<p>I was wondering if anyone has received testing accommodations based on ADD/ADHD from a <em>physician's</em> diagnosis + school accommodations. I have a child with an IEP but the testing is too old for the College Board or ACT to consider. To get him a new psychoeducational test would cost thousands of dollars (public school will not do new testing saying they have enough proof of his disability) and I was hoping I could get accommodations based on an ADD diagnosis from the doctor + his IEP from school.</p>
<p>In our experience College Board is pretty specific about the kind of testing, the qualifications of the test administrator/interpreter, and the the dates of the testing. We ended up paying for a complete psychoeducational evaluation from a PhD psychologist, even though our S had a diagnosis from his Dr. and accomodations from his high school. I think College Board purposefully makes it difficult to get accomodations.</p>
<p>See if you can download the Accommodations Request form from the College Board site. It is 4 pages and very specific as to what documentation is needed. We just went through this with my daughter. Luckily, we promptly (w/i 2 weeks) rec’d all the accommodations requested. However, we did have very recent independent psych testing and she has had an IEP at school for 10 years. Like you, her school did not want to do psych testing again, as what they had was sufficient for <em>their</em> needs.</p>
<p>My gut reaction is CB won’t easily accept physician diagnosis and IEP, but you don’t know unless you try!! It may make a difference how long the IEP has been in effect and if your chlid has been routinely using the accommodations you seek. </p>
<p>Do you have plenty of time, where if this fails, you could pursue addt’l psych testing? I also thought that if you request the school (in writing) to do the testing, that they cannot refuse. Your state’s Dept. of Education (spec ed section) should be able to answer that question. The school should also be familiar with helping spec ed students get the SAT accommodations they need. I know, “should” and spec ed and school systems aren’t always three compatible words…Good luck!</p>
<p>A physician’s diagnosis - - from a gp or peds - - is insuffic. The College Board will require a psych testing from a PhD psych (or a MD-psychiatist) and I believe the testing must have been completed within the past 2yrs. My D’s college advisor warned that ACT was even stricter and granted accommodation much less often than the college Board.</p>
<p>You’ll probably have to bite the bullet and pay for psycho-social - - but you can use testing completed in the student’s jr year of high school for accommodations during the student’s first year of college.</p>
<p>If all else fails, some colleges can get you screened for a cheaper amount. I managed to get my LD screening (including ADHD) for $500 because my college had an agreement with a psychologist in town that they would screen us for a cheaper amount. Some state departments also can perform screenings for people who cannot afford the testing.</p>
<p>Ours was a PhD in learning disabilities, but he was not a Psych. I thought the testing was within the last 5 years, not 2. I have also heard ACT was more difficult to get the accommodations granted, but we haven’t tried with them yet.</p>
<p>Our public school system requires retesting evey 3 years to maintain an IEP. I thought this was fairly common. OP was your child tested and then the IEP just continued? It worked out well for me because mine was tested in 1st, pre 4th, pre 8th and will be tested again right before junior year. My son is dyslexic. Since I’ll be dealing with the ACT and SAT organization next year for the first time, I’m wondering if the school phychiatrist who tests my son will be acceptable. Anyone know? You can post this on the Learning Disabilities forum also (as could I).</p>
<p>Someone I know well got the same ACT accommodations that were provided on the IEP - time and one half on tests, time and one half on the ACT. The school submitted the request.</p>
<p>This are the sections on the Accommodations Request form–1st 2 pages are name, address, etc. School fills in the last 2 pages. Per instructions, there are two ways for a student to be determined eligible: School verification and Document review. “When a school official verifies that student meets CB eligibility criteria and guidelines for documentation, CB relies on this info. With certain exceptions, CB then processes the from without the need for addt’l documentation.” This is the route we followed, and I would guess the much easier way to receive the accommodations. The school is signing off that they have all the required documentation in their files.</p>
<p>Sections to complete are as follows:
A) Disability-LD, ADHD, Hearing, Autism, Visual, Physical, Other, or No diagnosed disability. These last 2 require documenation.
B1) Documentation-whether or not there is a current IEP or 504 in place
Also, whether it was implemented more, or less, than 4 months ago.
B2) Evaluation Testing verification–is testing current? (within 5 yrs for academic, for visual/psychiatric/physical-1 or 2 years, depending)
Name of examiner and date of eval and area of certification/license
B2b) list cognitive ability and academic achievement tests used - WISC, Woodcock Johnson, etc. Directions list the common ones.
