Finding an Independent Evaluator

Many parent advocacy groups around this country can help you find an independent evaluator.
Q
My eighth-grader is in special education. How can I find a special-education learning consultant, for an independent and unbiased opinion? In short I need to make sure my son is getting the services he needs now and for high school.
A
There are many parent advocacy groups around this country that could help you find an independent evaluator. Here are two national resources:
  • Learning Disabilities Association of America (http://www.ldanatl.org)
  • International Dyslexia Association (http://www.interdys.org)
    You can contact them to see which one has a branch in your community that can give you the referral you need.

    Three other resources you might find helpful are:

  • The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities at http://www.ldonline.org
  • The National Center for Learning Disabilities at http://www.ncld.org
  • The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities at http://www.nichcy.org.
    • For more than 20 years, Eileen Marzola has worked with children and adults with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders, and with their parents and teachers. She has been a regular education classroom teacher, a consultant teacher/resource teacher, an educational evaluator/diagnostician, and has also taught graduate students at the university level. Marzola is an adjunct assistant professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Hunter College of the City University of New York. She also maintains a private practice in the evaluation and teaching of children with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders.

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