Does EVERY COVD Fellow charge $142/session?

[prairiewindmomma]

Every COVD in our area charges $142/session for vision therapy..... I think someone else here shared recently that sessions were $142. I'm wondering--is that true for everyone? Is there just a general agreement among COVD Fellows that that should be the going rate?

 

Also, it seems that every child needs exactly 28 sessions....

 

Maybe I need to take a :chillpill:, but I'm a bit frustrated at the monopoly I'm running in to while trying to get help for my child.

[MegP]

My doctor charged $35 for appointments, and I did the VT on my own at home. I was given very specific instructions, could call if I had any questions, and would bring my child back in to check progress every few months. My child made great progress and it was just as effective as paying thousands of dollars for VT at an office.

[stripe]

No.

 

The one near me liked to schedule in 8 wk blocks.

[peacefully]

.

[Stayseeliz]

We do our sessions at home and go every six weeks for follow up and more assignments. Our initial consult was $175 and each appointment after that is $75.

[Stirsmommy]

Can I ask how you all do your vision therapy at home? We have no VT in our area. The closest is nearly three hours away.

Thanks

[prairiewindmomma]

into...not in to.....I should not be giving up caffeine this week. I'm going to be slaughtering kittens next, I just know it.

[PeterPan]

Is that for an hour or 1/2 hour? Ours was around $70 for a half hour I think. I can't remember exactly. You could buy them in bundles of 8 and it came out to $500 something a month. I think that involved a price break (buy 7 get 1 free). So yes, it's expensive. If it's too rich, do less and ask for more homework.

[Heathermomster]

The initial COVD consult in my area is $475...

[Joyofsixreboot]

Initial visit/dx was $450. An hour session is $105.

[prairiewindmomma]

The initial consult is $360 for a 90 minute eval.

 

The sessions are for one hour, with the COVD Fellow (other offices in our area had them with VTs at the same $142/session price).

 

She would like to meet twice a week = $284/week. I think $142/hour is a reasonable charge for her time, but I know we just don't have that kind of money.... We could swing $70 twice a month but not $1136/month.

[Rod Everson]

She would like to meet twice a week = $284/week.

 

If they have other VT offices in your area, even though they're all charging the same, maybe a different office is more flexible with the homework, that is, will meet weekly or even every two weeks, and expect more to get done at home.

 

I'd be honest with them, tell them you don't have the money, and see if they can't tailor a program that will help within your budget. Two times a week might get the job done faster, or it might just mean that you're paying a lot of that money to someone to do what you can accomplish at home. That might well mean going with one of the other VT departments in your area, however. The work is pretty straightforward, so I wouldn't worry about the difference between having the Fellow or a certified vision therapist conducting the sessions. They tailor the treatment plans based on what the optometrist finds at each regular evaluation.

 

Personally, I think that if a parent can work reasonably well with the child at home, you shouldn't have to see the therapist more than once a week. That's the normal practice in the office I'm familiar with, and they generally get good results.

 

Rod Everson

 

OnTrack Reading

[Susan C.]

We only went once a week to start, then cut back at about 10 weeks in (it was 7 hr. round trip).

 

Initial visit was around $200, one hour VT $120 once a week, in fact, this office thought 2x a week was too much. We did have 4-6 exercises to work on every night. We went 15 sessions.

[PeterPan]

Ok, here's my two problems with this. One, how much developmental work is this woman doing if she's doing it all herself? It can go either way. KarenAnne (who doesn't post anymore but reads, hint, hint) took her dd to a topnotch doctor who trains Olympic athletes. He did the therapy himself, but he was addressing SEVERE sensory integration problems using REALLY untraditional methods. It just doesn't equate to what you'd likely be doing. We had a COVD-certified VT (therapist, not doc) who did our work, and she was amazing. I'm not saying I wouldn't use your doc. I'd just ask a few questions first and sort of sniff it out, see what you think.

 

Next thing that bugs me about that is the idea of *2* hour-long sessions. That's absolutely, positively NOT necessary. That means she's not working him intensely. My dd would work so hard in a 1/2 hour with our therapist that she would come out panting and glazed. They would take a 1/2 hour break and then go back at it for another 1/2 hour, only because our drive was long. They normally liked to break up those sessions over two days, just to keep down the fatigue and torture. She would be so tired after that one hour of therapy she'd sleep for hours and be a zombie. It was HARD.

