What Happens With the Results of the Evaluation?

After the child is evaluated, the team meets in a multidisciplinary staffing to discuss the results. Often, the IEP is also developed at the staffing. Everyone who tested the child contributes his or her results. Parents may be surrounded by a variety of special educators and may be intimidated about their contributions. However, parents have more knowledge of their own child than any of the professionals and may have more knowledge of fragile X syndrome. Whether they come with a parent who has been through the special education process, a friend who can serve as an advocate, or simply information about fragile X to share, they should approach the staffing as partners in decision making, not as recipients of the special education team's decisions.

At the multidisciplinary staffing, the team will present test results, including scores, observations, and recommendations for services. They may recommend a label that they believe fits the child's learning and behavior profile. 

IDEA includes the following special education categories: autism, mental retardation, hearing impairments, deafness, visual impairments, speech or language impairments, serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, traumatic brain injury, specific learning disabilities, or other health impairments. A child may be defined as simply developmentally delayed until age 9, when a more specific category must be determined. Children with fragile X syndrome who qualify for special education services may be labeled other health impaired (based on the genetic diagnosis), speech or language impaired, mentally retarded, or learning disabled, or they may have multiple designations (e.g. other health impaired as the primary diagnosis, and speech-language impaired as the secondary). The multiple labels can help assure that the child will receive all the services to which he or she is entitled.

Gail Harris-Schmidt, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Saint Xavier University
Chicago, Illinois

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