Neuropsych for 8yo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just did one, at Children's National. What I appreciated most was the one hour call with the evaluators afterwards. They went through everything in detail. In our case, they found nothing that met a diagnosis threshold. But, they had many suggestions on things to do where my kid was "slightly below average."

There is no downside in my view (other than cost if your insurance doesn't cover).If your kid doesn't meet a diagnosis threshold, they will still pinpoint things to work on and ways to help.

Just to add, they have a long wait list, 6-12 months, unless your primary care or another doc refers you for a specific concern. So, get on the list, at a minimum.

Me again. This evaluation took 6 hours (with a lunch break). Plus a one hour call with me beforehand, three sets of form filled out by both the teachers and myself. This was not a 2 hours and we're done.

How much time did they spend with you (not your DC), collecting the feedback?

We got 2 hours with a large number of quick questions and without an opportunity to delve deeper into issues that we see at home. There was an initial set of very high level forms that we were asked to fill out as well. But, that was it for our feedback.

We got about 2 hours as well. That felt to me like plenty because, for my kid, there wasn't much to discuss. This was an eval because kid has a condition that makes it more likely for them to have a learning disability/ADHD/autism. It's standard of care to evaluate. No one (not me or teachers) thought my kid had any of this going in...maybe we're not a good example of what a kid can get out of this. But I was satisfied with how the process unfolded and its results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

All of this is false. Diagnosis matters and good psychologists and psychiatrists know this.

A child who seems inattentive might actually be distracted by worry, struggling with impulse control, or overwhelmed by sensory and social demands. ADHD is often tied to attention and inhibition problems, anxiety more to fear and avoidance, and autism more to social communication differences, rigidity, and sensory needs.

The distinction matters because treatments are not interchangeable. For example, ADHD plans often emphasize medication plus school supports and executive-function coaching, while anxiety is usually treated with therapy that targets worry and avoidance, and autism support often focuses on communication, sensory accommodations, and skills-based services.

Literally, my very highly trained child psychologist said the diagnosis made no difference in her approach to my kid (who dealt with issues similar to what OP described). AND if OP really does want to have the kid formally assessed again then the approach is to do a limited assessment not pay $8k for it.

That would make me very, very wary if they meant it like you’re presenting it.

It might not make a difference in how your psychologist treats your child. It makes a huge difference in how the world treats your child. Access to therapies, support, and accommodations hinges on diagnosis. Diagnosis can also be incredibly empowering in some circumstances. It gives the person a name and validation for their experience and enables them to connect with others with similar experiences. I say this as a person with other disabilities and has experienced frustrations in obtaining certain diagnoses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. She is in 3rd and this is the year she has started to hate school (but still doing well). Very social too, but definitely needs her down time.
We went to therapy and OT from 4-7yo. They mainly thought anxiety.
Agree that knowing how to parent her is a huge part of this and we’ve come a long way.

I don’t feel like (from what I read) she fits into one clear box for a diagnosis. Am I wrong? We have looked into children’s, but I also question how they would help much from meeting her for one day. Am I completely off and will they get to the bottom of this and give helpful recommendations?

A neuropsych is not some kind of roadmap or even differential diagnosis. It is a series of cognitive tests - like a super duper IQ test. It’s not going to tell you how to parent your kid or differentiate between personality vs anxiety vs subclinical autistic traits. It doesn’t even sound like you are articulating any issue or challenge.

A full neuropsych eval by a skilled psychologist absolutely includes ruling out and/or assessing differential diagnoses (including psychiatric and autism).

No it doesn’t.

Sometimes yes and sometimes no, but for most people I know it was pretty conclusive and for us it was conclusive (anxiety) and a question mark for ADHD which was yes in the end but we could at least get the anxiety under control and that helped us tease out the second part. It’s an art, not a science because every kid—even those with the same diagnosis’s—are different

You absolutely 100% do not need an all-day “neuropsych” to diagnose anxiety. How absurd.

