Special Education Schools

Do you have a child with autism or a learning disability that will be receiving special education testing from your school district’s school psychologist? Would you like to know what areas should be covered, as well as a small list of tests, that may help determine your child’s educational needs? Then this article is for you, because it will be discussing areas that children in special education need to be tested in, and particular tests that you could ask for.

Area 1 and test recommendations: Occupational Therapy: A VMI should be done on any child with fine motor issues. VMI stands for Visual Motor Integration and deals with eye hand coordination. A Bender Gestalt Visual-Motor Integration test or the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration could be used.

Also if your child has issues with sensory integration they should receive a Sensory Integration Praxis Test by a qualified Occupational Therapist who has successfully completed a USC/WPS Comprehensive Program on Sensory Integration.

Many school OT’s are not specifically trained in the area of sensory integration, and cannot make a diagnosis of Sensory Integration Dysfunction. If you are offered a sensory profile for your child, say no and ask for a SIPT test by a qualified Occupational Therapist. The sensory profile is for screening only not as a diagnostic tool.

Area 2 and Test Recommendations: Speech and Language: CELF test is the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals and tests the child in all areas of language development. The areas of Receptive, Expressive, Language Structure, and memory are tested. The Goldman Fristoe test is used for articulation. Make sure that your child’s language ability is tested not just their speech ability. Lack of language can affect your child’s ability to learn to read.

Area 3 and Test Recommendations: Central Auditory Processing Disorder can affect children’s ability to learn to read. The Reading Reflex can be used to determine an auditory processing deficit. The TOVA can also be used to help diagnose a central auditory processing disorder.

Area 4 and Test Recommendations: Testing for Dyslexia. Many children who struggle with reading have undiagnosed Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. Dyslexia results from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to the child’s ability.

The CTOPP which is the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing can be used in this area. This test assesses phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming.

Other areas to be tested include letter knowledge, reading comprehension, reading fluency, and spelling. For these the Reading Comprehension subtest of the Wechler Individual Achievement Test could be used.

Area 5 and Test Recommendations: Every child with a disability should be tested for adaptive skills and functional skills. Many school districts us a Vineland to test for adaptive skills, which is appropriate for younger children. For older children over 11, I would recommend the Scale of Independent Behavior because it addresses adaptive areas, that apply to older children including job readiness.

The tests mentioned in this article are only recommendations. Check on the internet for other tests that may test the same areas. An independent evaluator can also help in this area, as they probably will be aware of different types of testing. Stand up for your child and make sure that every area of educational need is tested and educational services offered.

Many parents who enter the special education system do so with quite a bit of apprehension. They may have heard horror stories from parents of other children with special needs. They may have had to fight in order to get their children qualified for special education. They may be unsure of what to expect from special education and from their child’s teachers. Overall, there are several things to keep in mind when you are dealing with special education. Keeping these ideas at the forefront of your mind will help you to better advocate for your student and for yourself.

First of all, try to give everyone that you encounter the benefit of the doubt. Most of the people who work in special education truly care about their students and about what they are doing. However, many special education teachers find themselves overwhelmed with paperwork and politics. This does not mean that they are not doing their best for your child. When you are dealing with teachers and administrators try to assume that everyone involved wants what is best for your child. This will make it much easier to negotiate if you do have a disagreement about something.

While everyone at the school wants what is best for your child, remember that legally the school owes you a Ford, not a Cadillac. This means that the school has to ensure that your child is getting an adequate education, but they are not obligated to provide him with the very best education. This sounds cynical, but it is true. Keep in mind that schools have limited resources, including time and money. If you insist that your child needs a one on one aide for the entire school day then that means that the school cannot have that aide working with another child. Your child may do almost as well with an aide for part of the day or with resource room help for difficult subjects.

If you do find that you and your child’s school disagree with a decision that is being made, it is important that you know what your rights are as a parent. The good news is that in many cases parents have the legal advantage. There are websites online that offer free information about the rights of parents and children in special education. Knowing what you rights are will help you to know when you have legal grounds to pursue a disagreement and when the school may be doing everything that they are required to do.

Lastly, be sure to document everything. If your child has an evaluation or an IEP, document it. If she gets a note sent home from school, save the note. If he brings home work samples, save them. Remember that if it is not documented then there is no proof that it actually happened. Documentation serves several purposes. It helps to establish what has and has not been agreed upon. This means that people will be held accountable for what they promise to do. Documentation also serves as a cumulative record of your child’s school years. It can be encouraging to look back and see that skills that he or she has struggled with are now things that have been successfully mastered.