Evaluation results should highlight a child’s strengths, challenges, learning style, developmental functioning, and may include a diagnosis and/or educational classification if measurements fall outside of typical developmental, social and educational norms.
A diagnosis and educational classification should not be given based solely on one practitioner’s or teacher’s observation, or if a child is displaying a certain set of symptoms in only one specific environment. To ensure that results are based on noticeable patterns across all areas of a child’s life, assessment results should assume various sources of input, such as reports from doctors, teacher observations, exams conducted by other specialized practitioners, and parent/family accounts.
Diagnoses & Educational Classifications
A diagnosis is a medically-based finding specific to a biological, psychological or neurological health condition resulting in social, learning, or physical differences that fall outside of typical developmental, behavioral and educational norms. A diagnosis determines eligibility for health care reimbursement as well as government-funded intervention services.
An educational classification describes the educational functioning of a child dependent on child evaluation results, and is used to determine eligibility for government-funded intervention services, as well as special education services when appropriate.
Diagnoses and educational classifications are intended to identify a child’s current needs, as well as methods of intervention that can further a child’s development and growth. If your child receives a diagnosis and/or educational classification, evaluation reports should specify forms of intervention that can address your child’s developmental, social, and/or learning differences.
Keeping a Healthy Outlook
We as parents and caregivers can naturally feel anxious and worried if our child shows significant developmental delays and/or receives a diagnosis. Keeping an open mind and healthy perspective helps to preserve a child’s sense of well-being and self-esteem, as well as the overall health of a family. Seeking out one or more forms of support is vital to keeping a healthy outlook. Isolation only furthers feelings of worry and stress for all members of a family.
Consider that a developmental, learning, or social difference is one of many aspects of identity for both children and adults, and seeing your child purely through the lens of a diagnosis or educational classification can be limiting. Also, the needs of your child now may be quite different in the future, especially as these needs shift in response to intervention.
Children and families are continuously working through and shaping developmental, learning, social and physical differences over time, regardless of whether or not these differences fall outside of typical norms. Siblings can be especially impacted as a family works to understand and accommodate one child’s developmental, learning, social or physical differences. Seeking out support for siblings, through support groups or individual and family therapy, can have beneficial outcomes for every member of a family.