staff, make recommendations the IEP (Individualized Education Program) team can incorporate, and testify in front of the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA), if necessary.
Once your child has been evaluated and you have the report (remember this can take a few weeks!), there are many organizations that can provide you with support and services. I can clearly remember feeling like a deer in headlights after our first feedback session with the neuropsychologist where our fears and concerns were confirmed. Understanding the testing results and where your child falls on the bell curve is imperative to tracking your child’s progress. Wrightslaw.com is an excellent resource for this type of information. The Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN) in Boston provides excellent information and assistance to parents of children with disabilities. Other avenues are your local SEPAC (Special Education Advisory Council). SEPAC’s are found in each school district but you should feel free to attend workshops, talks or seminars sponsored by a SEPAC in another district. Parent-led educational organizations like Andover Parent 2 Parent sponsors presenters on a variety of subjects. I’ve also included a number of online resources at the end of this article.
Regardless of where you get your child evaluated, it’s important to use the data from the report and your own homework to advocate for your child’s needs during the special education and IEP processes. While the school is only required to consider (not follow) the private evaluators recommendations, using the report as a road map can help you and the IEP team determine what goals and services your child needs and how to get there.
Online resources: