Opinion ID: 6497375
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Heading: The Results of the McGuffog Report and the

Text: Broadening Evaluation of C.M. In early October, Dr. McGuffog completed a forty-eightpage report on her evaluations and shared it with C.M.’s parents. That report provided a detailed analysis of C.M.’s test results, and they were quite mixed. In several areas, C.M. demonstrated cognitive strength and normal development, such as a very high nonverbal intelligence, advanced mathematical skills, an average working memory, and average 5 reading scores. But the test results also revealed areas of concern. C.M. had a notable weakness in inhibitory control, and although he barely met the minimum age requirement for one of the tests, it showed that he had significant problems with attentional regulation and impulsivity. The variation in the test results led Dr. McGuffog to observe that C.M. “presents with a complex array of neurocognitive strengths and weaknesses that poses a challenging diagnostic challenge, particularly given his young age.” McGuffog Neuropsychological Evaluation Report at 36 (Oct. 8, 2015) (JA1720). Despite the challenges, Dr. McGuffog made certain diagnoses. She determined that C.M. had three disorders: a language disorder, a social (pragmatic) communication disorder, and a specific learning disorder. She further recognized that C.M.’s test results were suggestive of autism and ADHD, but due to the combination of C.M.’s strengths, weaknesses, and young age, Dr. McGuffog declined to diagnose him with autism or ADHD. Instead, she issued ‘ruleout diagnoses’ for autism and ADHD, meaning that while she did not diagnose those conditions, she could not rule them out either. Dr. McGuffog also made several recommendations for Summit with respect to C.M.’s schooling. She suggested that C.M. receive instruction in social skills, especially by means of a social-skills group. She encouraged Summit to implement behavioral supports and to provide academic support in language arts. She also recommended that C.M. undergo two more evaluations – one for speech and language, the other for occupational therapy. Even before it received those recommendations, Summit’s intervention team had begun – on its own – to implement many of those interventions, such as the use of a social-skills group and a number of behavioral supports. And by early February 2016, Summit had implemented all of Dr. McGuffog’s recommendations for C.M.’s schooling. 6 Dr. McGuffog also made recommendations for C.M.’s parents. Based on those recommendations, they retained an occupational therapist and a psychologist to evaluate C.M. and prepare reports on their findings. Also, on Dr. McGuffog’s advice, the parents scheduled weekly appointments for C.M. with an occupational therapist and a psychologist.