ISO recs for adhd/learning disabilities testing that isn't just churning out diagnoses

[Anonymous]

My teen would like to be tested for learning disabilities and adhd, etc, but they already have an IEP and 504 with extra time on tests, etc. for another medical issue. I am not searching for a diagnosis, we are just looking to understand what if any challenges they have. I've read about Stixrud, for example, being a diagnosis machine - that's not at all what we're looking for. Any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Why don’t you read about adhd and then put some of the parenting tools into practice? You don’t an official diagnosis for that
If he doesn’t need a diagnosis for anything then don’t waste the time and money testing.

[Anonymous]

If you do a full neuropsych evaluation it will cost nontrivial money but it will come with a lot of recs besides a diagnosis. Ours focused on sleep issues, particular deficits and strengths and emotional regulation and was helpful in that regard. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

The testing instruments are meant for diagnosis. Are you looking for more of a strengths/weaknesses inventory?

[Anonymous]

It's true that you'll get a lot of data from a neuropsych evaluation but I'm not sure the results will be the kind of thing your teen is looking for. My teen didn't find the results at all interesting/helpful, although for us as parents they were.

[Anonymous]

The school should do the testing.

[Anonymous]

Im confused are you interested in finding out what’s going on or trying to avoid a diagnosis? Are you in denial or have your own biases? Honest questions.

The school doesn’t diagnose, so forget that comment from a PP. They can do some educational testing but that only gets your so far.

Hopefully if the child has something, they will be diagnosed. That’s what most parents hope to figure out as well as a course of action. Neurospychs if done well are extremely comprehensive. It’s a large battery of tests, and if something is inconclusive, they usually recommend more testing or time/observation to see what happens. My guess is there is a huge self-selection bias going on with Stixelrod. A lot of diagnoses because a lot of kids who went there with issues.

[Anonymous]

Op, I have 3 kids and have done 6 neuropsychs (2 each) with 4 different providers. Some do just do testing (including those recommended on this site) and give a diagnosis and describe the child’s abilities in very alarming language which is meant to allow parents to advocate for services.

The quality of the testing and report also carries significantly. A couple practices signals they were liberal about giving diagnoses, and we have found that to be the case even when our DC did not strictly meet the criteria.

If you think you know all of your DCs areas of weakness, our experience is that Mindwell did do very thorough testing and did not give diagnoses which did not strictly meet the DSM criteria. For example, my DC did not get an ADHD diagnosis because they only met 5 of the criteria (out of 6), but the report stressed that with those 5 criteria my DC had severe deficits. So good data, but no diagnosis.

I think what I did not think was great about that experience is that they did not screen for anxiety or ASD, which they probably should have. DC later got an anxiety diagnosis although the ASD is still unclear - but there were enough signs that I mentioned in the intake that the panel’s should have done a screen at the time.

I would also think what you want out of the neuropsych. We have had repeats on our kids, and will do again (school requires it every 3 years) and they change over time. It’s not a definitive profile of your child, just a snapshot of a specific time.

[Anonymous]

Stixrud is most definitely not a diagnosis machine. Dr. Henderson was very cautious when diagnosing my children. One has very obvious ADHD/ASD, was diagnosed at a young age, had free services from MoCo before preschool, and got an IEP as soon as he entered K. The other we thought might have very mild ADHD, but we weren't sure. We got her tested as a teen, because she had been doing well. It turns out she has autism, not ADHD, and there are no accommodations to expect for school - she doesn't need extra time, or anything else. She meets *some criteria* for inattention, but not sufficiently to get a diagnosis.

I highly recommend Dr. Henderson at Stixrud.

[Anonymous]

We liked the Ross center. Tell them what you wanted screened and they can focus on that. For example, we wanted a deep dive in our kid’s reading ability so they added many tests in that area.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for the recs and info! Very helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stixrud is most definitely not a diagnosis machine. Dr. Henderson was very cautious when diagnosing my children. One has very obvious ADHD/ASD, was diagnosed at a young age, had free services from MoCo before preschool, and got an IEP as soon as he entered K. The other we thought might have very mild ADHD, but we weren't sure. We got her tested as a teen, because she had been doing well. It turns out she has autism, not ADHD, and there are no accommodations to expect for school - she doesn't need extra time, or anything else. She meets *some criteria* for inattention, but not sufficiently to get a diagnosis.

I highly recommend Dr. Henderson at Stixrud.

I ditto this, although we used a different Stixrud doctor. Very cautious. Extensive testing. Did not use some testing that might have led to another diagnosis because DCs answers on it were so contradictory that she felt it was no longer a valid instrument but did discuss pros and cons exhibited by the instrument.

WTF do you mean by "diagnosis machine" any way, OP? Psychoeducational and neuropsychological assessments are typically two days and many tests. Our DC had a dozen different tests spanning IQ and achievement across all categories plus other processing, memory and language testing. Any doctor who sees results that are consistent with a diagnosis has an ethical duty to make the diagnosis. I have never once over more than a decade of assessments seen a "diagnosis" from an assessment that wasn't supported by extensive objective data backed up by clinical, parental and/or educational observations.

"Diagnosis machine" is just a way to discriminate against people with disabilities by minimizing their healthcare findings.

I don't see people referring to men who see doctors for Viagra or testosterone as having gone to a "diagnosis machine," because we don't stigmatize those problems in the same way.

[Anonymous]

Yeah we haven't used Stixrud, though Dr. Henderson was one of the docs recommended to us. Curious where OP heard it is a "diagnosis machine". I have observed there are school staff that assume this to justify their unprofessional treatment of families who have gotten diagnoses from private practices like Stixrud. But nothing that is actually fact based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stixrud is most definitely not a diagnosis machine. Dr. Henderson was very cautious when diagnosing my children. One has very obvious ADHD/ASD, was diagnosed at a young age, had free services from MoCo before preschool, and got an IEP as soon as he entered K. The other we thought might have very mild ADHD, but we weren't sure. We got her tested as a teen, because she had been doing well. It turns out she has autism, not ADHD, and there are no accommodations to expect for school - she doesn't need extra time, or anything else. She meets *some criteria* for inattention, but not sufficiently to get a diagnosis.

I highly recommend Dr. Henderson at Stixrud.

I ditto this, although we used a different Stixrud doctor. Very cautious. Extensive testing. Did not use some testing that might have led to another diagnosis because DCs answers on it were so contradictory that she felt it was no longer a valid instrument but did discuss pros and cons exhibited by the instrument.

WTF do you mean by "diagnosis machine" any way, OP? Psychoeducational and neuropsychological assessments are typically two days and many tests. Our DC had a dozen different tests spanning IQ and achievement across all categories plus other processing, memory and language testing. Any doctor who sees results that are consistent with a diagnosis has an ethical duty to make the diagnosis. I have never once over more than a decade of assessments seen a "diagnosis" from an assessment that wasn't supported by extensive objective data backed up by clinical, parental and/or educational observations.

"Diagnosis machine" is just a way to discriminate against people with disabilities by minimizing their healthcare findings.

I don't see people referring to men who see doctors for Viagra or testosterone as having gone to a "diagnosis machine," because we don't stigmatize those problems in the same way.

+1,000

I have zero respect for the people that engage in this behavior

[Anonymous]

OP, it is rare for a student to get a full neuropsychological evaluation (thousands of dollars) unless there is a strong suspicion of issues. That does not mean these places are diagnosis factories. It's a skewed population that is there for a reason. If you are trying to avoid a diagnosis or just have a very negative attitude toward it all then don't get an evaluation unless you feel your teen needs more accommodations of help. Just be careful. You don't want your teen to adopt your negative attitude and develop self-hatred.