Need a good neurospych in Houston TX + asking for tips to find a good neuropsych.

[Ummto4]

I need to get my 11 yo boy evaluated for learning disabilities. I'm looking for a good neuropsych. in Houston TX area. I've called a dyslexia organization and also disability advocate office for recommendation - but nobody returns the call (yet).  I've tried Sandy's Learning Abled yahoogroup - no reply yet. I myself have been googling and looking at various websites, but am still undecided.

Suppose I don't get any recommendation - how do you decide which one to go ?

 

Thanks

Dian

[OneStepAtATime]

Is there a Scottish Rite facility near you?  I am so sorry no one is returning your calls!  You might search on the Hip Homeschooler's blog.  That is an organization there in Houston and I know that several families have kids with learning issues...

[Ummto4]

Finally, one sp. education advocate emails me and gives me a recommendation from a special ed. attorney, but strangely, this recommended neuropsych. is not in practice. He's famous, yes, but not in practice. So I email this famous neuropsych. prof for a recommendation. Hopefully I will get a name. I have contacted the Eides also, but they don't know anybody personally in Houston. I'll contact the Hip Homeschooler's owner and search through the blog.

[OneStepAtATime]

How utterly frustrating!  I have relatives in Houston.  I will check and see if they have any clue at all...

[Ummto4]

Good news. This famous professor (recommended by a spec. ed attorney) replied my email saying that he evaluates children (including many homeschooled students) in Uof Houston psych. clinic. I thought that he is no longer in practice because I can't find his clinic number from various websites mentioning his name. He also recommends two neurospych from UT H and Texas Med Center.

 

But he also mentions that he runs the clinic with one other neuropsych plus graduate students. Mmmm ... good sign or not so good sign ??

[City Mouse]

Graduate students doing the testing wouldn't bother me, but then I am a graduate of U of H. I have never delt with the psyc dept, but I have taken many kids (mine and my students) to the optometry college. There graduate students do the evaluation and the professors come in periodically to check their work. On really difficult kids the professors do more of the hands on evaluation while the students watch. I have used the optometry school for my own eye exams and have been pleased with the thoroughness of the evaluation.

 

Now, I wish I had known about the psyc clinic. I would have taken my son when we lived there.

 

The big downside to the clinics staffed with grad students is the limited amount of appointments available and how long it takes to get an appointment. On big advantage is that it is probably less expensive that a private practice evaluation.

[OneStepAtATime]

Good news. This famous professor (recommended by a spec. ed attorney) replied my email saying that he evaluates children (including many homeschooled students) in Uof Houston psych. clinic. I thought that he is no longer in practice because I can't find his clinic number from various websites mentioning his name. He also recommends two neurospych from UT H and Texas Med Center.

 

But he also mentions that he runs the clinic with one other neuropsych plus graduate students. Mmmm ... good sign or not so good sign ??

If you dig through old posts here, you will find that some people have had great experience with grad student evals through Universities and others have not.  The tricky thing with learning issues diagnosis is determining what "lens" the evaluator is lookihg through and how much experience they have had.  These are NOT easy evaluations since so much can be causing learning issues.  If you have a gifted child, the problems in accurately diagnosing something are compounded, especially if the evaluator does not have a lot of experience or is only looking through a limited lens.  

 

In other words, are they only evaluating for any weaknesses that might cause some difficulties in a public school or other typical educational setting?  Or are they doing a full neuro-psych eval that goes into great detail, assessing many possible strengths and weaknesses, then taking the time to do a detailed review of those results with the parents?  If it is the former, it may end up being pretty useless in the long run and could lead you down the wrong path, wasting valuable time and resources.  If it is the latter, it may be an absolutely wonderful experience and give you a great jumping off point.  I have had both, and the evaluations were like night and day...

[Julie of KY]

I had trouble getting any recs in my area. I finally called the best place for dyslexic teating and turoring and asked where they referred their more complicated students (or the students that needed more than just dyslexic testing). I got a good referral this way.

[TheReader]

We used an edu-psych instead of a neuro-psych, but if that would work for you I can give you her name. She was very thorough, did a fantastic job with my son, her report was phenomenal, and we really really liked her. She has offices in Sugar Land and in Bellaire. 

 

But, not a neuro-psych; we couldn't find one either when we searched. 

[Ummto4]

We used an edu-psych instead of a neuro-psych, but if that would work for you I can give you her name. She was very thorough, did a fantastic job with my son, her report was phenomenal, and we really really liked her. She has offices in Sugar Land and in Bellaire. 

 

But, not a neuro-psych; we couldn't find one either when we searched. 

I'll pm you.

[Ummto4]

I had trouble getting any recs in my area. I finally called the best place for dyslexic teating and turoring and asked where they referred their more complicated students (or the students that needed more than just dyslexic testing). I got a good referral this way.

 

I called some reading centers recommended by the local dyslexia association + an LD organization. Yes, I get several names that need to be checked.