How to ask for testing for DD?? I suspect..

[Um_2_4]

working memory issues and processing speed issues. 

So at our last dr appt, I asked about testing for memory issues and processing speed issues. Basically I was told that would be something a school would do and not a Dr and maybe I should send her to Kumon or Sylvan  :glare: . She told me the only thing they have is for people with severe brain trauma.

For anyone familiar with it we have Kaiser.  If I call to ask about coverage, what should I ask?

Besides trying a different ped, should I call the behavioral health dept? (I believe we can self refer there.)

If Kaiser does not offer anything, how do you find private testing? I google neuropsychologists and my city and got NOTHING (and I live in a rather large city in California). (ETA: Okay I got 1 in a city about 20 miles away.) Since I strongly suspect these 2 issues, should I go ahead and work on these at home? Maybe save testing for later in case she needs accommodations for testing/college, etc?

Is there a program you recommend for working at home??

(Vision has already been tested by a Vision Therapy Dr after reading about that here.)

[Arcadia]

My boys did the WISC-IV with a private psych because of DS10's "slowness". They won't behind and even on timed tests while in public charter DS10 results were too above average to get accommodations. It is like instead of a near perfect score, he gets a B range score.

 

Kumon and Sylvan do not run tests for working memory or processing speed. I heard that some districts would do a shorter WISC for screening which means no FSIQ or GAI. Mine doesn't and my oldest does not have a significant gap between IQ and achievement test scores. I don't have recent achievement test scores for my DS10 yet so I don't know how big the gap would be between IQ and achievement tests scores.

 

Our insurance is Blue Cross California and we have to file a claim to use our HSA account for the cost of testing. Everything is out of pocket.

 

When we ask for quotes, the prices were in the four digits for comprehensive reviews. So we end up going for the WISC just to get some answers before thinking about whether we need to do more testing.

 

I'll file a request for evaluation with your school district. However they may do a short test to see if she is on grade level for language arts and math. Is she a 3rd or 4th grader? If she knows her multiplication tables well, it would be even harder to get further testing approved.

 

Edited for weird autocorrect of HSA to USA

Edited April 4, 2016 by Arcadia

[Storygirl]

You might look for a psychologist who does educational testing -- there are some who are not neuropsychologists. The WISC will calculate working memory and processing speed, so that is a specific test to ask for.

 

The public school system is required to evaluate everyone in the district suspected of learning disabilities, whether they are enrolled in school or not. Some districts work with homeschoolers easily, and others don't, so the help that you get will depend on your school. But the benefit is that it is free. You would need to write a letter stating that you suspect learning issues and request evaluations. Just asking on the phone is not enough to trigger the legal process that the school must follow.

 

If you suspect math or reading difficulties -- even if those areas are just slow -- include that in your request. If learning to read has been difficult, or the child cannot memorize math facts or gets confused when following multi-step problems, or if there are any fine or gross motor skill delays or speech issues, include that as well as evidence that there may be a disability that should be evaluated. They are going to need to know the reason for your concerns, because they are only required to evaluate students that are suspected of a disability -- if the school doesn't suspect the disability, they can refuse to do the testing.

 

So, you can find a private provider, or you can request help from the schools. You can call your insurance company and ask what they will cover for testing. Many insurance companies will not cover educational assessments but only health or developmental assessments from a psychologist (such as for autism), but others are more generous, so you will need to find out what your policy covers.

 

If you decide to go through the schools, there are ways to learn more about the process, so you could then post a message asking for more information about that.

[Tiramisu]

For insurance coverage, you need to have a medical diagnosis for testing and go through your medical insurance, not your behavioral health plan. Our diagnosis was a previous concussion and chronic headaches. We are still waiting to see if the testing we had will actually be covered even though they have already told us it will be and we have that documented.

 

You might be able to google the name of your insurance company and neuropsychological testing, and that might lead you somewhere that will give you an idea of what kind of conditions will persuade an insurance company that testing is necessary. Beware, learning issues are not considered a valid reason for testing.

 

A few years ago with another child, I went through different levels of appeals and 200 pages of medical records to have an np eval covered, and the appeal was still denied. But that np was rotten and didn't get the prior authorization even though I spelled out the process for her and she confirmed it with the insurance company prior to testing. I still don't quite understand why she did what she did, except the insurance company compensation was less than a direct payment from me. 

[Jenn in CA]

I have Kaiser too. They do not do anything learning-related. The closest I've gotten is some speech evaluations when my girls were younger.

 

Is your child having trouble w/reading or spelling? If so, you can get testing and free tutoring/therapy through Scottish Rite. I'm in the Sacramento area and we go there.

 

LIndamood-Bell does a lot of testing, but of course they want you to use their services. I've thought about doing testing there for a few hundred $$. I hear it's very comprehensive, and  they use standard tests (not just their own diagnostic tests if that makes sense).

 

Do you have a university nearby? Check there too. Here we have the Mind Institute which is part of/partners with UC Davis.