I agree with what Pazar said. It's important to research psychological vs. psychoeducational vs. neuropsychological evaluations so you can be aware of what testing the school will be doing, and what testing your doctors will be doing. I think it is also beneficial to find out how long the testing (results) are good for (like, when will re-testing be required). This will be important for projecting IEP goals (and your own family goals outside the IEP) as well as helping you plot out your advocacy path. One more piece of advice I have is get a child psychologist for your child. The school psychologist will perform testing, and develop a rapport with your child, and likely be part of the response team (for meltdowns, explaining behavior to educators, etc) even if he/she isn't part of the IEP team. All well and good until you disagree with IEP team perspectives, goals, testing procedures/results. Seeking independent testing gets expensive but it can be vital in some situations. Having someone who is working for YOU, who has a relationship with your child, relying less on "snapshot" classroom observations/testing can be very important. And important over the long term.

Glad to hear you're having progress with your process:) Cheers.

Its not weird he needs an evaluation, educational/ pych...it tests everything.

@A MyAutismTeam Member he is seven

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A MyAutis...

If it is possible for you to have the choice (insurance), I think a pedi neuropsychologist is best. I would ask ahead of time if the child psychologist can conduct neuropsych evaluations. The results of that testing becomes invaluable when navigating (and advocating during) the IEP process. If the doctor you're being referred to doesn't do them, save time and money going to one who does.

If your pediatrician is not a Developmental Pediatrician, it may be wise to seek out one. They can make recommendations to the IEP team on your behalf for issues like how much PT/SLT/OT are going to be in your child's best interest. Usually if you disagree with the recommendations the school makes for in-school services provision (based upon their testing which is focused solely on the educate-ability of your child), you must have independent testing done. That gets expensive and time-wasting (meanwhile the child is not getting the individualized education/service plan he truly needs). We know many families who bring their Developmental Pediatrician to their IEP meetings as members of their team! The cost of his/her time spent there is worth its weight in gold. ASD is a neurological diagnosis. Not a learning disorder. Not a behavior disorder. Often schools don't realize, or discount the medical component of a PDD, ASD, "spectrum disorder" or "SPD" diagnosis. Almost always there are co-morbid diagnoses- and while those may not be the school's concern (as long as the child is educate-able and educators can in good faith implement a learning plan, the IEP-your insistence that your child's WHOLE PICTURE is expressed in the IEP has short term and long term ramifications.

Insist on Speech Therapy even if your child is "very verbal". Occupational Therapy too.

There are many forms of therapeutic play and therapeutic interventions out there now. Most are still considered "alternative therapies" or "adjunct therapies". Insurance doesn't cover those of course. For our son, hippotherapy (horses) and aquatics were very beneficial. Eventually he could volunteer to care for horses from his experience with them. He is a good swimmer. Like many autistic children he loved being in/near water (which also poses one of the greatest mortality risks for them). Amen for swimming skills. It was also a great way to decompress for both of us, and the closeness of being in the water together where we could be face-to-face engaging each other while he was calm and focused was sooo precious and helpful for his well-being (and mine too!).

As soon as he was old enough we got into Special Olympics. Great one:one support for him, and community of supportive peers. Great support for our family, and we could contribute very positively to that awesome community too.
I'm thinking more stuff but here's some for you:) I hope it helps.

Applied behaviour analysis. Speech. Occupational therapy a iep in school. Irs good your going to a child psychologist. Autism support system people on this sight can really help guide you we come from different backgrounds