Should I take my ds8 to the ps psychologist for testing or to a private doctor?

[A home for their hearts]

I'm going back and forth as to what I should do. I want him tested to see if he has any learning issues and possibly ADD. We can get into a private psychologist referred to us my our ped. by the end of the month but since we haven't meet our deductable we would have to pay for it. I'm assuming to cost will be high, I have a call into the office to see just how much the appt. is going to cost. On the other hand I can take him to our local ps and have him tested for free. I'm suppose to go in today to fill out some paper work but the lady told me it would probably be a couple of months until they are able to test him. I have my obvious reservations about having him tested through the local school system. I'm afraid they will pressure me if he does have a learning disability to enroll him and that it just may open a can of worms. On the other hand depending on how much the testing is going to cost we may not be able to afford it. I'm really stuck right now between a rock and a hard place. What would you do?

[Quiver0f10]

Only a medical Dr can diagnose ADHD so the school can't help you there. As far as other testing we chose to go the private route for some of the reasons you listed above, but our insurance did pay for it. I believe it's @ $1500 for a complete eval :eek:

[Ellie]

 

Dr. Paul Cates is the man I trust to do testing.

[A home for their hearts]

Only a medical Dr can diagnose ADHD so the school can't help you there. As far as other testing we chose to go the private route for some of the reasons you listed above, but our insurance did pay for it. I believe it's @ $1500 for a complete eval :eek:

 

Would a child psychologist be able to test for ADD? :blink:$1500! My goodness. I just called our insurance and found out our deductable is $15oo more than what I was told the last time I called. I guess I had been told the amount for single and not family. :001_rolleyes: If it's going to cost that amount we definitly can not afford that.

 

Dr. Paul Cates is the man I trust to do testing.

I've never heard of him how much does his testing cost?

[5knights3maidens]

Only a medical Dr can diagnose ADHD so the school can't help you there. As far as other testing we chose to go the private route for some of the reasons you listed above, but our insurance did pay for it. I believe it's @ $1500 for a complete eval :eek:

 

Jumping in here. May I ask what type of doctor I would look under for insurance purposes? We have the same thing here. The neurologist wants dd (15) to get psycho educational testing (because of forgetfulness) but we do not want to go through the school district.

Thanks for any help.

[A home for their hearts]

Jumping in here. May I ask what type of doctor I would look under for insurance purposes? We have the same thing here. The neurologist wants dd (15) to get psycho educational testing (because of forgetfulness) but we do not want to go through the school district.

Thanks for any help.

 

Perhaps a child psychologist? That is who my ped referred us to for educational testing.

[katilac]

Only a medical Dr can diagnose ADHD so the school can't help you there. As far as other testing we chose to go the private route for some of the reasons you listed above, but our insurance did pay for it. I believe it's @ $1500 for a complete eval :eek:

 

A doctor is needed to prescribe meds, but a psychologist can make the dx.

 

If she decides to go the school route, and they dx is ADD, she may then choose to go to a doctor for meds. If it's not ADD, or she decides not to try meds at this time, she hasn't spent the $ on a doctor.

 

The dx can be very useful for getting the child into certain programs (not necesarily through the school) and getting insurance to pay for them.

 

As far as the original question, I would double-check the home school laws in your state. In my state, there's really nothing the school can do to force me to enroll my kids. Any pressure at the time of the eval, I'd handle with "Hmmm, yes, we'll consider that in our options."

 

The concern I might have is that the school then has a copy of your son's eval and dx. I wouldn't be thrilled about that, but I'm not sure why - the local school has a copy of my dd's speech dx and treatment, and that does't bother me. Maybe because I knew going in that it wasn't a long-term dx?

 

But I would go that route if needed; I would not my kids go unevaluated if I suspected problems. And, honeslty, if a parent suspects problems, there are problems. It may not be the LD you're suspecting, but if you're thinking about an eval, there's something there.

 

There is a tremendous amount of resources to utilize once you narrow down the problem.

[Janet in Toronto]

We recently had psycho-ed testing done for our 14 yo son. It was done by a psychologist who specializes in that kind of testing, and was done over a full-day, plus some questionnaires he took home and mailed back. His father and I completed questionnaires, as did a teacher (he's in private school). We had an excellent debrief after the analysis was done and a very comprehensive report.

 

It cost $2300 Canadian, which is about $1800 US these days, and will be covered by our extended health insurance through my husband's employer (the "paramedical practitioner" category). The psychologist was able to split the cost between our son, and each of myself and my husband as we were all involved in the assessment. He said that it was perfectly above-board to do it that way, and it meant that we were able to get the entire cost covered. I guess with the deductible issue with many US plans, it doesnt' make a difference.

[katemary63]

Personally, I would take my kid to a pediatric neurologist if I suspected ADD.

[4kids4me]

We did the same thing as Janet in Toronto (we're just outside Toronto). Instead of the actual psychologist doing the testing, one of her associates did it (he's working toward his psyh. licence, and is trained by the psych. and writes reports just like her and the psych. sits in on the final session with us). It was $1800 instead of $2300 and we were able to split it three ways between dh, me, and son.

