Assessments start Monday
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| Sun, 05-04-2008 - 1:54am |
Hi,
I posted here awhile back about my 5-1/2 year old. His pre-K teachers noticed some stuff, and with his pedi, DH and I decided to have him tested at Univ. of Washington Child Development clinic. He'll be getting Psychologist, Dev. Pedi, ST, OT and I think nutritionist assessments.
I am pretty sure he has ADD or ADHD, and with his "spectrum" stuff he doesn't quite fit Aspergers, but there is definitely something going on in the communication end of things. So he will have about 7 hours of assessments over two days!
I'm very nervous, I hope I'm not wildly off on my expectations, I DO think he'll be able to manage in a regular Kindergarten classroom perhaps with some support and a plan in place. I'm a little worried that there aren't any educators on the assessment team. Will the school look at this as some ivory tower thing and not in touch with the reality in the classroom? I am totally clueless, he is my first born and I've never been through anything like this before.
I haven't told him about it yet- tomorrow I will. I plan to talk about how it's sometimes hard for him to focus on what he needs to do to finish things like getting ready to go out, remember all his stuff, get dressed, and do "brainwork". There will be several people who will talk to us and give him games and activities, some hard and some easy, and ask him questions so they can see how he learns and how we can help him find ways to focus better. They will also be able to see the things he does well, and help us figure out how to use his strengths better.
Does anyone have advice for me on talking to the professionals, or on putting as positive a spin on this to my son as possible?
In addition to my anxiety about what will come out of this, I am leaving my 1 year old home with a new sitter, the longest stretch of time I've been away from her, and I'm afraid I'll forget something, or she'll be unhappy, or last minute stuff getting out of the house will make us late, and I'll just be a complete ball of nerves. I don't know how I can handle worrying about leaving my baby and the assessment all at the same time...
Elaine

Hi Elaine,
I am an Elaine too (I mostly go by as Lainie as I noticed you do too :))
When you go to the assessment the most important thing to do
Hi Elaine,
My ds (almost 6) really enjoyed the testing too!