Jessica: My child is 7 and still has the DD label. We are up for re-evaluation (in Virginia). She has come so far in the last 2 years but clearly needs continued services and everyone agrees. However, we have had battles with (not great) teachers about her placement who have tried to use the indication of an intellectual disability and the fact that our school has an ID program as a reason to place her in that classroom. I am terrified for the re-evaluation that she will get the ID label and people will, incorrectly, view it as a reason to
underestimate her abilities and to then have low expectations for her. Should I refuse the IQ test? Can we refuse the ID label if it is assigned?
Ugh I was hoping you got an answer to this I have the same question!
My daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia 3 years ago. She has been on an RTI since that time, she attends multi sensory learning classes twice a week. At the time of her diagnosis (by an independent evaluation) we were told by the school that an RTI was a better fit for her than a 504 Plan and that we could request a 504 Plan at anytime later on if we felt like she needed classroom accomodations. She will start high school next year, so we have requested a 504 plan to be in place now allowing extra time on tests. The school is wanting to have her re-evaluated. Can we refuse any new evaluations since we already have a formal diagnosis?
I don’t have an official answer for you, but I do have a parent to parent comment. Go with your instinct about the category. In other words, if a particular category is important to you, stick to your guns.
Look for articles that will give you reasons for choosing the category you want. (In other words, don’t talk about “labeling” or the ID program. Those are your private motivations, which it would not be helpful to talk about with the school representatives.)