{"id":4328,"date":"2011-02-07T14:47:43","date_gmt":"2011-02-07T18:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=4328"},"modified":"2016-10-03T12:28:31","modified_gmt":"2016-10-03T16:28:31","slug":"q-a-on-adhd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/q-a-on-adhd\/","title":{"rendered":"Q &#038; A on ADHD"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Q%20%26%20A%20on%20ADHD\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><blockquote><p>My child attends private school and demonstrates focus problems, tics, and some hyperactivity. He was recently diagnosed with ADHD by a physician who recommended a psychoeducational evaluation.<\/p>\n<p>The public school district conducted the evaluation.\u00a0 The evaluation dismissed physicians findings of ADHD.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Question: <\/strong>Our doctor reviewed the test results. He told us that the law said the WISC-IV test is to be administered only by a Phd. The &#8220;school psychologist&#8221; admittedly is not a Phd and has only her masters. Is he correct?<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Answer: <\/strong>It is not a legal issue and not in the law.<\/p>\n<p>Some Masters level school psychologists are qualified to administer the WISC.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Question:<\/strong> What recourse do we have in this situation?\u00a0 Can the district interpret the results counter to the findings of the physician?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answer:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Even if medically diagnosed as ADHD, the question is whether the ADHD adversely affects your son&#8217;s educational performance. <strong>This adverse effect is what qualifies him for services under IDEA 2004.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Question:<\/strong> Can we request that the district pay for a private evaluation?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answer: <\/strong>Yes. You can request the district pay for an IEE.<\/p>\n<p>Some advice.\u00a0 You would have been much better off in the beginning and even now to have someone independent of the school system do the evaluation.<\/p>\n<p>It is much like asking the fox guarding the chicken coop to give you a status report. When you obtain an evaluation under the IEE statute, will you have an evaluator who is truly independent? Will you have an advocate who is willing (or unwilling) to advocate for services for your child?<\/p>\n<p>I rarely recommend that route, and instead recommend a truly private sector psycho-educational evaluation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Question:<\/strong> We need some type of IEP so that the teachers at my sons&#8217; school have specific parameters by which to gauge his success. The school needs guidelines for accommodations\/modifications to his educational setting.<\/p>\n<p>My son&#8217;s Processing Speed Index was extremely low.\u00a0 All VMI were in the lower average range; Visual Perception 39 percentile. Despite these deficiencies, the district states he is normal and there is no need for a concern or written modifications.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answer:<\/strong>You need to get a much better understanding of the relationship between standard scores and percentile ranks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Time to do some homework.<\/strong> Read Chapter 10 and 11 of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/bks\/feta2\/feta2.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy<\/span><\/a>. You will find your assignments there.<\/p>\n<p>Read this comprehensive article (link below) to learn how to interpret and chart your child&#8217;s test scores and measure educational progress or lack of progress.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/tests_measurements.html\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Tests and Measurements<\/span><\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/tests_measurements.html\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/tests_measurements.html<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/webex\/test.scores.index.htm\" rel=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/webex\/test.scores.index.htm\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" style=\"border: 0px solid black; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: right;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/webex\/img\/webex.img.2.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"125\" height=\"126\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Or download <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/webex\/test.scores.index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Understanding Your Child&#8217;s Test Scores<\/span><\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/webex\/test.scores.index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/webex\/test.scores.index.htm<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Question:<\/strong> The district states that if my son truly had ADHD, there would not be even 5 minutes where he could sit quietly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answer: <\/strong> Not true.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Question:<\/strong> The school says my son&#8217;s difficulties are all normal for his age group.\u00a0 &#8220;Welcome to middle school&#8221; is what we were told. They deny that children\u00a0 with ADHD can focus on things they enjoy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answer: <\/strong> Again, not true.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Question: <\/strong>The school said on a rating scale of 1 to 5, my son would have to be rated 5&#8217;s by all teachers and parents all of the time to be considered ADHD. This seems to counter info that we have read.\u00a0 Please advise.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answer: <\/strong> Same as above. Take the time to make yourself an expert on your child&#8217;s disability. Use the articles, information, and resources on this page to find out more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/add.index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">facts about ADHD<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Print any information you need to support your position.\u00a0 Make a copy for the school and your child&#8217;s teachers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/add.index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/add.index.htm<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Although in a private setting now, we intend for our son to attend public school in 2 years (for high school) as our other child has done.\u00a0 It is therefore important that we establish his needs with the district.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Great job getting a head start in advocating for your child. We invite you to\u00a0 attend one of our this year.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/speak\/index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Special Education Law and Advocacy training programs<\/span><\/a>. Here&#8217;s the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/speak\/schedule.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">2011 Training Schedule<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you cannot travel, you can download the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/webex\/law.adv.index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">6.5 hour multimedia training.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My child attends private school and demonstrates focus problems, tics, and some hyperactivity. He was recently diagnosed with ADHD by a physician who recommended a psychoeducational evaluation. The public school <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/q-a-on-adhd\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1377,1359,1367],"tags":[1307,31,78,1310,348,347],"class_list":["post-4328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-add-adhd","category-seminars-training-conferences","category-assessments-tests","tag-adhd","tag-evaluations","tag-iee","tag-independent-evaluations","tag-percentile-rank","tag-standard-scores"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4328"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18844,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4328\/revisions\/18844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}