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Basics For Parents - A Step By Step Guide To Your Child's Educational Evaluation
By: Renata Bursten, Dragonfly Staff

The United States' special education law is called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IDEA is a very important law for children with disabilities, their families, and schools. The evaluation process described in this article is based on what this law requires.

When Laura was 8 years old, her teacher, Mrs. Adams, saw that Laura was having a lot of trouble with reading and writing. This surprised Mrs. Adams, because Laura was very good at remembering things she heard. She asked the school to check, or evaluate, Laura to see if she had a disability.

Laura's parents had also been worried about Laura's problems. When the school asked for permission to evaluate Laura, Laura's parents said yes.

The evaluation took about one month. It involved many different things and people. The evaluation group, including Laura's parents, looked at Laura's school records and test scores. The group gave Laura more tests and talked to her. They also talked to her teacher and her parents. They watched how she did her work and learned more about where and when she has problems.
,In the end, the evaluation showed that Laura has a learning disability. Now the school knows why she has trouble with reading and writing. Laura is now getting special help in school.

Follow Laura through the evaluation process in this very clear "Basics for Parents" article from NICHCY.

Your Child's Educational Evaluation