BY DORCA CASSEUS
Last time, we started digging into some of the SPED lingo you may come across as you navigate the world of Special Education in New York City. In this article, we will continue our dive into the special education referral process.
Once a parent submits a letter requesting an evaluation, the Committee on Special Education (CSE) will reach out to you to complete a social history interview. A social worker will meet with you to ask about your child’s development, medical history, and family background. They will often ask about the pregnancy, your child’s developmental stages, questions about each parent and the family structure at home. The answers to these questions will help them get a complete picture of your child in order to decide if special education services are needed or not.
Once the social history interview is completed evaluations will be scheduled. They may evaluate your child on the following:
· Psychological evaluation: This evaluation is completed by a psychologist. The evaluator will complete some activities with your child to determine how he/she processes, understands, and retains information.
· Speech evaluation: This evaluation is completed by a speech and language pathologist. The evaluator will complete activities to determine your child’s ability to understanding what is being said to him/her (this is called receptive language). The evaluator will also assess your child’s speech and intelligibility when talking (expressive language).
· Occupational evaluation: This evaluation is completed by an occupational therapist. The evaluator will complete activities to assess your child’s fine motor, gross motor, visual motor, handwriting, and sensory processing skills. You will need a prescription from your pediatrician so your child can receive occupational therapy in school.
· Classroom observation: This will often be completed by a social worker. The social worker will visit your child’s school to observe him/her in their current academic setting.
These are just some (but the most common) evaluations that can be completed once you put in your request.
While the CSE schedule the dates for the evaluation, it is a good idea to schedule your own appointments with your regular pediatrician and a developmental pediatrician. The doctors can provide important medical information that might affect your child in school. The CSE cannot make medical diagnoses and will need medical documentation to provide certain services at school. For example, the CSE cannot make a diagnosis of Autism or ADHD without medical documentation. You want to make sure you have all the important documents BEFORE the initial IEP meeting.
Be sure to drop by for the next article, where I will discuss the Initial IEP Meeting.
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