Ziva kreiger foundation

amother

Tangerine

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 10:06 am

I just want to let all lakewooders know that the foundation is using non licensed individuals for evaluations. Please do yourself a favor and find competent licensed evaluators. I was not aware of it. Unfortunately it's too late to undo the damage. I'm just saying this so others don't fall in this trap. If this experience has meaning then this is it.

amother

Crimson

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 11:07 am

amother wrote:

This is very prevalent in Lakewood. They're not the only ones.

seeker

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 11:53 am

Mommyg8 wrote:

Well you know it's about a fraction of the price of a real evaluation.... what exactly were you expecting?
It's not meant to replace a full evaluation at all. Perhaps you misunderstood.

There is such a thing as professionals offering a pro bono or sliding fee at times. So if someone advertises low-cost evaluations, I think it is not unreasonable if someone thinks the evaluators are legit. Of course everyone needs to do their own due diligence before signing up for something like this.

amother

Emerald

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 11:57 am

I had the exact same experience and my god are we paying for it. Please stay away.

I did try to do my due diligence and was told the costs are subsidized by the foundation and by Mrs. Ziva Kriger who has devoted her life to this cause. (She was alive at the time).

Oh god. I can't even find words. Just stay away.

LiLIsraeli

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 12:56 pm

I'm not sure what the issue is here or why you would be trying to undo any damage. I had a kid evaluated by someone recommended by Ziva Krieger a"h. She was alive at the time but could not fit my child into her schedule. The evaluation was solely for the purpose of understanding whether my child with a borderline birthday was ready for kindergarten, or if he/she should spend another year in nursery.

They aren't provided neuropsych or psychosocial assessments. If you went into it expecting that then it seems you were misinformed. The evaluators are Morahs, not even licensed teachers, and are just giving their opinions as Morahs. Nothing more, nothing less.

Mommyg8

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 2:34 pm

mha3484 wrote:

What kind of eval are you referring to? I am just curious I did a full neuro pysch for a child recently and cant imagine how someone unlicensed can do that. I am aware that there is more of an educational eval that can be done with a masters in special ed. Is that what you are referring to?

Liked the above poster said, it's just an evaluation to see if your child is ready for kindergarten or primary, or whatever. It's done by morahs, not licensed professionals at all.

A full evaluation costs thousands, and this evaluation is just a few dollars. I'm not sure what's being subsidized, because afaik I paid full price for half an hour of a morah's time... but its possible that there are other services that are subsidized, that I don't know about.

I think that they should be more clear, though, that this is not a full evaluation at all.

amother

Fuchsia

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 2:49 pm

Im not so sure if Zeva herself was licensed, AFAIK she had a knack in seeing what school would be good for a kid, based on where the kid is holding in basic skills because she knew all the schools. I used them recently for my son to see where he would be best placed- I dont think the lady I spoke to ever even saw him. We just explained his situation, sent in whatever evaluation we had from the BOE, and based on that she recommended a certain school.

amother

Tangerine

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 5:40 pm

No I was not going for an opinion if my child is ready for school. She's 3.5 yrs old. I can't give too many details, I don't wanto out myself but it was for a different purpose. I to.d them what the evaluation was for. I told them I need an educational evaluation. I was sure they are really reliable. Turns out the special ed person didn't write a report.

If she has a degree in special ed why doesn't she write up a diagnosis and report like all professionals that's when I got suspicious. Needless to say she was way overboard and her method was not as professional as a decent evaluator would be.

She obviously knows some stuff but it's not in a professional. And not only that why if she's professional is she doing this in her dining Room? I have yet to meet a professional in their dining room.

Too many red flags. Ok, I didn't spend too much so I'm not too upset about that. But her diagnosis was off charts.

Aside from that this organization is not run by professionals. Why tell me it is when it's not. Anyway I'm over it. I learned my lesson, anything u do in Lakewood you gotta double check. There's something with how people here do such stuff here.

