Here are a few tips on how to handle "visits," observations and evaluations:

1.       Answer the questions according to your child's worst day.

2.       Let evaluators "push" your child outside of his or her comfort zone:  I made the mistake of removing Evie from the evaluation when I knew she was going to meltdown...I should have let the evaluator witness the meltdown.

3.       Be sure that if you are answering questions regarding your child's abilities, that you are answering based on his or her ability to perform the task out of routine.  For example; if you're going to answer "yes, he follows 3 step commands," are those 3 steps that are part of a routine, or are those 3 steps spontaneous, and new commands.

4.       Consider answering the questions from a stranger's perspective.  Would a stranger understand your child?  If you didn't know your child for more than a day, how would you answer that question?  How much do you "self-correct" your child's speech or intentioned?

I hope these tips can help you and your family to safely cross this tight-rope course.  We struggled to get approved for services for Evie.  It was difficult to go through so many meetings where I had to focus on the negatives of our day to day life; because I typically tried to focus on the positive.  But, if we can remember that we need to walk that "other" side of the tight-rope around IEP time, or Medicaid reapplication time; it doesn't hurt as much to remember that once we're through that, we can walk back on the sunny side of our rope.