Should I cancel my private SLP evaluation appointment?

[Peaches Keane]

Brevity is not my strong suit, but I’ll try to be brief.

I have scheduled a private SLP evaluation for my child. This is because the current school based SLP is also doing an evaluation on my child and I believe the intention is to dismiss services. I don’t have a lot of trust or faith in the school system’s ability to determine and deliver what my child needs (I am a former special education teacher). I Believe this is caused by either bias (many felt my child had no real issues when we moved here) and and youth (not a seasoned professional, seems to be floundering a bit).

I scheduled a full and comprehensive private SLP evaluation, not covered by my insurance ($350). The initial contact over the phone was pleasant and that individual seemed competent. This person initially said that they would contact me within 24 hours to schedule the evaluation. I was not contacted within 24 hours, but on the morning following the 24 hour period, I was informed that another member of the staff would be doing the evaluation and would contact me in the near future.

The first contact from the new private SLP was an email (sent early in the day) stating that she didn’t have updated contact information and could I please send her my updated info. My initial contact info was correct, otherwise the office wouldn’t have been able to contact me. Later, she did call me and we were able to schedule the appointments.

Yesterday, she emails me again because she couldn’t remember what days she scheduled me for. She stated that this was an embarrassing problem on her part. ETA: she emailed me confirmation of the dates and times for the evaluation after our phone conversation scheduling these. So, it should be in her sent items folder.

Basically, I am not getting “competent” vibes from her based on our exchanges.

My purpose in scheduling a private evaluation was to ensure that I had a complete picture of where my child is at SLP-wise. If the private evaluation says my child is doing fine, then I will be ok with letting the school based SLP drop services. If the private SLP evaluation shows items of concern, and if it’s something that could affect educational performance, then I would know what specific things I should advocate for for my child.

If the private SLP evaluator is not competent, then I am completely wasting my money and time.

Thoughts?

Thank you in advance.