Galloway Board of Education Approves Increases for Help for Certain Special Needs Situations

The Galloway Township Board of Education voted to increase the rates for services supplied by the Center for Neurological and Neurodevelopmental Health (CNNH) for the 2012-13 Evaluator/Consultant list at its meeting Monday night, Sept. 17 at the middle school. Although at first glance, the services appear to be costly,

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Annette Giaquinto and Business Administrator Tim Kelley stated the services are specific and the number of times they had to be used last year could be counted “on one hand.”

“Some children need more intense testing, and in some rare instances, we have to go outside the school district to talk to doctors and neurologists who might have to speak in languages other than English,” Giaquinto said.

They said an example might be someone with a higher level of autism who speaks a different language. According to Giaquinto, the total number of times the district consulted the center during the 2011-12 school year was “five or less.”

“It was used minimally last year,” Kelley said. “Only when absolutely required.”

The increases were as follows:

Neurological, neuropsychiatric, or psychiatric evaluation: $525 to $550           

Comprehensive Neuropsychological testing/evaluation: $2,000 to $2,375

Developmental Autism Evaluation (includes AOS): $900 to $1,000

Behavioral Analysis (FBA), Assessment, Management:$140 per hour to $175 per hour.