Section III
A) List the common accommodations and code which ones you are requesting
B) Have all accommodations requested been provided and used on school tests for the past 4 months and included on IEP/504?</p>
<p>In answer to post #7, I am almost certain the school psych is acceptable.</p>
<p>Thanks syrstress. It appears most of the information the CB requires is what is utilized in an annual IEP review. It all seems quite straightforward. With PLAN and PSAT coming up next year for S3, this (accomodations) will be the focus of the annual spring IEP discussion so between now and then I’ll have to get up to speed on the requirements. We can get this taken care of over the summer so it doesn’t become a last minute jam in the fall.</p>
<p>Also, you need to get ahold of the school’s disability department. You can get advice from them on what to do next.</p>
<p>My daughter has these accommodations written into her 504 but refuses to use them for fear of “outing” herself. The upshot of that (though we insist that they stay in her 504) is that we’ve found that she doesn’t actually need the extra time for standardized tests (Explore, ACT, SAT, state and district NCLB testing).</p>
<p>Have you had your child try without the time accommodations?</p>
<p>It is my understanding that testing must be complete within the last three years. I wouldn’t want my school to do the testing regardless because it is in their interest to NOT have to offer accommodations and they often focus on the lowest percentiles to qualify. On the other hand, full testing from an independent provider also uncovers a lot of strengths (which a disability based assessment does not focus on). Also, please check with your insurance company. While they will not typically cover tutoring and other educational supports, for the last several years both when we had Medica and now with BC/BS, they cover psychoeducational testing if you use a participating provider. Of course, sometimes the waitlists for assessments are a long time out and a truly probative one takes at least two appointment times. Such an assessment is about more than ACT/SAT accommodations and from what I’ve understood, the student must have been utilizing time and a half or extended time testing as a rule for the last several years. </p>
<p>For example, my younger D has had extensive testing, has executive functioning issue and actually could avail herself of some extended time accommodations at her school. However, that she only does this on rare occasions, more or less makes her ineligible when it comes to SAT/ACT testing. I am sure there are schools who might say she had been using accommodations all along, but her school is not one of them. Older D had much the same dx but most definitely availed herself of extra time on almost every test or other quiet area to take them. She was granted extended time on the SAT.</p>
<p>While probably not the correct thread, I have had two children diagnosed much the same but have found that (with them being in two different schools) it was the school’s attitude towards learning differences that have had the MOST impact on how the child views their own learning. Older D was shamed at her large public and yes, felt a little “outed” at times whereas at my younger child’s very competitive independent school makes it very clear that it is the student’s responsibility to advocate for themselves and most students have no problems with owning their needs and getting the support to find it. The differences in their attitudes alone have contributed greatly to their success or lack thereof. In fact, I believe it is the younger one’s attitude that has turned the older one around!</p>
<p>Having only testing geared to DHD might be less costly. Since your son already has that diagnosis, and that is what you want CB to accommodate, perhaps you can limit the testing’s scope.</p>
<p>I thought ADHD was considered “medical” (hence the fact that accommodations are often through a 504), and that insurance would cover it. We just had a child tested by a private neuropsychologist and it was completely covered.</p>
<p>First, call CB and make sure the school can document without any other input or documentation from you. In the case of our other child, who has insulin-dependent diabetes, we submitted medical letters from MD’s and the signed 504 from the school. I didn’t recall that the school could do this, without other documentation, but the above post from the CB site seems to say this is possible.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t trust the school’s submission in any case. I asked for copies of what they sent, and had to make corrections because they asked for the wrong accommodation!</p>
<p>^
Modadunn - I don’t think it’s that she felt the school shamed her, it’s what she put on herself - the first time she took the Explore (in 4th grade) she found she didn’t need the time for that, so felt there was no reason to use it ever.</p>
<p>She wouldn’t be able to avail herself anyway, because as you say - they have to actually be using it to have it approved of by ACT or the College Board.</p>
<p>OP, you may know this already, but the College Board website has a lot of information here: [Services</a> for Students with Disabilities](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Accommodations on College Board Exams | College Board).</p>
<p>MNmom62- The shaming I was speaking of occurred to my D. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear. I will never forget the 504 coordinator saying to her in one of those group meeting, “Your so pretty and charming. You don’t want the teachers to think you’re disabled, do you?” I insisted the woman never attend another meeting with my child either privately or in a group again. She was 15 at the time. Yes, she was shamed and I was mortified (and is why my two younger children never attended the public school).</p>
<p>^^sounds very similar to a conversation an asst principal had with my 13 yr old daughter; after saying something along the same lines as they said to your daughter, then they told her “well, you are getting B’s; why would you need a 504 accommodation?”…duh, if she didn’t have the accommodation she wouldn’t get B’s…she, too, is no longer in public school…</p>
<p>That is just terrible Modadunn and rodney!</p>
<p>We’ve had issues now and again regarding her 504, but never anything that ridiculous, thank goodness. The worst thing I get is lectures about grade grubbing from teachers that don’t want to follow her one-day late accommodation for homework when she rarely needs it.</p>