What’s with all the insanely long waitlists in the DMV

[Anonymous]

There’s a lot of overconsumption of these resources. DCUM is always telling people to “see a dev ped” or “get a neuropsych” when assessment by the county early intervention office would probably be fine. Lots of OT that doesn’t do anything and speech therapy for kids with no actual delays.

The real problem is the lack of evidence-based therapies and the lack of strong support services in schools. I’d wait a year for the right therapy.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it didn’t do anything for your kid but it’s a massive overreach to say “it doesn’t do anything” and offensive to the therapists who work with my child. If it didn’t “do anything” people would not be waiting months to see an OT and would not be ensdorsed as a treatment by physicians and neuropsychologists. Sounds like you wanted a quick fix or pill to “fix” your kid to me.

Anonymous wrote:There’s a lot of overconsumption of these resources. DCUM is always telling people to “see a dev ped” or “get a neuropsych” when assessment by the county early intervention office would probably be fine. Lots of OT that doesn’t do anything and speech therapy for kids with no actual delays.

The real problem is the lack of evidence-based therapies and the lack of strong support services in schools. I’d wait a year for the right therapy.

[Anonymous]

Exactly, why would there be a waitlist/high demand if it was not beneficial for many. It’s different for every kid and family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Maybe it didn’t do anything for your kid but it’s a massive overreach to say “it doesn’t do anything” and offensive to the therapists who work with my child. If it didn’t “do anything” people would not be waiting months to see an OT and would not be ensdorsed as a treatment by physicians and neuropsychologists. Sounds like you wanted a quick fix or pill to “fix” your kid to me.

Anonymous wrote:There’s a lot of overconsumption of these resources. DCUM is always telling people to “see a dev ped” or “get a neuropsych” when assessment by the county early intervention office would probably be fine. Lots of OT that doesn’t do anything and speech therapy for kids with no actual delays.

The real problem is the lack of evidence-based therapies and the lack of strong support services in schools. I’d wait a year for the right therapy.

Yes people would wait months and waste $1000s on services that don’t work … there’s very little that works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, why would there be a waitlist/high demand if it was not beneficial for many. It’s different for every kid and family.

Because parents of struggling kids are desperate and on the flip side there are a lot of parents with money who get services for even very small issues.

[Anonymous]

Very little that works for what exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very little that works for what exactly?

+1 my child has made enormous strides since she started OT. Her teachers ask us what are we doing, she has changed so much.

[Anonymous]

We spend almost $1k/month for our developmentally disabled child’s speech therapy. Thankfully we can afford it. Those who cannot are screwed. There is no social safety net and our society does not care about anyone, particularly the disabled. Just look at the way we treat our children whose parents can’t afford to feed them 3 square meals/day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, it’s only an issue if you are using insurance. If you are full pay, you can get any of these services in a “reasonable” amount of time. It’s not fair but that is how the system works. I called a week ago to schedule a neuropsych and have an appointment for my daughter the first week of January.

Why is this though? Is there a reason so many of these providers don’t want to deal with insurance? It seem like that is public policy issue if insurance plans are not covering things or not offering enough to be worthwhile to providers. I’m having a hard time right now finding a child psychiatrist in network without a super long waitlist. It’s depressing.

Could this be legislated like the pre-existing condition or maternity coverage? I think the pandemic exacerbated the waitlists because kids fell behind in services and are still trying to catch up. It would be nice if Congress would do something to make these services more available using insurance. The OOP costs are too high for most families

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s a lot of overconsumption of these resources. DCUM is always telling people to “see a dev ped” or “get a neuropsych” when assessment by the county early intervention office would probably be fine. Lots of OT that doesn’t do anything and speech therapy for kids with no actual delays.

The real problem is the lack of evidence-based therapies and the lack of strong support services in schools. I’d wait a year for the right therapy.

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, it’s only an issue if you are using insurance. If you are full pay, you can get any of these services in a “reasonable” amount of time. It’s not fair but that is how the system works. I called a week ago to schedule a neuropsych and have an appointment for my daughter the first week of January.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, why would there be a waitlist/high demand if it was not beneficial for many. It’s different for every kid and family.

Because parents of struggling kids are desperate and on the flip side there are a lot of parents with money who get services for even very small issues.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s a lot of overconsumption of these resources. DCUM is always telling people to “see a dev ped” or “get a neuropsych” when assessment by the county early intervention office would probably be fine. Lots of OT that doesn’t do anything and speech therapy for kids with no actual delays.

The real problem is the lack of evidence-based therapies and the lack of strong support services in schools. I’d wait a year for the right therapy.

It’s not even similar in services or evaluations. For a very basic concern they are fine but not for something more serious. Waiting a year is a bad idea as you miss a key window when kids are young.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We spend almost $1k/month for our developmentally disabled child’s speech therapy. Thankfully we can afford it. Those who cannot are screwed. There is no social safety net and our society does not care about anyone, particularly the disabled. Just look at the way we treat our children whose parents can’t afford to feed them 3 square meals/day.

We had no issue getting therapists via insurance and those parents struggling get food stamps and Medicaid. It’s the families in the middle who are struggling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Maybe it didn’t do anything for your kid but it’s a massive overreach to say “it doesn’t do anything” and offensive to the therapists who work with my child. If it didn’t “do anything” people would not be waiting months to see an OT and would not be ensdorsed as a treatment by physicians and neuropsychologists. Sounds like you wanted a quick fix or pill to “fix” your kid to me.

Anonymous wrote:There’s a lot of overconsumption of these resources. DCUM is always telling people to “see a dev ped” or “get a neuropsych” when assessment by the county early intervention office would probably be fine. Lots of OT that doesn’t do anything and speech therapy for kids with no actual delays.

The real problem is the lack of evidence-based therapies and the lack of strong support services in schools. I’d wait a year for the right therapy.

Yes people would wait months and waste $1000s on services that don’t work … there’s very little that works.

It depends on the child and concerns. Some of our kids benefitted and are doing better years later. Others will continue to struggle.