<p>I have stayed out of this fracas because, as many have noted, there can be some strong opinions on either side and, yes, I agree, people have been more contentious on CC lately. (Someone on another thread suggested that we all collectively take a day off from posting... maybe thats not a bad idea).</p>
<p>Those who have read some of my past posts know what I do for a living, and know that I feel that testing certainly has its appropriate place in understanding how we learn, and if we learn differently (I prefer the term "learning differences" to "learning disabilities" to help people understand the process of learning). </p>
<p>Testing IS appropriate to rule in or rule out a problem, or to identify learnng styles. However, I would NOT put it off, as some have suggested. Things do take time. If you are going to have your child tested privately, it takes time to get on their schedule for an appointment, to get the testing completed, scored, written up, reviewed in a follow-up appointment, etc. If it is felt that the child has learning issues that may support accomodations at school, you will next have to meet with the school LD specialist. In some states, they do not have to accept an outside psych/neuropsych eval. So when you (and by "you" I am speaking to the collective group here, not to any one person) meet with your school, it is best to go in with the attitude that you are all on the same team trying to problem-solve together. I would strongly recommend not going in with an adversarial tone. That will not get you very far. </p>
<p>While technically what the above school psych said is true, that the guidelines in the schools are that a student may qualify for accomodations if they are not performing on their academic level, there is also a lot of wiggle room to assess the "potential vs performance" discrepancy. That is, if you can demonstrate a significant difference between a students potential (as based on some tests) vs their performance (on academic or cognitive measures) you can document a disability. Keep in mind, however, that School Psychologists are very overloaded these days. Between budget cutbacks cutting back staff and administrative help, the psychologists are on overload. Add to that the fact that many, if not most health insurance policies will no longer cover any testing for "developmental or learning issues", they are refusing to pay for diagnostic testing, and are trying to push it back into the school system. The poor school psycholgists get even more burdened. Then, add to it the fact that many places are now requiring that a child be tested in the school within 6 weeks of the referral for testing (and the referral can in many places be made by the parent), and WHEW, the poor school psychologist. No wonder they might be disinclined to do testing they felt might not be warranted.</p>
<p>Here's they important thing. Since Collegeboared removed the * from their score reporting (that used to indicate that a test was taken in a non-standardized fashion), yes, many have tried to see if they can qualify for accomodations. Whether or not they are "gaming" the system is an opinion. Some preferred in the past not to take nonstandardized tests because they feared the * would stigmatize them when adcoms were reviewing files. So now more people are comfortable taking nonstandardized tests because it won't be flagged on their record. However, in response, Collegeboard and ACT have tightened up their criteria to qualify for accomodations.</p>
<p>With The Collegeboard, you have to have qualified for the accomodation(s) in your home school and have USED them for at least 4 months before you can get then on the SATs. That is, these accomodations have to have been in place for your child and used by them for 4 mos before they will be considered by Collegeboard. ACT seems to be even tighter with their policies. I have seen many requests sent to ACT for accomodations kicked back to the parent for further documentation of the duration and pervasiveness of the disability in order for them to consider it. This is not an easy process. It takes a long time these days. If your child does qualify, if you are patient and can provide the satisfactory documentation, you can get it. Those that do not qualify will be screened out. It is unfair to assume that anyone who asks for accomodations will easily get them and is therefore "gaming" the system. the "system" is not foolish. Give them a little credit.</p>
<p>Do not wait until the last minute. It may take several weeks minimum to get an appointment with a private psychologist/neuropsychologist and you then do not want to tell them that you need the finished report in a week. It takes time to gather records (whatever you can bring with you to the appointments will be very helpful-- previous testing, school work samples, medical records etc may all be important-- ask the Dr. what they want and do the legwork for them), to score the tests, to write the report, get it back from the transcriptioninst, make corrections, etc. Remember, you are working as a team. If you inadvertently come across as unreasunable or demanding, whether it be with the psychologist or with the school, it will not likely work well for you. This is a process that can take time and patience. You might be asked by ACT or Collegeboard for additional testing. Then you have to get back to the psychologist for some additional testing. And round and round it goes. So please, plan ahead. After all, isn't much of this about not running out of time???</p>