I need to have my child evaluated for aspergers/ adhd sooner rather than later

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone recommend someone in Virginia?

Mindwell Psychology in Chantilly. Dr. Varia. She's great!
https://www.mindwell.us/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I have heard a lot about dr black and I'm sorry if this offends some, but I have often wondered if dr black has ever not diagnosed a child with some SN case. I worry that people like him may over diagnose.

I know of people who were not diagnosed with ASD by Dr. Black. But I agree with the pp that there is *something* going on with everyone who bothers to go there.

It makes no sense to pursue an evaluation and especially one that costs 4K and involves a long wait unless you think that your child needs help.

Well, on my part, I can say that there's a strong possibility that we are only dealing with environmental factors and not a "SN" ... but they freak you out so much about the value of Early Intervention that it starts to seem like irresponsible parenting not to follow up on the most minimal possibility of missing something. And "needs help" is not necessarily the same thing as "has a diagnosable developmental disorder."

that is the whole point of seeing a professional isn't it? To figure out whether it is a "diagnosable developmental disorder" or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I have heard a lot about dr black and I'm sorry if this offends some, but I have often wondered if dr black has ever not diagnosed a child with some SN case. I worry that people like him may over diagnose.

I know of people who were not diagnosed with ASD by Dr. Black. But I agree with the pp that there is *something* going on with everyone who bothers to go there.

It makes no sense to pursue an evaluation and especially one that costs 4K and involves a long wait unless you think that your child needs help.

Well, on my part, I can say that there's a strong possibility that we are only dealing with environmental factors and not a "SN" ... but they freak you out so much about the value of Early Intervention that it starts to seem like irresponsible parenting not to follow up on the most minimal possibility of missing something. And "needs help" is not necessarily the same thing as "has a diagnosable developmental disorder."

that is the whole point of seeing a professional isn't it? To figure out whether it is a "diagnosable developmental disorder" or not.

Right, but the PP's question was whether there are clinicians who just diagnose everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I have heard a lot about dr black and I'm sorry if this offends some, but I have often wondered if dr black has ever not diagnosed a child with some SN case. I worry that people like him may over diagnose.

I know of people who were not diagnosed with ASD by Dr. Black. But I agree with the pp that there is *something* going on with everyone who bothers to go there.

It makes no sense to pursue an evaluation and especially one that costs 4K and involves a long wait unless you think that your child needs help.

Well, on my part, I can say that there's a strong possibility that we are only dealing with environmental factors and not a "SN" ... but they freak you out so much about the value of Early Intervention that it starts to seem like irresponsible parenting not to follow up on the most minimal possibility of missing something. And "needs help" is not necessarily the same thing as "has a diagnosable developmental disorder."

that is the whole point of seeing a professional isn't it? To figure out whether it is a "diagnosable developmental disorder" or not.

Right, but the PP's question was whether there are clinicians who just diagnose everything.

after 6 it is not really "early" intervention, is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I have heard a lot about dr black and I'm sorry if this offends some, but I have often wondered if dr black has ever not diagnosed a child with some SN case. I worry that people like him may over diagnose.

I know of people who were not diagnosed with ASD by Dr. Black. But I agree with the pp that there is *something* going on with everyone who bothers to go there.

It makes no sense to pursue an evaluation and especially one that costs 4K and involves a long wait unless you think that your child needs help.

Well, on my part, I can say that there's a strong possibility that we are only dealing with environmental factors and not a "SN" ... but they freak you out so much about the value of Early Intervention that it starts to seem like irresponsible parenting not to follow up on the most minimal possibility of missing something. And "needs help" is not necessarily the same thing as "has a diagnosable developmental disorder."

that is the whole point of seeing a professional isn't it? To figure out whether it is a "diagnosable developmental disorder" or not.

Right, but the PP's question was whether there are clinicians who just diagnose everything.

after 6 it is not really "early" intervention, is it?

And some of us get a neuropsych not for a diagnosis because we already have one at >6 yrs old but because a neuropsych eval will give a better understanding of our child's issues and what kind of help and supports are needed to help him succeed such as in an IEP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I have heard a lot about dr black and I'm sorry if this offends some, but I have often wondered if dr black has ever not diagnosed a child with some SN case. I worry that people like him may over diagnose.