Do you understand the importance of ruling out differential diagnoses or identifying comorbidities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

Anxiety, autism, and ADHD all have common symptoms. A neuropsych helps rule out one or more and figure out which are at issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

Anxiety, autism, and ADHD all have common symptoms. A neuropsych helps rule out one or more and figure out which are at issue.

This did not happen in our case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

Anxiety, autism, and ADHD all have common symptoms. A neuropsych helps rule out one or more and figure out which are at issue.

This did not happen in our case.

^ I meant, yes, anxiety, autism and ADHD all have common symptoms, but neuropsych did not help identify which one is an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

Anxiety, autism, and ADHD all have common symptoms. A neuropsych helps rule out one or more and figure out which are at issue.

This did not happen in our case.

^ I meant, yes, anxiety, autism and ADHD all have common symptoms, but neuropsych did not help identify which one is an issue.

I'm sure that must have been frustrating. This definitely happens. Unfortunately not all neuropsychs are the same and that is why it is important to get recommendations and know what the concerns are so you go to someone who is qualified to diagnose/rule out the issue. While we didn't use her, Dr. Donna Henderson was one of the evaluators suggested for us, and I've listened to a few interviews with her. One of the things she says is that even in the high-priced practice where she worked there were evaluators who "didn't do autism". That's insane, that they would agree to evaluate a child and simply not be qualified to assess whether or not they had a condition that affects 1 in 30 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

Anxiety, autism, and ADHD all have common symptoms. A neuropsych helps rule out one or more and figure out which are at issue.

This did not happen in our case.

^ I meant, yes, anxiety, autism and ADHD all have common symptoms, but neuropsych did not help identify which one is an issue.

I'm sure that must have been frustrating. This definitely happens. Unfortunately not all neuropsychs are the same and that is why it is important to get recommendations and know what the concerns are so you go to someone who is qualified to diagnose/rule out the issue. While we didn't use her, Dr. Donna Henderson was one of the evaluators suggested for us, and I've listened to a few interviews with her. One of the things she says is that even in the high-priced practice where she worked there were evaluators who "didn't do autism". That's insane, that they would agree to evaluate a child and simply not be qualified to assess whether or not they had a condition that affects 1 in 30 kids.

I am the PP you responded to. Thank you for your reply. I think it would be super helpful if more people shared the type of information that you just posted. I know that our own lack of knowledge how to prepare for the testing and how to choose a provider played a role.

I don’t want to start a new thread, but I think the underlying question that most parents would benefit from is: what helped you get good results from your neuropsychological evaluation?

To me at seems:
- having reports from other therapists,
- have a written detailed parental feedback for the evaluator before they do the evaluation
- looping in with your school and teachers, so they can work together with you, and,
- what you seem to be saying, choosing an evaluator who is the best fit for the issues your child seems to be having.

But, I’ve learned the above hard way, after paying thousands for an evaluation that was not helpful at all. Shouldn’t evaluators explain the best way to prepare before they take your money and conduct the testing, so they can provide the most appropriate support?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

OP someone had a bad neuropsych experience and has an axe to grind. They do much more than test for learning disabilities.

I’m a different poster and we spent more than a year with a good therapist thinking we were treating in anxiety when in fact, it was anxiety and ADHD only hyperactive/impulsive which is somewhat rare, and a processing speed issue that was masked. It manifested in ways that are not typical of what most of the people think of for ADHD and our child is gifted so we had no academic issues. I am telling you it’s not always straightforward. Therapy does very little for ADHD and we needed a different course of action, a.k.a. meds. if your child is complex or you think many things can be a play, do yourself a favor and bite the bullet and get a nueropysch or at least other educational testing outside of a school testing so you know what you are dealing with.

