seeing a developmental pediatrician versus a full developmental screening

[Anonymous]

DC has some issues that therapist/school recommend having DC do a full developmental screening and evaluation at one of the major centers in the area. Pediatrician could recommend a developmental pediatrician. Are there major differences between these type of evaluations besides more more people chiming in, pros or cons of each. On one hand, it would be easier to deal with one person, on the other, maybe more people can really think through the issues. What do these evaluations entail? Also are there fundamental differences between these private evaluations and those done by the county?

Also, does anyone feel (not saying they do, but curious if anyone feels that way) that these experts are predisposed to giving some large overall diagnosis. Or are they generally open minded and if they really are not sure about something, are they willing to say that

[Anonymous]

My guess is it might make a difference what the potential issue is. Like, if it is an issue that is often treated with OT and speech therapy, you could benefit from having those therapists involved in the assessment. Some issues may require the individual making the assessment to observe your child in different situations, like at school/at home. I have heard that doctors can be bad at assessing SPD, and perhaps psychologists are better at that.
Do you mind sharing what the therapist or school are concerned about? You could get better answers if you make that clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Also are there fundamental differences between these private evaluations and those done by the county?

Also, does anyone feel (not saying they do, but curious if anyone feels that way) that these experts are predisposed to giving some large overall diagnosis. Or are they generally open minded and if they really are not sure about something, are they willing to say that

What county are you in? My experience with Montgomery county is that if they don't see a big enough problem to qualify for free county services, they tell you. They don't spend resources if the child does not really need it.

[Anonymous]

Try the developmental clinic at Children's hospital in the District. If they see a problem, they can refer you to other specialties.

[Anonymous]

I've heard that Dr. Conlon in MC is very good for attention type issues, don't know anyone who has seen him for other developmental issues.

I've heard mixed things about Children's, I don't know anyone who has seen Penny Glass who has not felt blamed for all of their child's issues. I think that Dr. Mott at Gtown includes an OT and PT assessment with the evaluation. I wish that we had cast a wider net initially. We started with OT and while DC does have sensory and motor planning issues, that wasn't the whole problem. We lost some time with that, thinking the issues were magically going to go away.

We've gone to Kennedy Krieger and while it was ok, and mostly covered by insurance, it was not worth the extraordinary wait. We got the standard "may grow out of it" and not much direction about interventions.

We ended up at Dr. Stanley Greenspan's office years later than would have been ideal.

If you can say what your concerns are, people might be able to point you in a clearer direction. I've found that many of these folks have strengths and weaknesses in how knowledgeable they are about both diagnosis and treatment. For example, I've heard that Dr. Conlon has ADD himself, which is why he is so sensitive to it and so knowledgeable about interventions and medications.