I know of people who were not diagnosed with ASD by Dr. Black. But I agree with the pp that there is *something* going on with everyone who bothers to go there.

It makes no sense to pursue an evaluation and especially one that costs 4K and involves a long wait unless you think that your child needs help.

Well, on my part, I can say that there's a strong possibility that we are only dealing with environmental factors and not a "SN" ... but they freak you out so much about the value of Early Intervention that it starts to seem like irresponsible parenting not to follow up on the most minimal possibility of missing something. And "needs help" is not necessarily the same thing as "has a diagnosable developmental disorder."

that is the whole point of seeing a professional isn't it? To figure out whether it is a "diagnosable developmental disorder" or not.

Right, but the PP's question was whether there are clinicians who just diagnose everything.

Misdiagnosis happen more with younger kids. With kids who are 6+, not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I have heard a lot about dr black and I'm sorry if this offends some, but I have often wondered if dr black has ever not diagnosed a child with some SN case. I worry that people like him may over diagnose.

I know of people who were not diagnosed with ASD by Dr. Black. But I agree with the pp that there is *something* going on with everyone who bothers to go there.

It makes no sense to pursue an evaluation and especially one that costs 4K and involves a long wait unless you think that your child needs help.

Well, on my part, I can say that there's a strong possibility that we are only dealing with environmental factors and not a "SN" ... but they freak you out so much about the value of Early Intervention that it starts to seem like irresponsible parenting not to follow up on the most minimal possibility of missing something. And "needs help" is not necessarily the same thing as "has a diagnosable developmental disorder."

that is the whole point of seeing a professional isn't it? To figure out whether it is a "diagnosable developmental disorder" or not.

Right, but the PP's question was whether there are clinicians who just diagnose everything.

after 6 it is not really "early" intervention, is it?

I don't know - the OP didn't say the age, and my DS is just 3. But I don't think there is a tremendous amount of evidence on what exactly constitutes early intervention for extremely mild/aspergers/previously PDD-NOS cases. Given that the conventional wisdom seems to be that Aspergers may not even become evident until early grade schoo, it seems like early intervention would need to have a different definition than that used for more obvious cases that are diagnosable at 2 yrs old.

[Anonymous]

Younger kids are given the "developmental delay" label for precisely this reason and the symptoms are treated. For a kid who may end up with an ASD/Asperger's label later on they will probably get interventions like OT and PT if the parents suspect anything issues at all which in most cases they won't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I have heard a lot about dr black and I'm sorry if this offends some, but I have often wondered if dr black has ever not diagnosed a child with some SN case. I worry that people like him may over diagnose.

I know of people who were not diagnosed with ASD by Dr. Black. But I agree with the pp that there is *something* going on with everyone who bothers to go there.

It makes no sense to pursue an evaluation and especially one that costs 4K and involves a long wait unless you think that your child needs help.

Well, on my part, I can say that there's a strong possibility that we are only dealing with environmental factors and not a "SN" ... but they freak you out so much about the value of Early Intervention that it starts to seem like irresponsible parenting not to follow up on the most minimal possibility of missing something. And "needs help" is not necessarily the same thing as "has a diagnosable developmental disorder."

that is the whole point of seeing a professional isn't it? To figure out whether it is a "diagnosable developmental disorder" or not.

Right, but the PP's question was whether there are clinicians who just diagnose everything.

after 6 it is not really "early" intervention, is it?

I don't know - the OP didn't say the age, and my DS is just 3. But I don't think there is a tremendous amount of evidence on what exactly constitutes early intervention for extremely mild/aspergers/previously PDD-NOS cases. Given that the conventional wisdom seems to be that Aspergers may not even become evident until early grade schoo, it seems like early intervention would need to have a different definition than that used for more obvious cases that are diagnosable at 2 yrs old.