Lesson learned.

amother

Tangerine

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 5:45 pm

No a 3.5 yr old that is somewhat delayed doesn't need a full neurosych. This was just a typical educational evaluation.

Turns out as I spoke to the "evaluator" after her seeing my daughter she said it's a screening. What in the world is that? How's that work when your looking for an evaluation? I misunderstood her. I'm sorry I spent my hopes thinking I was going to a decent place.

I did hear that ziva was phenomenal so I stupidly assumed her foundation is good too. Turns out no. Not only that my pediatrician told me he wouldn't trust a word that comes from them. When ziva was alive he said it was a totally different story.

amother

Slateblue

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 10:49 pm

The foundation is good for evaluating grade levels for neurotypical kids. Most people use them if their child has a borderline birthday and they aren't sure what grade to put them in. They are not super professional, but good for this purpose.
With any further impairments or delays, they can probably just tell you the red flags. They don't work for BOE or any therapy agency, so a report wont even do you any good.

Perhaps you can speak to the Special Children's Center to direct you further? They have high functioning classes as well.

seeker

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 11:02 pm

Not sure if it's productive to nitpick, but two things...
1. As Slateblue amother said above, I also took notice when the amother said they didn't write a report. Unless they are a licensed school psychologist or MD and you are looking for dept of ed services, a formally written report won't get you anywhere.

2. Why the jab at the dining room? People who volunteer their time don't necessarily have office space to volunteer. If there were family members coming in and out during that time then I'd be offended, but otherwise this sounds kind of snobby.

amother

Puce

Thu, Dec 14 2017, 11:33 pm

My son is 4 and his morah recommended OT. MY doctor said we should talk to someone
At ZKF and then come back to him. (Shaniks office would not give a script for OT solely based on morah which I understand) I called them and they sent someone to observe him. And that is all it was not a full official evaluation etc. But no one mislead me into thinking it would be. I paid $75 for the hour. And she gave me plenty of follow up time.
So it really depends on your needs.

Mommyg8

Fri, Dec 15 2017, 12:58 am

It sounds like some of you may not be aware of this, but if you live in Lakewood (probably anywhere else too, but I'm addressing Lakewood here), you can request a full evaluation from the Board of Education, free of charge. You would have to have your child's Morah fill out a form explaining what the Morah feels is wrong and what she feels needs to be evaluated. The evaluation usually consists of a psychological evaluation, which tests your child's IQ, a speech evaluation, an OT evaluation, and a PT evaluation. They will only evaluate areas of concern, so make sure to emphasize which areas are concerning when you request your evaluation.

If your child is younger than three, you can, and should, request an evaluation from an Early Intervention agency. For many issues, the younger you start the better, so it would be good to get clarity if you have any concerns. This is also free of charge.

The only downside I can see to this is that these evaluations take some time to schedule, and can be time consuming once this happens. But I don't see any other negatives to doing this route, especially if you feel that there are some real issues.

I'm also wondering... I remember that Ziva a'h would recommend a full evaluation if she thought it was necessary, and also helped me (and I'm sure others) get through the red tape, and helped me find good therapists. Doesn't the Ziva Kriger foundation do the same thing?

seeker

Fri, Dec 15 2017, 1:21 am

Mommyg8 wrote:

AFAIK there is a time limit on how long the DOE can make you wait for an evaluation (there is in NY; pretty sure it is the same throughout the US but can't vouch for it.) So I'm not sure where people get this idea from; it's usually the private practices that have months-long waiting lists. And psychiatrists, ironically, but that's a different thread.

Mommyg8

Fri, Dec 15 2017, 1:27 am

seeker wrote:

This was my experience. They do have to start within a certain time frame, I think it's 90 days, but then the evaluations themselves can take some time, so you can be talking about a six month period, from beginning to end. That is a long time for a child who may need services.

Edit: I just realized that you wrote that you are in New York. Lakewood is different, for various reasons.