 

He was dx with learning disabilities and ADHD-I. The tester said considering what my son has got, he's doing remarkably well, which is a testament to having him at home. My friend is a public school teacher and also has kids with learning disabilities and ADHD. She says (from a recent email):

 

As a classroom teacher, speaking from experience, teachers would never have the time and probably not your knowledge of what works for Teegan to teach him as well as you.* The distractions of a classroom setting would be so overwhelming that the actual learning time Teegan would have during the*school day would be minimal.*

 

It's been encouraging to hear that Teegan has been in the right spot all along. I hope that it encourages you, too. :)

[Quiver0f10]

Jumping in here. May I ask what type of doctor I would look under for insurance purposes? We have the same thing here. The neurologist wants dd (15) to get psycho educational testing (because of forgetfulness) but we do not want to go through the school district.

Thanks for any help.

 

You want one of these: Neuropsychologist, devlopmental psychologist or a child psychologist. I didn't think the school could diagnose ADD/ADHD, but the other poster said they could, so maybe try that route.

[Quiver0f10]

Would a child psychologist be able to test for ADD? :blink:$1500! My goodness. I just called our insurance and found out our deductable is $15oo more than what I was told the last time I called. I guess I had been told the amount for single and not family. :001_rolleyes: If it's going to cost that amount we definitly can not afford that.

 

 

I've never heard of him how much does his testing cost?

 

 

Yes, a child psychologist can test. :grouphug: I know it's expensive. My son qualified for a program because he had sevel issues and they paid for all the testing and services he receives. Maybe see if your state has somethign along those lines?

[Jann in TX]

I would not be afraid of school testing.

 

First of all the school district is NOT the testing authority. The school district contracts out to pediatric psychologists to do the testing. The psychologist will go over the results with you--in some districts a special ed teacher may sit in on the session.

 

This is paid for with YOUR tax dollars.

 

Often the wait is due to when the psychologist is scheduled to come to your district to do a block of testing. Our local school district splits the cost of the psychologist with 3 other districts...so we have their services only a few weeks each school year and that is when the testing is done.

 

Your school districts teachers and administrators will have NOTHING to do with your child's testing--so you should not have 'pressure'. Of course if your psychologist is pro-public schooling then they may suggest programs that might be available. In our case the school psychologist agreed with our own private psychiatrist that homeschooling was the BEST option for our oldest dd who has some learning issues.

[Mommyof4ks]

Based on our ps experience with speech evals. I would skip the ps for something so important. A private doc is usually a better choice. Have you looked at a Neurodevelopmentalist? I was told by several people that my son must have ADD since he cannot focus, but it turns out that he has auditory processing issues, so focusing on auditory things seems silly to him. We have been working on that, and he is getting better without meds. Just my .02.

[Maria from IN]

Where I live the local university has a psychology clinic where the doctoral students take referrals from the school system. They test kids for ADHD, ADD, ODD--everything. They gave my son IQ and achievement tests a few years ago, and they have a sliding fee scale according to income.

 

These are doctoral-level students who are supervised by Ph.D.'s and Psy.D.'s in the area. There's usually a one-way mirror in every room, and the students usually have to videotape their interactions with the kids and parents.

 

You may want to see if there's a university in your area that will do this. It would be a start, anyway.

 

Good luck to you.

:001_smile:

[A home for their hearts]

Thanks everyone for your support and understanding. The private doctors office never got back with me and I haven't had a chance to call them back yet. I went ahead picked up the paper work from our local ps for him to be tested. I had to go in and meet with the home/school cordinator for the school (not as in a go between for those who homeschool, I believe she was what would be referred to as a guidence counselor). Anyone I had to meet with her to go over the paper work. She was very nice. When I called and talked to her I told her that I wasn't going to be enrolling my son in school I just wanted him evaluated for any learning issues he may have. She told me I would need to come in so she could go over the paper work with me I then could take it home fill it out and bring it back in. Within 50 instructional days from the date the paperwork was turned in he would be tested. She said they even do testing over the summer. I was very nervous going in to talk with her, I really didn't know how she would take a homeschooler coming in for testing. I had nothing to be worried about. She was a very friendly and pleasant woman. She even said when we sat down that this was exciting she has never done it the is way before. She didn't ask any questions regarding our homeschooling. She was very pleasant to talk to and told me if I ever had any questions to not hesitate to call. Now we are just waiting for the call to set up the appt. for testing. I hope to school psychologist is as friendly has the home/school coordinator was.

Thanks again ladies, and I will keep you updated!

[Kathy in MD]

I'm glad to see things are progressing. My ds's developmental pediatrician recommended we go through the school for educational phych testing to save a lot of money. She did warn me that the recommendations might be down played because the schools don't want to pay for the extra spec ed ds might require, even though ds wasn't in the public schools.