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Thinking about obtaining an FASD Evaluation? Today’s podcast talks about how to prepare for one. These evaluations often have long waiting lists and take just as long to complete. Here is a guide on how you can prepare for an evaluation, make it as thorough as possible, and hopefully speed the process up a bit. Additional details are provided in the podcast.

• Step 1: Choose a multi-disciplinary FASD Team that will provide the most thorough evaluation possible. (In the U.S., start with http://www.nofas.org/resource/directory.aspx; in Canada, start with http://www.faslink.org/ccsa%20Directory%202005.pdf.) ALWAYS make sure that the sensory/soft neurological domain is assessed, and obtain a separate Occupational Therapy (or, “OT”) evaluation if necessary.
• Step 2: Establish a history of prenatal alcohol exposure. If possible, interview birth parents, other family members, or people who know/knew the mom during the pregnancy. Obtain birth records, prenatal records (if possible), social service or adoption records, and relevant court records.
• Step 3: Obtain any and all medical records, especially those that have height and weight charts and developmental milestones. Current height, weight, head circumference, and medical conditions must also be available to the FASD evaluation team.
• Step 4: Obtain copies of any and all school records, if applicable. This will help assess the achievement domain, whether there are special education services in place or only grades and standardized test scores. Sometimes there will be behavior reports, too (suspensions or behavior referrals), that can help assess the adaptive behavior domain.
• Step 5: Obtain copies of any and all other reports of testing already conducted on the child: Psychology (including ADHD testing), Psychiatry, OT or sensory, neurology, ophthalmology, audiology, MRIs, chemical dependency, and anything else that might affect the child’s functioning or illustrate that functioning problems exist.
• Step 6: Be patient, but stay actively engaged in the process. You will be asked to fill out registration forms, insurance forms, release of information forms, and behavior ratings forms. Maybe more. You will be interviewed at least once, and possibly twice, either one lasting an hour or more. You may be asked to schedule a visit with a pediatrician, a psychiatrist, the psychologist, and several others—although some places have a one-stop shopping format, where all the professionals visit with the kid in one day.

You will feel like you’re waiting a long time for the feedback appointment, and possibly even the report (because of the enormous amount of data on your child that is being analyzed and interpreted). Hang in there, call the FASD team if it feels like you’ve been waiting too long, and advocate for yourself and your child. But the results and recommendations of a thorough FASD Report will be well worth the help to your person with FASD.

Additional Links from the Show:

FASD Support Network of Saskatchewan: www.skfasnetwork.ca
MN Social Service Association: www.mnsocialserviceassoc.org

Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__dot__com.