I know more stories of people fumbling around with therapy and other things like OT, etc. only to eventually get to the point where they did a neuropsych and change their entire treatment plan based upon it. For some it was DBT, specialized tutoring, and for several, it therapy in combination with meds. (We happen to have a lot of family and friends with kids who have all sorts of combinations of dyslexia, ADHD, and anxiety.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

All of this is false. Diagnosis matters and good psychologists and psychiatrists know this.

A child who seems inattentive might actually be distracted by worry, struggling with impulse control, or overwhelmed by sensory and social demands. ADHD is often tied to attention and inhibition problems, anxiety more to fear and avoidance, and autism more to social communication differences, rigidity, and sensory needs.

The distinction matters because treatments are not interchangeable. For example, ADHD plans often emphasize medication plus school supports and executive-function coaching, while anxiety is usually treated with therapy that targets worry and avoidance, and autism support often focuses on communication, sensory accommodations, and skills-based services.

Literally, my very highly trained child psychologist said the diagnosis made no difference in her approach to my kid (who dealt with issues similar to what OP described). AND if OP really does want to have the kid formally assessed again then the approach is to do a limited assessment not pay $8k for it.

Literally your kid is a sample of one, you have never met OP's kid and are not qualified to decide for her that a diagnosis doesn't matter for them. Diagnosis matters for many, many kids.

I didn’t say diagnosis doesn’t matter. I said: 1) you don’t have to pay $$$ for a neuropsych to get a diagnosis and 2) therapy does not have to wait and often transcends a diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

All of this is false. Diagnosis matters and good psychologists and psychiatrists know this.

A child who seems inattentive might actually be distracted by worry, struggling with impulse control, or overwhelmed by sensory and social demands. ADHD is often tied to attention and inhibition problems, anxiety more to fear and avoidance, and autism more to social communication differences, rigidity, and sensory needs.

The distinction matters because treatments are not interchangeable. For example, ADHD plans often emphasize medication plus school supports and executive-function coaching, while anxiety is usually treated with therapy that targets worry and avoidance, and autism support often focuses on communication, sensory accommodations, and skills-based services.

Literally, my very highly trained child psychologist said the diagnosis made no difference in her approach to my kid (who dealt with issues similar to what OP described). AND if OP really does want to have the kid formally assessed again then the approach is to do a limited assessment not pay $8k for it.

That would make me very, very wary if they meant it like you’re presenting it.

I’m not sure why. She was life-changing - was really great for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

Anxiety, autism, and ADHD all have common symptoms. A neuropsych helps rule out one or more and figure out which are at issue.

This did not happen in our case.

^ I meant, yes, anxiety, autism and ADHD all have common symptoms, but neuropsych did not help identify which one is an issue.

Exactly. The issues for an individual kid often stem from the symptoms and not the diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

OP someone had a bad neuropsych experience and has an axe to grind. They do much more than test for learning disabilities.

I’m a different poster and we spent more than a year with a good therapist thinking we were treating in anxiety when in fact, it was anxiety and ADHD only hyperactive/impulsive which is somewhat rare, and a processing speed issue that was masked. It manifested in ways that are not typical of what most of the people think of for ADHD and our child is gifted so we had no academic issues. I am telling you it’s not always straightforward. Therapy does very little for ADHD and we needed a different course of action, a.k.a. meds. if your child is complex or you think many things can be a play, do yourself a favor and bite the bullet and get a nueropysch or at least other educational testing outside of a school testing so you know what you are dealing with.

I know more stories of people fumbling around with therapy and other things like OT, etc. only to eventually get to the point where they did a neuropsych and change their entire treatment plan based upon it. For some it was DBT, specialized tutoring, and for several, it therapy in combination with meds. (We happen to have a lot of family and friends with kids who have all sorts of combinations of dyslexia, ADHD, and anxiety.)

Nobody needs a “full neuropsych” to diagnose ADHD - in fact there is no cognitive test that diagnoses ADHD. You’re just wrong about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

OP someone had a bad neuropsych experience and has an axe to grind. They do much more than test for learning disabilities.

