Is a neuropsych eval really worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

DP. I have a kid who started services at 4 and got the autism dx at 6. we’ve had two neuropsychs along the way and neither has been that useful - certainly not useful enough to spend money on that could go to therapy. The autism dx has not been useful either except to get the IEP. ALL of the useful therapy/interventions we have gotten have not at all turned on the diagnosis but instead have targeted the visible challenges. The fact is that if your kid is verbal and high IQ, there are not actually any evidence-based therapies that are so specific to autism that you need a dx. If anything the dx has been a barrier because people assume things about him that are not true.

[Anonymous]

A psychiatrist intake is a middle ground. If kid is 7, recommend waiting until 8 for nueropysch.

Ours was so helpful for school accomodations but if you aren't after those and have a good sense of things, not worth it

[Anonymous]

The things you are mentioning are mental health related. I doubt a neuropsych will give you answers. If you suspect learning issues, then it can be helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

I am pretty sure we would have stopped OT and her slp led social skills class without the diagnosis. It was helpful for us because we didn't fully understand her issues. She is our only child and was doing great in preschool at the time.

She has a history of severe anxiety starting around age 2 and we did a exposure therapy to treat it which helped a ton. As she was getting better but still having some challenges we started OT and social skills thinking it would help with the anxiety.

The therapists we worked with on exposures expressed concerns about autism and that led to the neuropsych. At the time we got the diagnosis her preschool teachers were basically saying she was doing great, so we had been thinking about stopping the OT and social skills. But knowing the diagnosis helped us to understand that her social deficits meant her brain works differently than other kids so she needs extra help on that.

I can only speak to our specific experience and can totally see how a neuropsych might not be helpful. We technically didn't change anything significantly as a result of the diagnosis, we just kept doing what we were already doing (but would have stopped without the diagnosis).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like the issues are minimal and mostly at home so no, I don’t think a neuropsych or additional testing makes sense. Probably parent training is a good place to start.

I know of SPACE for anxiety, is there other parent training that maybe you have done or that you recommend?

Another i can recommend is parent child journey dr Shapiro. He has a course for parents that can be helpful.

As for neuropsych, we have not gotten one for our almost 7 year old. He was diagnosed with adhd by his therapist and later child psychiatrist (who prescribes medication for the adhd) based on interview with parent and child and Vanderbilt forms from parents and teacher. It’s a misconception that you need a neuropsych to get a diagnosis.

Part of our decision: when I asked psychiatrist if he thought we needed one he said that he usually recommends them when you suspect you could be missing something, or there is a piece that doesn’t make total sense that you need to parse out. In our case, he felt the adhd diagnosis was accurate and we agreed. And medication has been helpful.

Hope that helps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

DP. I have a kid who started services at 4 and got the autism dx at 6. we’ve had two neuropsychs along the way and neither has been that useful - certainly not useful enough to spend money on that could go to therapy. The autism dx has not been useful either except to get the IEP. ALL of the useful therapy/interventions we have gotten have not at all turned on the diagnosis but instead have targeted the visible challenges. The fact is that if your kid is verbal and high IQ, there are not actually any evidence-based therapies that are so specific to autism that you need a dx. If anything the dx has been a barrier because people assume things about him that are not true.

PEERS is evidence based and I think typically used for verbal kids with high or normal IQ. I don't think you need a dx to access it, the question is will you make the money and time commitment if your kid doesn't have a dx. Some families would, others may not. Also I think it matters if social issues are rooted in anxiety versus autism and it can be hard to distinguish this because anxiety co-occurs with autism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

DP. I have a kid who started services at 4 and got the autism dx at 6. we’ve had two neuropsychs along the way and neither has been that useful - certainly not useful enough to spend money on that could go to therapy. The autism dx has not been useful either except to get the IEP. ALL of the useful therapy/interventions we have gotten have not at all turned on the diagnosis but instead have targeted the visible challenges. The fact is that if your kid is verbal and high IQ, there are not actually any evidence-based therapies that are so specific to autism that you need a dx. If anything the dx has been a barrier because people assume things about him that are not true.

DD was diagnosed in late ES and she found it validating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

DP. I have a kid who started services at 4 and got the autism dx at 6. we’ve had two neuropsychs along the way and neither has been that useful - certainly not useful enough to spend money on that could go to therapy. The autism dx has not been useful either except to get the IEP. ALL of the useful therapy/interventions we have gotten have not at all turned on the diagnosis but instead have targeted the visible challenges. The fact is that if your kid is verbal and high IQ, there are not actually any evidence-based therapies that are so specific to autism that you need a dx. If anything the dx has been a barrier because people assume things about him that are not true.

PEERS is evidence based and I think typically used for verbal kids with high or normal IQ. I don't think you need a dx to access it, the question is will you make the money and time commitment if your kid doesn't have a dx. Some families would, others may not. Also I think it matters if social issues are rooted in anxiety versus autism and it can be hard to distinguish this because anxiety co-occurs with autism.

