Eval results

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Yesterday morning I met with the school team to get the results of my daughter's evaluation.

I was incredibly stressed out about this whole deal, primarily because of the rather massive tongue lashing I had received from my ex about "acting irrationally" etc. by requesting the formal evaluation in the first place.

So, I'll summarize:
IQ - daughter is average to above average.
GARS - My survey indicated clinically significant concerns, ex-wife no concerns.
WIAT-II --Reading, math normal, writing below normal
SARS (for Asperger's) -- Several concerns
High Functioning Autism Spectrum Screening -- several concerns
ADOS -- met or exceeded cutoff in 2 of 3 domains, qualifying for a diagnosis of Autism
BASC-2 -- teacher evaluation showed areas of concern, my survey -- areas of concern, ex-wife -- almost no areas of concern.

Anyway... the bottom line is this: she has Asperger's syndrome. I felt relieved that I'm not just imagining things, but I also feel deeply sad that she has this.

Next up is another meeting with the school to talk about putting together an IEP for her.

Try to hang in there. I think all parents have that initial sad reaction, and then have many ups and downs after that. But it's not all downs for sure -- and having this knowledge can be the beginnings of making things much, much better.

Kris

How old is your daughter?

I felt very sad when I was given my daughter's diagnosis, but at the same time, It also gave us an avenue to help her succeed, and it doesnt change who she is. I am at the point now where I have come to not only accept, but to embrace that she has AS, after all, it is part of who she is!

My ex does not accept that there is anything on the spectrum with Kalli as well. Which makes things tough. Good luck to you and keep us posted!

I felt/still sometimes feel the same sadness you are feeling...thinking your child is "perfect" and then being told something is "wrong" with them hurts, especially when you know it is possibly going to lead to cruelty, judging, or labeling from others (kids and adults). Also having to deal with all the Doctors and teachers and all the meetings is overwhelming. There is definitiely an initial "mourning period" but then I realized...what am I mourning here? James hasn't changed a bit, he is the same great kid he has always been--it is just my perception of him that has been altered, and my ego that is hurt by having to tell people he has an ASD....I don't want people who have known him for 3.5 years to suddenly start treating him differently. atleast now I feel like I have the tools and knowledge to get him on the right path for himself....if only I can get my husband out of denial Part of him still thinks we're being hasty in "labeling" our son and that we are overreacting...it makes it harder when the other parent is not being fully supportive.

So, I'll summarize:
IQ - daughter is average to above average.
GARS - My survey indicated clinically significant concerns, ex-wife no concerns.
WIAT-II --Reading, math normal, writing below normal
SARS (for Asperger's) -- Several concerns
High Functioning Autism Spectrum Screening -- several concerns
ADOS -- met or exceeded cutoff in 2 of 3 domains, qualifying for a diagnosis of Autism
BASC-2 -- teacher evaluation showed areas of concern, my survey -- areas of concern, ex-wife -- almost no areas of concern.

Anyway... the bottom line is this: she has Asperger's syndrome. I felt relieved that I'm not just imagining things, but I also feel deeply sad that she has this.

Next up is another meeting with the school to talk about putting together an IEP for her.[/quote]




How did they determine Aspergers? Was it based on the Aspergers checklist? Several concerns doesn't sound like a full blown AS. How did they determine that it wasn't autism if she met criteria for autism?

Just curious.

Also, what prompted the school evaluation in the first place?

Knowing provides such a tremendous advantage. So many of us went well into our adult lives before knowing why we had these issues. I'm happy that you have answers. Hang in there. It sounds like you're on the ball with this, so I think she has an excellent chance of doing well.

Thanks for all of the support and comments.

Autism was ruled out, because my daughter (10) did not exhibit any of the symptoms associated with Autism during her early childhood -- hit all of her milestones, etc. I thought that AS was a possibility, because I noticed some rather significant issues with her socialization, I also noticed some instances of non-goal directed behavior, sustained odd play, etc.

What prompted the school evaluation was simply this: I formally requested an evaluation, primarily becuase I saw significant concerns with regard to her scholastic performance in some subjects, in addition to some observed issues with her socialization. In my letter requesting the evaluation, I asked specifically that she be evaluated to rule out the possibility of Asperger's, hence the reason for the battery of tests.

Asperger's syndrome is not something the school is qualified to determine. It requires an experienced psychiatrist, and not just any psychiatrist.

The IEP, however, can be extremely useful, because you can tell them what you want for your kid, and if they won't do it, you don't sign it, and they can't do a thing about it. That is the LAW. You should also insist on a third neutral party at the IEP. If you live in California, there's Parents Helping Parents in San Jose, and EMQ (Eastfield Ming Quong) in Cupertino, Sacramento, and San Diego. They are experts.

Don't sign anything without consulting someone who doesn't work for the district. Don't assume that because they ran all those tests they knew how to interpret them (I don't have a lot of respect for school psychologists....sad experience).

Also AS is not a death sentence! I've had AS all my life (and I am not young) and I still graduated from high school and college with a 4.0, and made more than a pretty good living most of my working life. My kid has it, but that doesn't stop him from being a brilliant musician, and a good if novice professional animator in New York City. Anyone who knew him in school in California is always shocked when they run into him now (other than the fact that he's six feet tall). They all thought he'd be in an assisted living group by now.

You've probably got a smart kid. It takes great skill and experience to give those tests, and some of the school psychologists are kids who are just starting out and don't really have any experience with some of the other factors involved.

Good Luck
Beentheredonethat

Hi beenthrere,

I agree with your rather blunt assessment of school psychologists; my ex-wife IS one, and according to her, there was nothing wrong with my daughter.

I am not (in any way), assuming that my daughter is not going to have a full and productive life, nor do I have any doubt that she will be successful in whatever she ultimately wants to do.

The primary reason for my requesting the evaluation, is simply this: She is in the 5th grade, and she is REALLY struggling with her writing and her math. Rather than be a parent who sticks his head in the stand, I'd rather acknowledge that there are areas that my kid may need some help in, or that there is plausibly something wrong with her (that I'm clearly NOT qualified to diagnose). I'm VERY involved with my daughters, and it would just break my heart to see the frustration that she exhibited when she would do her writing homework or math, how she would "melt down," when she was over-stimulated socially, how she struggles to "fit in" and make friends. Certainly it is plausible that perhaps she is just socially awkward and has some sort of learning issue, not necessarily AS. The one rather huge positive that I see from this, is that the school identified as a secondary area that she needs help in, is with her writing. If the ONLY thing that comes from this whole thing, is that she gets some additional help with that

I am going to find an actual psychiatrist to do another evaluation on her, because there are some occasions where she has such difficulty focusing on tasks at hand, it seems as though she has some sort of attention deficit disorder.

The bottom line for me is this: my daughter IS struggling, in spite of my efforts to do homework with her (sometimes for literally hours at a time). I'm NOT going to allow her to "slip through the cracks" in her education; if this is just a matter of her learning process is different from what "normal kids" are, so be it; the school needs to teach her in a fashion that she CAN learn the material. (As you stated, thats the law).

Thanks for the input. I'll follow up with what the "real doctor's" evaluation is.