Evaluation for children when English is not first language

amother

Pumpkin

Mon, Feb 08 2016, 3:41 pm

I can't get my child into Rose F Kennedy or Robin Hood because his first lanuage is Yidish.
I really want a comprehensive evaluation.

I suspect he has ADHD and SPD

Can anybody here advise?

amother

Pumpkin

Mon, Feb 08 2016, 5:53 pm

bump

seeker

Mon, Feb 08 2016, 9:44 pm

I'm not sure what these places are that you're trying to get into, but in the US your Department of Education is required to provide a bilingual evaluator to assess your child in his first language. New York and no doubt New Jersey have an ample supply of Yiddish evaluators.

cnc

Mon, Feb 08 2016, 9:55 pm

He's entitled to a bilingual evaluation.

miami85

Mon, Feb 08 2016, 10:09 pm

Can you call Yeled v'yalda--I'm pretty sure they have bilingual evaluators.

How old is the child?

amother

Pumpkin

Tue, Feb 09 2016, 11:20 am

Thanks everybody

I was looking to get a comprehensive evaluation as some people were saying that the Board of Ed evaluation is not comparable.

Can anyone in the know explain the difference?

I spoke to Rose F. Kennedy and Robin Hood Assessment

amother

Red

Tue, Feb 09 2016, 11:27 am

An evaluation can legally be done with the assistance of a translator. Is that an option? Would they allow?
We do that alot in the school where I work as we do not have many evaluators in many languages.

amother

Pumpkin

Tue, Feb 09 2016, 1:56 pm

No they said they do not have a translator for Yidish and that the parent cannot translate. they said the evaluators/doctors must be able to speak to child directly.

amother

Red

Tue, Feb 09 2016, 2:05 pm

amother wrote:

No they said they do not have a translator for Yidish and that the parent cannot translate. they said the evaluators/doctors must be able to speak to child directly.

I meant with a 3rd party. Officially, The translator is provided by a translation agency, probably at your expense if you go private.
Alternatively, you can say the child is English dominant if you feel he would be fine and would be able to answer in English. If he truly is not, a monolingual eval may not do him justice.
If your concerns are ADHD, you can go to a good child psychiatrist and a good OT for a SPD eval.
Learning disabilities/differences are better assessed at these clinics, but that does not seem to be your concern.

seeker

Tue, Feb 09 2016, 4:38 pm

Where do you live?
The Department of Ed is always a good place to start. And if they do find anything, you may be eligible for therapy from them. Some private evaluators ask you to do the DOE first to save them time by having a starting point already. How old is your child? Is there some special reason you think his case is more complex and would warrant a more in-depth evaluation than usual?

amother

Pumpkin

Tue, Feb 09 2016, 5:26 pm

Um. No. I got the vibes from different posts here that board of ed eval are not as all encompassing and thorough

cnc

Tue, Feb 09 2016, 5:35 pm

amother wrote:

Um. No. I got the vibes from different posts here that board of ed eval are not as all encompassing and thorough

It's not thorough at all, but it's a starting point.
At my DOE meeting, I was given recommendations regarding further evaluations.
My DOE administrator was very knowledgeable and helpful in giving me further direction.

You should definitely start with that.

seeker

Tue, Feb 09 2016, 5:45 pm

first of all, it's a starting point. And won't cost you anything.
Secondly, you haven't even found someone else who meets your needs yet, and when you do you may need to wait a while for an appointment (like 6 months kind of while. depends who.) while the DOE is legally required to complete the evaluations in a more limited time frame.
Third, the main issue with the DOE is that you never know who you'll get. There are some great evaluators and some less great but you don't usually get to choose (though some of the heimish agencies might honor your request if you hear about someone good.)
fourth, if you will ever want any services from the DOE, which is a valuable resource for services, they will make you go through their eval process anyway so why not just get started with that now while you don't have anything else going on anyway.

You still haven't said how old your child is. If they are under 5 and you suspect SPD then GO TO THE DOE right now. They almost never approve OT for sensory in school age (pretty much only if there are other OT issues and they have to be severe for the school age CSE to approve it), but if you start it before the year in which the child turns five and their OT recommends that they need to continue, then they will usually approve it. You will not get as much (if any) OT from your health insurance and you don't want to pay out of pocket either so stop avoiding the DOE and just do it.

amother

Pumpkin

Wed, Feb 10 2016, 10:52 am

I really appreciate everyone's input.

My son is 9 years old. In a chasidish cheder. In Boro Park.

How do I go about getting him evaluated by the Board of Ed?

amother

Pumpkin

Wed, Feb 10 2016, 1:12 pm

bumping up to get replies how I go about getting an evaluation from the board of ed

cnc

Wed, Feb 10 2016, 1:29 pm

Write a letter stating your concerns and requesting an evaluation. Mail it or hand deliver it to the DOE.
What cheder is your son (what street)- ?
The district depends on the location of the school.

amother

Pumpkin

Wed, Feb 10 2016, 1:38 pm

Oh thanks.

I don't feel comfortable to post publicly so I'll pm you

seeker

Thu, Feb 11 2016, 12:13 am

If your son's cheder has someone who coordinates this type of thing, ask them for the info you need. If not:

Go on google and look up which school district your school is in (try "school district [zip code]" or "Brooklyn school district map.")
Then google "Committee on Special Education school district [insert the # you just found)" The CSEs have their own numbering system. So for example you can live in district 21 but your CSE is CSE 5 (made up numbers).
Write down any address, phone number, fax number, etc that you can find. You may be using this info a lot...

Now, write a letter in which you explicitly state your request to be evaluated for special education services and briefly explain why. for example (obviously you need to adjust to your own situation):

To Whom it May Concern,
I am writing to request that my son, Yanky Klein, be evaluated for special education services. He is currently in the mainstream 4th-grade class in Yeshivas Ohel Shlomo in your district. He is functioning significantly below grade level in writing and mathematics and the teachers report that he has difficulty focusing on the topic and following directions in class. Please see the attached letter from his classroom teacher detailing the concerns. Yanky primarily speaks Yiddish at home and in school.
Sincerely,
Me and all my contact information

Meanwhile, ask the teacher to write a letter about his difficulties in academics. Tell them NOT to gloss over anything but to fully describe the problem - don't worry about insulting anyone, if you make the kid sound too good then they won't give you the time of day. Make sure they understand that there needs to be an academic problem, not just social/behavioral/etc so if the main concern is behavior they need to say how it is interfering with his academic ability. (e.g. "Yanky's excessive need for movement and difficulty focusing prevent him from completing assigned tasks and learning grade-appropriate material")

Make sure your letter is dated and signed. Then fax it to the CSE. If you were able to obtain an email address, email it as well (to be courteous and save them extra work, you should write in the email that you faxed it as well but you're emailing also for backup. That way if they see both it won't be confusing or anything.) If it's at all possible, hand-deliver it as well. But first fax it and email it because that's quickest and then you have an easy record of when it was sent and received.