+1. Many people would not be accessing these services (and might not be able to access them as you point out) without a dx. Having a dx at a younger age also helps to prevent a crisis-type situation (school refusal) catalyzing the need for a dx. For many girls that is the social dynamics in ES. Once moms can’t assist with social engineering and peer relationships get more sophisticated it can be very challenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

DP. I have a kid who started services at 4 and got the autism dx at 6. we’ve had two neuropsychs along the way and neither has been that useful - certainly not useful enough to spend money on that could go to therapy. The autism dx has not been useful either except to get the IEP. ALL of the useful therapy/interventions we have gotten have not at all turned on the diagnosis but instead have targeted the visible challenges. The fact is that if your kid is verbal and high IQ, there are not actually any evidence-based therapies that are so specific to autism that you need a dx. If anything the dx has been a barrier because people assume things about him that are not true.

PEERS is evidence based and I think typically used for verbal kids with high or normal IQ. I don't think you need a dx to access it, the question is will you make the money and time commitment if your kid doesn't have a dx. Some families would, others may not. Also I think it matters if social issues are rooted in anxiety versus autism and it can be hard to distinguish this because anxiety co-occurs with autism.

meh. we did “Unstuck” and it was a waste of time. It was pushed on us solely due to the dx and was pointless for our kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

DP. I have a kid who started services at 4 and got the autism dx at 6. we’ve had two neuropsychs along the way and neither has been that useful - certainly not useful enough to spend money on that could go to therapy. The autism dx has not been useful either except to get the IEP. ALL of the useful therapy/interventions we have gotten have not at all turned on the diagnosis but instead have targeted the visible challenges. The fact is that if your kid is verbal and high IQ, there are not actually any evidence-based therapies that are so specific to autism that you need a dx. If anything the dx has been a barrier because people assume things about him that are not true.

DD was diagnosed in late ES and she found it validating.

You can get an autism diagnosis without a $5000 neuropsych.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

DP. I have a kid who started services at 4 and got the autism dx at 6. we’ve had two neuropsychs along the way and neither has been that useful - certainly not useful enough to spend money on that could go to therapy. The autism dx has not been useful either except to get the IEP. ALL of the useful therapy/interventions we have gotten have not at all turned on the diagnosis but instead have targeted the visible challenges. The fact is that if your kid is verbal and high IQ, there are not actually any evidence-based therapies that are so specific to autism that you need a dx. If anything the dx has been a barrier because people assume things about him that are not true.

PEERS is evidence based and I think typically used for verbal kids with high or normal IQ. I don't think you need a dx to access it, the question is will you make the money and time commitment if your kid doesn't have a dx. Some families would, others may not. Also I think it matters if social issues are rooted in anxiety versus autism and it can be hard to distinguish this because anxiety co-occurs with autism.

meh. we did “Unstuck” and it was a waste of time. It was pushed on us solely due to the dx and was pointless for our kid.

Is Unstuck the same thing as PEERS? I don't think it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

DP. I have a kid who started services at 4 and got the autism dx at 6. we’ve had two neuropsychs along the way and neither has been that useful - certainly not useful enough to spend money on that could go to therapy. The autism dx has not been useful either except to get the IEP. ALL of the useful therapy/interventions we have gotten have not at all turned on the diagnosis but instead have targeted the visible challenges. The fact is that if your kid is verbal and high IQ, there are not actually any evidence-based therapies that are so specific to autism that you need a dx. If anything the dx has been a barrier because people assume things about him that are not true.

DD was diagnosed in late ES and she found it validating.

You can get an autism diagnosis without a $5000 neuropsych.

I would love to know how! This is what I’m looking for (a screening)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I would love to know how! This is what I’m looking for (a screening)

OP here - I am not set on 100% needing a diagnosis, just how to get him whatever help it is that he needs. Everyone's input has been very helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was the path recommended to us to get an autism diagnosis at age 4 for a very verbal and socially motivated girl. We did not expect her to get the diagnosis, and it's been really helpful for us to understand her and put in the time and money into private supports.

Do you feel like your understanding and support (I assume via therapists?) would not have been as helpful without the diagnosis? Who was first recommending the diagnosis at 4?

DP. I have a kid who started services at 4 and got the autism dx at 6. we’ve had two neuropsychs along the way and neither has been that useful - certainly not useful enough to spend money on that could go to therapy. The autism dx has not been useful either except to get the IEP. ALL of the useful therapy/interventions we have gotten have not at all turned on the diagnosis but instead have targeted the visible challenges. The fact is that if your kid is verbal and high IQ, there are not actually any evidence-based therapies that are so specific to autism that you need a dx. If anything the dx has been a barrier because people assume things about him that are not true.

DD was diagnosed in late ES and she found it validating.

This is also an interesting perspective, that I could see being true as he is older. If he needs a way to process whatever is different about him and that helps.