According to IDEA 2004, “The parents of a child with a disability have the right…to obtain an independent educational evaluation of the child… Independent educational evaluation means an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of the child in question”. (For more information regarding obtaining an independent educational evaluation, please refer to IDEA 2004 Section 300.502). See below for all that is included within an IEE. 

Speech and language evaluations are important to assess all areas of speech, language and communication of a child in order to provide appropriate diagnoses and formulate accurate goals for him or her to become a successful communicator. My comprehensive speech and language evaluations assess all aspects of a student’s speech and language development. 

The following are included in a comprehensive evaluation:

• 2-3 hours of direct evaluation with the child/student
• Review of past and recent evaluations and progress reports from speech therapy, related therapies (OT, PT), psychological evaluations, etc.
• Background and history information obtained from the parent(s)
• Checklists filled out by the parent
• Phone consults with key members of the team: teachers, therapists, parent
• Standardized receptive and expressive assessment
• Oral motor examination
• Articulation assessment
• Motor speech assessment (if there are concerns about CAS)
• Comprehensive analysis of a speech and language sample done during play, in storytelling, and/or in conversation; including analysis of phonology, semantic language, morphosyntax and pragmatic language
• Video-taped observation and analysis of communication skills within a parent-child interaction or therapist-child interaction
• Phone or in-person consult for the family and/or other team members in order to review the report and answer any questions or concerns
• 1 hour school observation (included within an IEE)
• Attending IEP meetings (included within an IEE)

A comprehensive report of the assessment and detailed recommendations is completed and provided to the family and/or school within four weeks from the time of the evaluation. An in-person or phone consult is then scheduled after the family has reviewed the report to answer any questions.  

If the family chooses to do so, the speech pathologist can be invited to an IEP meeting to discuss the results of the evaluation and answer any questions that the school team has.