CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
ESE/SPECIAL EDUCATION
TESTING & EVALUATION
We seek to provide the least restrictive environment possible for each CIAS student's education. For various accommodations and/or modifications to be made to a student's academic and testing program, testing needs to be completed by a certified and qualified pediatric or school psychologist or a neuropsychologist. CIAS has a referral procedure in place for such testing and evaluation; please get in touch with the school office for more details.
If your pediatrician recommends that your child be tested, your insurance plan will often cover the testing and evaluation cost. We recommend several doctors in the area and have worked extensively over the years with several in particular: Dr. Karen Hagerott & Dr. Ali Kizilbash
FDLRS
If you would like for your child(ren) to be tested and evaluated at the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS) Emerald Coast, here is the online referral form: https://www.fdlrsemeraldcoast.org/child-find/printable-referral-form
Parents and community members may also share needs at https://forms.gle/HL9rpM2nkpsUsp2Z6
FDLRS offers testing and evaluation services for FREE.
Contact FDLRS
J. E. Hall Center
30 E. Texar Drive
Pensacola, FL 32503
Phone: call 1-850-469-5423 or 1-888-445-9662
Faxing to: (850) 469-5574
Ask for specific testing & evaluations for your child(ren), such as the following:
1. Autism assessments
2. Full-Scale IQ assessment (Wechsler Intelligence Scale, etc.)
3. Assessment for cognitive abilities and academic skills (Woodcock-Johnson, etc.)
4. Testing/evaluation for Specific Learning Disabilities
During the referral process, FDLRS will need for your child's teachers to fill out forms/paperwork documenting your/their concerns as well as the accommodations and modifications that you/we are implementing in their classroom, small-group learning, and pull-outs. You may schedule a conference appointment with the CIAS Principal to fill out those forms.
Read Write Learning Center
Read Write offers testing, consultation, therapy, and advocacy for people with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Diagnostic testing through Read-Write is an alternative to psycho-educational testing from a psychologist or through your child’s school if:
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Your child has an isolated problem with reading, writing, spelling, and language, and not other aptitudes.
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You want your child tested by a professional specializing in dyslexia and reading problems.
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You are seeking a professional opinion outside of your child’s school.
Costs vary according to type of testing and range from $150-$410.
Contact Read Write
1048 Stanton Road, Suite G
Daphne, AL 36526
Phone: (251) 625-4020
https://www.readwritelearningcenter.com/
Vocational Rehabilitation (Voc Rehab) office at Pensacola State College
Testing and evaluation services are available for people ages 14 and older.
Susan Wachob-Joiner
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor
Unit O1C
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Florida Department of Education
600 University Office Blvd., Suite 6
Pensacola, FL 32504-6251
Susan.Wachob-Joiner@vr.fldoe.org
Main Number:850-471-6950
Fax Number: 850-471-6958
Desk Number: 850-471-6952
IEP & 504 Plan Policy
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans can offer formal help for public school K–12 students with learning and attention issues. An IEP is a plan for a child’s special education experience at school, while a 504 Plan is a plan for how a child will have access to learning at school.
If your student has already been tested and evaluated, and you have participated in the creation of a public school IEP or 504 at any time during their schooling (no matter how far back it was created), then CIAS asks that you bring a copy of it to your initial interview consultation. CIAS policy is to honor the accommodations and modifications delineated in these plans to provide the least restrictive environment possible for each CIAS student and if we can offer the services they need. Sometimes, an IEP or 504 has expired and needs to be updated; this can be done through FDLRS. In other cases, the accommodations outlined in an IEP or 504 are no longer needed or need to be modified or re-evaluated for further diagnosis.
GIFTED
After a student has been tested and has been labeled as gifted by a psychologist, appropriate accommodations may/can be made for their gifted abilities. This is accomplished during consultations with students and their parents after diagnostic and/or placement testing has taken place at CIAS.
For example, a gifted student in 8th grade may begin working on high school credit courses.
LEARNING DISABILITIES
The staff at CIAS strives to provide the educational services that all of our students need. In some cases, this means providing accommodations and modifications to an academic program specifically suited to the academic and cognitive needs of an ESE/SPED student.
We work with students who have the following:
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Behavioral/Emotional Disorders (ODD, ADHD, etc.)
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Developmental Disability
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Developmental Delays
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Gifted
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Hospital/Homebound
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Intellectual Disability
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Mental Health Disorder (Bipolar, depression, OCD, etc.)
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Orthopedically Impaired
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Personality Disorders (BPD, Bi-polar, etc.)
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Physical Disability
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Specific Learning Disability (dyslexia/reading, dysgraphia/writing, dyscalculia/mathematics, etc.)
CIAS services for ESE students include, but are not limited to, the following services:
The Barton System/Orton-Gillingham Method #1
The Barton Reading & Spelling System is influenced by Orton-Gillingham, a structured language approach that is different in both what is taught (reading and spelling are taught as related subjects) and how it is taught (the methodology).
The Barton System is a multi-sensory, direct, explicit, structured, and sequential program designed for intense intervention. Our Reading Specialist works one-on-one with students in RTI Tier 3 pull-out tutoring (4 sessions per week).
NILD Educational Therapy/Orton-Gillingham Method #2
http://nild.org/nild-educational-therapy/basics-faq/
Julie Jones, CIAS Administrator, is a licensed National Institute for Learning Development (NILD) educational therapist.
NILD Educational Therapy aims to help students develop tools for independent learning in the classroom and in life. The focus of one-on-one individualized interventions is to strengthen the underlying causes of learning difficulties, rather than simply treating the symptoms as tutoring does.
NILD educational therapy is a true therapy in that it aims the intervention just above the student’s current level of functioning and raises expectations for performance, which creates the framework to foster that growth. NILD therapy students become competent, confident learners. They gain mastery over their cognitive vulnerabilities and hone their cognitive strengths for success in the classroom and in life.
After a student has been diagnosed, we can often provide one-on-one tutoring that helps a student learn, absorb, or motivate through their schoolwork. We have teams of teachers (lead/assistant) that help students manage their learning environment to facilitate the best learning environment for academic progress and success.
HELPFUL INFORMATION LINKS
Article: "Parenting Children with LD: From One Parent to Another"
http://nild.org/parents/parenting-children-with-ld-part-1/
Dyslexia, Dysgraphia & Dyscalculia:
Executive Functioning Disorder:
inability to stay on task, differing from ADHD
https://www.additudemag.com/executive-function-disorder-adhd-explained/