Beyond the Diagnosis: How to Connect the Dots for OHI Eligibility

Beyond the Diagnosis: How to Connect the Dots for OHI Eligibility

Other Health Impairment eligibility is not simply a diagnosis, a rating scale, and a struggling student sitting next to each other on the page. In this episode, I’m breaking the process into three practical questions that help teams move from collecting data to making a clear, defensible decision. I explore how to distinguish attentional concerns from ADHD-related characteristics, identify how limited strength, vitality, or alertness appears at school, and connect that evidence to educational impact. The goal is not just to reach a yes or no, but to make the reasoning understandable to everyone involved. Highlights: (01:34) - The three-part framework for considering OHI eligibility (03:31) - Why a diagnosis and off-task behaviour are not enough (05:20) - Building evidence across settings and over time (06:59) - How strength, vitality, and alertness look different at school (10:20) - Connecting the diagnosis, symptoms, and educational impact (12:38) - Why strong analysis matters more than a checklist The information and advice provided are for guidance purposes only, and all listeners are required to follow federal and state law, as well as their school district guidelines and policies. Connect with Jenny: FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/jennyponzuric] INSTAGRAM [https://www.instagram.com/jennyponzuric/#] WEBSITE [https://jennyponzuric.com/]

Books, Questions, and Data: My ED Essentials

In this episode, I’m kicking off a short series on some of my favorite resources and tools in school psychology. We’re starting with emotional disability, including the different names this eligibility category goes by and why the language can still feel so tricky to interpret. I share three things I return to again and again: a practical book on identifying and assessing emotional disturbance, the habit of asking better why and how questions, and an FBA-informed approach to gathering meaningful behavior data. None of these tools are flashy, but they can make complex evaluations clearer, more thoughtful, and much easier to explain with confidence. Highlights: (01:25) - Why emotional disability has so many different names (02:48) - The questions in the criteria that still cause confusion (03:58) - Why the social maladjustment chapter is such a useful resource (05:22) - The underrated power of asking better questions (07:38) - How to connect behavior to educational impact (09:18) - Why FBA thinking makes ED evaluations stronger Identifying and Assessing Students with Emotional Disturbance (Tibbetts, 2013) Get on my newsletter list today: www.jennyponzuric.com [http://www.jennyponzuric.com/] The information and advice provided are for guidance purposes only, and all listeners are required to follow federal and state law, as well as their school district guidelines and policies. Connect with Jenny: FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/jennyponzuric] INSTAGRAM [https://www.instagram.com/jennyponzuric/#] WEBSITE [https://jennyponzuric.com/]

Explaining Autism Evaluation Results

In this episode, I’m continuing our autism evaluation series and moving into the meeting itself, specifically how we explain results to families when autism is part of the conversation. Because yes, the data matters, but the family did not come to hear a performance review of your rating scales. They came to understand their child. I’m sharing three practical ways to make these conversations clearer, kinder, and more useful: talk more about the student than the test results, connect your findings to what the student needs at school, and leave the jargon behind whenever you can. This is how an evaluation meeting becomes less of a presentation and more of a real conversation. Highlights: (02:10) - Talk about the child, not just the stack of test scores (04:26) - What your findings actually mean for Monday morning support (06:15) - Turning transition data into something families can picture (07:35) - Why unstructured time can be the hardest part of the day (08:20) - Jargon swaps that make parents feel included, not overwhelmed (10:32) - The emotional weight of an autism eligibility meeting The Prepared School Psychologist - https://jennyponzuric.com/solutions/ [https://jennyponzuric.com/solutions/] The information and advice provided are for guidance purposes only, and all listeners are required to follow federal and state law, as well as their school district guidelines and policies. Connect with Jenny: FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/jennyponzuric] INSTAGRAM [https://www.instagram.com/jennyponzuric/#] WEBSITE [https://jennyponzuric.com/]

Autism Report Writing: Defensible and Meaningful

In this episode, I’m talking about what happens after an autism evaluation, the report. More specifically, why so many school psych reports technically include the right information, but still do not always land with the people who need them most. Parents, teachers and service providers are not ignoring reports because they do not care. Often, the report just does not feel useful yet. We’ll look at how to write more clearly, more succinctly and more meaningfully, without losing the integrity of the data. Because our value is not in listing every score twice. It is in connecting the dots, grounding findings in the educational setting, and making sure the team can actually use the report to support the student. Highlights: (01:30) - Why important reports still go unread (03:02) - The mindset shift that changes who you write for (04:16) - What succinct report writing actually means (05:02) - Why your interpretation matters more than another list of scores (09:39) - Autism rating scales do not make eligibility decisions (11:10) - What autism looks like on a Monday morning at school The Prepared School Psychologist - https://jennyponzuric.com/solutions/ [https://jennyponzuric.com/solutions/] The information and advice provided are for guidance purposes only, and all listeners are required to follow federal and state law, as well as their school district guidelines and policies. Connect with Jenny: FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/jennyponzuric] INSTAGRAM [https://www.instagram.com/jennyponzuric/#] WEBSITE [https://jennyponzuric.com/]

Don't Tell the ADOS People: Picking the Right Tools for the Right Student

In this episode, I’m talking about a question that comes up all the time in school psychology: how do we choose the right tools when evaluating a student for suspected autism? Do we need the ADOS? Should we add cognitive testing? Which rating scales actually help, and when are we just creating more paperwork for everyone? I walk through why autism evaluations need to start with district expectations, but they cannot stop there. We also have to think carefully about the student in front of us, the questions we are trying to answer, and what information the team actually needs. This is your reminder that more tools do not always mean a better evaluation, and thoughtful, individualized decision-making matters. Highlights: (01:30) - I’m starting with why autism evaluation questions deserve more than a one-size-fits-all answer (02:24) - I’m explaining why district guidelines should be your first stop before choosing tools (04:05) - I’m breaking down when cognitive testing might actually be needed (06:05) - I’m talking through how to choose rating scales without piling on unnecessary forms (08:25) - I’m reminding you that rating scales are useful, but they do not decide eligibility (10:28) - I’m sharing when I do, and do not, reach for the ADOS The Prepared School Psychologist - https://jennyponzuric.com/solutions/ [https://jennyponzuric.com/solutions/] The information and advice provided are for guidance purposes only, and all listeners are required to follow federal and state law, as well as their school district guidelines and policies. Connect with Jenny: FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/jennyponzuric] INSTAGRAM [https://www.instagram.com/jennyponzuric/#] WEBSITE [https://jennyponzuric.com/]