I’m a different poster and we spent more than a year with a good therapist thinking we were treating in anxiety when in fact, it was anxiety and ADHD only hyperactive/impulsive which is somewhat rare, and a processing speed issue that was masked. It manifested in ways that are not typical of what most of the people think of for ADHD and our child is gifted so we had no academic issues. I am telling you it’s not always straightforward. Therapy does very little for ADHD and we needed a different course of action, a.k.a. meds. if your child is complex or you think many things can be a play, do yourself a favor and bite the bullet and get a nueropysch or at least other educational testing outside of a school testing so you know what you are dealing with.

I know more stories of people fumbling around with therapy and other things like OT, etc. only to eventually get to the point where they did a neuropsych and change their entire treatment plan based upon it. For some it was DBT, specialized tutoring, and for several, it therapy in combination with meds. (We happen to have a lot of family and friends with kids who have all sorts of combinations of dyslexia, ADHD, and anxiety.)

Nobody needs a “full neuropsych” to diagnose ADHD - in fact there is no cognitive test that diagnoses ADHD. You’re just wrong about this.

Oh, this is completely wrong. The processing speed and working memory portions of the WISC and WAIS are used as part of the battery of ADHD assessments. And there are other assessments included in many neuropsych batteries relevant to the diagnosis of ADHD, including the TOMAL and TOVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A neuropsych won’t get you the information you want. I would start with therapy (for you as a parent to handle difficult behaviors) and go from there.

What? OP I’d ignore this comment because it is baseless. You can spend a lot of time and money on therapy and not really get anywhere. If you don’t know what you are dealing with/have the right therapist for what you need.

Absolutely untrue. The waste of time and money is on the expensive testing that isn’t actually necessary for a diagnosis or treatment. Good therapists are absolutely able to treat without a diagnosis - and good psychologists and psychiatrists in fact are quite cognizant of the fact that the diagnostic label can be of limited value in many cases. Plus the information gained in therapy is likely much better to diagnose something like anxiety or autism than a one-day batter of cognitive tests. Many many psychiatric symptoms in kids and adults are cross-diagnostic, particularly the ones OP describes.

If OP said her kid was having learning difficulties that might be a different story but she didn’t say that.

Anxiety, autism, and ADHD all have common symptoms. A neuropsych helps rule out one or more and figure out which are at issue.

This did not happen in our case.

^ I meant, yes, anxiety, autism and ADHD all have common symptoms, but neuropsych did not help identify which one is an issue.

I'm sure that must have been frustrating. This definitely happens. Unfortunately not all neuropsychs are the same and that is why it is important to get recommendations and know what the concerns are so you go to someone who is qualified to diagnose/rule out the issue. While we didn't use her, Dr. Donna Henderson was one of the evaluators suggested for us, and I've listened to a few interviews with her. One of the things she says is that even in the high-priced practice where she worked there were evaluators who "didn't do autism". That's insane, that they would agree to evaluate a child and simply not be qualified to assess whether or not they had a condition that affects 1 in 30 kids.

I am the PP you responded to. Thank you for your reply. I think it would be super helpful if more people shared the type of information that you just posted. I know that our own lack of knowledge how to prepare for the testing and how to choose a provider played a role.

I don’t want to start a new thread, but I think the underlying question that most parents would benefit from is: what helped you get good results from your neuropsychological evaluation?

To me at seems:
- having reports from other therapists,
- have a written detailed parental feedback for the evaluator before they do the evaluation
- looping in with your school and teachers, so they can work together with you, and,
- what you seem to be saying, choosing an evaluator who is the best fit for the issues your child seems to be having.

But, I’ve learned the above hard way, after paying thousands for an evaluation that was not helpful at all. Shouldn’t evaluators explain the best way to prepare before they take your money and conduct the testing, so they can provide the most appropriate support?

It's an awful, awful system. Your experience doesn't surprise me. Unfortunately some professionals don't know what they don't know.