Safety Procedures Message for Parents

Specific safety protocols will be implemented during this face-to-face assessment session to protect both the examiner and the student:

 

  • Prior to arriving at the school, please take your child’s temperature. If your child’s temperature is 100.4 or higher, please contact the evaluator immediately to cancel the session.
  • Prior to the assessment session, the psychologist will ask you a series of screening questions. A link to the screening questions can be found in the original email sent to you from your school psychologist.
  • When you arrive at the school, please call the psychologist to indicate your arrival. In order to help with establishing rapport, the examiner will meet and greet both you and your child in the parking lot without a mask while remaining within social distancing guidelines. A phone number can be found for your school psychologist in the original email sent to you from your school psychologist.
  • Parents/Caregivers are not allowed to enter the school building; therefore, once the student is comfortable, both the examiner and the student will be required to put on face coverings (e.g. masks and/or face shields) in order to enter the building.
  • Parents/Caregivers will be required to wait outside or return at an agreed upon time to pick up their child. Upon return, the parent should call the psychologist at the agreed upon number and the psychologist will bring the child out to the car.
  • The testing will occur in a well-ventilated area within the school.
  • The testing room will be set up and prepared prior to student arrival.
  • The table, chairs, iPads, and manipulatives will be disinfected before and after the assessment session.
  • A plexiglass shield will be utilized to separate the examiner and the student.
  • According to current mandates, students must wear face shields and/or masks at all times while in the building. Therefore, if weather permits, breaks will be provided. During breaks, the student and examiner will walk outside so that the student can take off their face covering for a short time.
  • Physical contact will be minimized and a 6 foot distance between the child and the examiner will be maintained to the extent possible, although for some types of evaluations such as occupational or physical therapy, the examiner will need to move closer than 6 feet to the child or physically prompt/provide assistance for safety. At those times, the examiner and the student will be required to wear face coverings and gloves may be worn.
  • Physical contact with testing materials and manipulatives will also be minimized to the extent possible (e.g. use of examiner and student iPads, use of the opposite end of a pencil for pointing to responses) or quarantining test easels/materials (e.g. softballs, rope, manipulatives) prior and after their use.
  • Hand sanitizer will be available to both the examiner and the student at all times.
  • Single-use testing materials (such as pencils) will be disposed of or kept by the child after the assessment.
  • Larger spaces and other contexts (e.g. stairwells, playgrounds, hallways) within the school building may be utilized to assess gross motor skill/development for physical and occupational therapy evaluations. At those times, all safety and PPE protocols noted above will be followed.
  • If the examiner or the child shows any sign of illness during the session, testing will stop immediately. The parent will be contacted to pick up the student. If available, the student will be brought to the nurse for evaluation.
  • If the student is unable to or is not compliant with wearing a mask, alternative arrangements will need to be made. Please discuss this with the psychologist.

 

**Should your child have been exposed or possibly exposed to someone with COVID-19 or show any signs of illness, please contact the psychologist as soon as possible to cancel the assessment session.

 

**If you become aware that your child has been exposed to COVID-19 following the conclusion of the testing session, but within the time frame where your child may have been contagious, you agree to notify the psychologist as soon as you are aware.