The doctor tells you your child has and . So does the IEP team at school. So they’ve both diagnosed your child, right? Not exactly.
People often say the school “diagnosed” their child. But technically, that’s not what happened. Schools don’t diagnose conditions. Only doctors and other clinicians do.
What schools do is somewhat different. IEP teams “identify” learning and thinking differences. Then they determine if a child is eligible for special education supports and services.
This chart explains the differences between a school identification and a clinical diagnosis.
School Identification | Clinical Diagnosis | |
---|---|---|
What it refers to |
A learning “disability” or health impairment (including ADHD) that’s identified after a school evaluation. |
A medical condition (including ADHD) or learning “disorder.” |
Who makes the determination |
An IEP team at school. |
A doctor, clinical child psychologist, pediatric neuropsychologist, speech-language pathologist, or other qualified clinical professionals. |
The basis for using the term |
|
|
The purpose behind it |
|
To understand the cause of symptoms and to guide decisions on treatment. (May also provide information to help with the evaluation process at school.) |
What the evaluation process might involve |
|
|
Cost |
Free, if done through the public school special education process. |
Parent pays; health insurance may provide some coverage. |
How they relate to each other |
An IEP team might consider any clinical information that’s available when it’s determining if a child is eligible for special education. That includes a clinical diagnosis. A diagnosis alone doesn’t satisfy IDEA requirements for getting supports and services in school, however. |
A clinician should consider how the diagnostic process could be helpful for educational planning. A diagnosis doesn’t automatically qualify a child for special education. It might be enough to qualify him for 504 accommodations, however. |
A diagnosis and an identification have a common goal: to get your child the support he needs.
You play a big role in that process. Get information about your child’s rights. Understand the differences between IEPs and 504s. And learn about how federal and state law work together in the special education process.