What Happens After the Assessment at the Early Childhood Level?

After the assessment, a meeting is held with the parents and all the professionals involved. This is called a multidisciplinary 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. They should bring their lists of concerns and ideas for goals, as well as literature about 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 may be labeled other health impaired (based upon the genetic diagnosis), speech or language impaired, mentally retarded, or learning disabled, but they do not need to have these labels at the age of three, as test scores with such young children should not be seen as "set in stone".

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

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