[Miswimmy1]

I am trying to decide which is best- testing by the public schools or by an independent professional that my t recommended. Anyone have any info on which one is better? I'm sure both have their pros and cons, but I was thinking a little insight might help.

As a little background, the testing is for possible reading difficulting- specifically with short term memory/recall, and retention of information. I was a decent student up until 9th grade (I am currently going into 11th), so I am thinking that if there is a problem, that it is minor. I am personally leaning towards the independent professional because I feel like he might be able to find little things that maybe the public school wouldn't be able to pick up on?

[Perna]

I don't think the public school, itself does the testing, it's just under its auspices and will influence how you are treated in school. Independent will be outside of school and won't necessarily impact that or anything else as school might insist on its own testing for its purposes and the SAT, etc. will require more paperwork that your parents will have to complete, if you do not have the school doing the request for SAT consideration.

I would think about what you want the results for. Just someone saying you officially have "short term memory/recall and retention of information" difficulties won't do anything for you in your life; whoever you want some consideration of for assistance will have their own rules and hoops for you to jump through so I'd figure out who you might need, what school, college testing program, college/university you were going for and read what they have to offer and what it takes to get consideration, etc. and then decide. If it is primarily for learning though and in learning situations, I'd go for school testing.

[angustios101]

What kind of professional would be testing you at the public school? And is time a factor? If time is an issue, then go with the independent professional. If not, then go with the public school as long as they do comprehensive testing, not just for reading. You will need the whole battery of tests (I think 5 sections overall) to get approved under ADHD diagnosis. Good luck!

[yellowfrog268]

I would go with an independent provider who is not stagnating in his/her profession. Those that stay current on their specialties by attending seminars and continuing education courses would be the most well rounded.

Public school systems generally have diagnosticians on staff and they do thorough testing. Since you are not in a public school, it really is up to you. If you predict needing public school services for future classes, paperwork, college testing, etc., I'd go with their testing as the proper paperwork will be in place from the beginning and won't have to be redone later.

Originally Posted by yellowfrog268

I would go with an independent provider who is not stagnating in his/her profession. Those that stay current on their specialties by attending seminars and continuing education courses would be the most well rounded.

Actually, public school diagnosticians are probably more up to date with current testing, training, law because of constant regulation requirements. They are constantly in training.

[yellowfrog268]

You bring up a good point about regulations. Of course they differ from state to state so it would be worthwhile to ask the provider you are thinking of working with about current training beyond just what the state licensing boards require.

[eurydice]

Your local public school system will be able to test and diagnose you, but in my professional experience, the testing will not be thorough enough to give to specific feedback on effective interventions and areas of weakness. In my clinic, LD testing occurs over 3 full days of evaluation. What are you hoping to gain from the evaluation? Receive accommodations or start a remediation plan?