The avg age for an Asperger's diagnosis is ~8. I don't think anyone will diagnose Asperger's at 2. Parallel play is developmentally appropriate at that age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Younger kids are given the "developmental delay" label for precisely this reason and the symptoms are treated. For a kid who may end up with an ASD/Asperger's label later on they will probably get interventions like OT and PT if the parents suspect anything issues at all which in most cases they won't.

Isn't developmental delay an educational category, not a clinical definition? And my understanding is that autism can be reliably diagnosed between 2 and 3.

[Anonymous]

Autism in its more traditional form, maybe. Asperger's, not really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Younger kids are given the "developmental delay" label for precisely this reason and the symptoms are treated. For a kid who may end up with an ASD/Asperger's label later on they will probably get interventions like OT and PT if the parents suspect anything issues at all which in most cases they won't.

Isn't developmental delay an educational category, not a clinical definition? And my understanding is that autism can be reliably diagnosed between 2 and 3.

Developmental delays is an educational category but if you have a young child in early intervention they will be provided services under "developmental delays" even if they already have an ASD diagnosis as a matter of routine especially if the child can be mainstreamed and do not need placement in a self contained autism classroom.

Asperger's/ASD is not diagnosed between 2-3. My kid met all milestones on time and we did not suspect anything until his preschool teacher noticed issues with the way he was not engaging with his classmates. He engaged with her, an adult, just fine however. Followed class room instructions without problems and has always been above grade level academically. This is a pretty common in Asperger's.

There are people with Asperger's who are not diagnosed until they are adults if ever. Asperger's is much more like ADHD in the way it is diagnosed than classic autism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Younger kids are given the "developmental delay" label for precisely this reason and the symptoms are treated. For a kid who may end up with an ASD/Asperger's label later on they will probably get interventions like OT and PT if the parents suspect anything issues at all which in most cases they won't.

Isn't developmental delay an educational category, not a clinical definition? And my understanding is that autism can be reliably diagnosed between 2 and 3.

Developmental delays is an educational category but if you have a young child in early intervention they will be provided services under "developmental delays" even if they already have an ASD diagnosis as a matter of routine especially if the child can be mainstreamed and do not need placement in a self contained autism classroom.

Asperger's/ASD is not diagnosed between 2-3. My kid met all milestones on time and we did not suspect anything until his preschool teacher noticed issues with the way he was not engaging with his classmates. He engaged with her, an adult, just fine however. Followed class room instructions without problems and has always been above grade level academically. This is a pretty common in Asperger's.

There are people with Asperger's who are not diagnosed until they are adults if ever. Asperger's is much more like ADHD in the way it is diagnosed than classic autism.

It is, more and more so. The signs are there early on. Until recently, clinicians refused to consider asd diagnosis before 3. I know several kids with mild ASD who were diagnosed before 2.

[Anonymous]

My child was diagnosed at 18 months. (At the time, diagnosis was PDD-NOS, not Aspergers.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Younger kids are given the "developmental delay" label for precisely this reason and the symptoms are treated. For a kid who may end up with an ASD/Asperger's label later on they will probably get interventions like OT and PT if the parents suspect anything issues at all which in most cases they won't.

Isn't developmental delay an educational category, not a clinical definition? And my understanding is that autism can be reliably diagnosed between 2 and 3.

Developmental delays is an educational category but if you have a young child in early intervention they will be provided services under "developmental delays" even if they already have an ASD diagnosis as a matter of routine especially if the child can be mainstreamed and do not need placement in a self contained autism classroom.

Asperger's/ASD is not diagnosed between 2-3. My kid met all milestones on time and we did not suspect anything until his preschool teacher noticed issues with the way he was not engaging with his classmates. He engaged with her, an adult, just fine however. Followed class room instructions without problems and has always been above grade level academically. This is a pretty common in Asperger's.

There are people with Asperger's who are not diagnosed until they are adults if ever. Asperger's is much more like ADHD in the way it is diagnosed than classic autism.

It is, more and more so. The signs are there early on. Until recently, clinicians refused to consider asd diagnosis before 3. I know several kids with mild ASD who were diagnosed before 2.

Did they have speech delays? While Asperger's no longer exists, when people talk about Asperger's type of ASD it is mild ASD without speech delays.