 

So for a doc to say she's gonna work him two hours a week, at that severe an expense, well honestly that's a red flag to me. She might be fine, but if she is just too nice and can't get the WORK done efficiently, then she's sucking your money dry. When someone makes 4-5 TIMES what my husband makes, I expect some SERIOUS output. I'm just being honest. It just doesn't cut the mustard for someone to say to me she wants that much money and then piddle around. If someone else works harder and can get it done in half the time and expense, that's where I'd want to be. I mentioned that in my other post. It's hard work you want to see, not "nice" people that everyone loves. I'm not saying be mean. I know Yllek's experience wasn't as torturous. But I'm just saying it should be diligent, efficient work where you know something really HAPPENED. I think our sessions were vigorous and challenging enough that I would have had mutiny if I had said to go twice a week. Nope, that's a red flag.

 

So you found someone else with full time, certified VTs? What kind of VTs? And they're seeing more kids? Have you gone to meet them? I mean seriously, *I* wouldn't plunk out any money yet in your shoes. I met our therapist before we started. You already know from my posting that I'm rather bullish sometimes. I liked her and knew she would work hard and was clicking with my dc. She's the lead therapist at this place. Find someone you feel really confident is going to EARN the money you're paying. They should be giving output. You should have homework and the potential to work as hard as you want. You have a motivated kid, so he provides that. We actually came in 1 month under our estimate for the first stage of VT. We worked hard, and it paid off.

 

I'm sorry if that's so contradictory. If you go visit the other places, will they let you meet the therapists and see the room? Ask to meet the lead therapist at each place and see what you think. It's way too much money not to feel pretty confident going in.

[MyLittleBears]

This may or may not be helpful, depending on the severity, but we are doing the eye excercises in Diane craft's brain integration therapy manual. We just started, so I can't comment on how it's working but we are hoping it will help.

[prairiewindmomma]

Thanks, everyone, for helping me think this through.

 

There are four practices within a 3 hour drive of me that have COVD people at them.

 

One appears to be a near-solo practice, 1.5 hours away. That person put a youtube video online and appears to be doing mostly brain gym type exercises in the video. I wasn't impressed. I see what she was getting at in doing the exercises, but this isn't my kid that needs a lot of brain integration work or interactive metronome. She has the magical $142/session charge.

 

Practice #2 has virtually no information online, no reviews I can find online, and is 1.5 hour away.

 

Practice #3 is an hour away, set up in a nicer part of town. The COVD appears to have the bulk of his practice doing rehab work for people who have had strokes/car accidents/brain bleeds and are needing neuro rehab in a different town. He is set up in a posh building with a series of vision therapists who do all of the therapy work. He charges the same $142/hour, does 28 sessions as a start, and his initial eval is free if you use him, or $600 if you want a copy of your evaluation. I get the sense that he is a slimeball with a vision therapy factory setup....

 

Practice #4 is local to me. She has gotten good reviews from everyone IRL I've known in my circles who has used her and she has my ped opthamologist's seal of approval.... I'm going to push her really hard when we meet to allow some flexibility in the therapy program, but I'm just not sure what to do if she says no.

 

I agree...it's too much money to plunk down without confidence, but I do know this kid needs work if he is ever going to read. We know what's going on with his eyes....we just need to address it. Me doing brain gym exercises with him is not going to fix this, iykwim.

[PeterPan]

Well keep us posted how it turns out. Your commitment to getting him help is awesome. You'll find the right person. :)

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Our initial eval was over $700 (it was over 3 1/2 hours long) but each visit is $72 without insurance. Ds will need between 36-42 visits though.

[prairiewindmomma]

I went in to doc #4 yesterday with ds....

 

While her receptionist had told me 24 weeks of 2x/week sessions....it doesn't look like ds is going to need that many. :D:D:D:D:D:D

 

The work we have done with him at home over the past 6 months has his eyes converging really well when they are not tired. We just need to work on automaticity. He is still struggling with tracking across midline. She thinks 12 weeks of sessions, once a week in her office, with me doing a lot of homework with him at home should take care of things.

 

This is a HUGE HUGE relief to me. Thanks, OhElizabeth, for pushing me to keep searching and asking a lot of questions.

 

I bumped into a good friend/neighbor/fellow church-goer in the reception area at the office. Her daughter has been in therapy for several weeks and is seeing huge progress as well.... I think we've come to a good solution. :)

[PeterPan]

Good, good, good!!!! :)

[mamakelly]

I paid $350 for the initial evaluation. We see the therapist 1x per week for 30 minutes, which costs $100. She goes over last weeks homework, gives us new homework and does it with him for that day, so I know what to do. We also usually do another task or two, like the light board. We typically have 20-30 minutes of homework each day, 7 days a week.