Diagnostic Evaluations

Diagnostic Evaluations
Periodically, families will engage with clinicians outside of the school community for their child to undergo formal diagnostic evaluation. Such evaluations may involve psycho-educational, speech-language, occupational, and/or other types of testing. Oftentimes, these evaluations are an integral part of the child’s overall education. We encourage families to involve the school in this process as fully as possible and appropriate.

Occasionally, these types of evaluations may involve guides being asked to complete behavior rating forms in order to give the clinician information about a child’s functioning in the classroom. Such forms should be directed to the School’s Director of Student Support, who will then direct the forms to the appropriate faculty member(s) and return the completed forms to the clinician directly. This process will be carried out with discretion and confidentiality.

In addition, families are strongly encouraged to share any reports generated by diagnostic evaluations with the School. All such reports will be received and handled solely by the Director of Student Support and, when relevant, the MS/US Learning Specialist. The Student Support Team will be responsible for the confidential and secure record-keeping of such reports and the proper dissemination of the findings of such evaluations to the appropriate school personnel. No diagnostic reports will be shared with outside individuals, schools, organizations, or other entities without direct and specific authorization from parents or guardians. The Director of Student Support remains available for consultation involving the findings of these evaluations and their educational implications.

The benefits of these guidelines include:

• Improved safeguards for the confidentiality and privacy of our students and their families;

• Increased parent confidence and assurance in the proper handling of their child’s (or children’s) records;

• Improved coordination of learning support services;

• Increased opportunities for collaboration among the faculty and the Director of Student Support; and

• Streamlined and consistent handling of important and potentially sensitive documents.