Dr. Daisy Pascualvaca -- assessment experience

[Anonymous]

We've been waiting for what feels like forever for a neuropsych exam by Dr. Daisy for our child. The appointment is finally almost here, but we just got a message that Dr. Daisy has been unexpectedly called out of town over the time period of my child's multiple-day evaluation.

I wanted to ask those of you who had evaluations by Dr. Daisy how important you felt she was to the process and to the evaluation? I believe that other staff in her office will do the evaluation in her absence, but I'll check with them in the morning.

Honestly, I'm pretty upset about this but trying to be reasonable. Things have really gotten rough around here lately, and we need this evaluation really soon to meet our IEP timeline, so I really don't want to cancel/reschedule, but I'm also not thrilled. We've waited so long for Dr. Daisy due to her reputation of teasing out complicated issues only to find out that she won't even be involved in the evaluation.....Her experience at NIH was also part of the reason we picked her. If we reschedule we probably won't have anything in the timeframe that we need it.

So, how important was Dr. Daisy to your child's evaluation/analysis of the results?
What was your experience with others in her office?
Any other insights would also be welcome.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been waiting for what feels like forever for a neuropsych exam by Dr. Daisy for our child. The appointment is finally almost here, but we just got a message that Dr. Daisy has been unexpectedly called out of town over the time period of my child's multiple-day evaluation.

I wanted to ask those of you who had evaluations by Dr. Daisy how important you felt she was to the process and to the evaluation? I believe that other staff in her office will do the evaluation in her absence, but I'll check with them in the morning.

Honestly, I'm pretty upset about this but trying to be reasonable. Things have really gotten rough around here lately, and we need this evaluation really soon to meet our IEP timeline, so I really don't want to cancel/reschedule, but I'm also not thrilled. We've waited so long for Dr. Daisy due to her reputation of teasing out complicated issues only to find out that she won't even be involved in the evaluation.....Her experience at NIH was also part of the reason we picked her. If we reschedule we probably won't have anything in the timeframe that we need it.

So, how important was Dr. Daisy to your child's evaluation/analysis of the results?
What was your experience with others in her office?
Any other insights would also be welcome.

Thanks.

Hi OP - We almost went with Dr. Daisy when we were having our DS evaluated. She came very highly recommended and has an impeccable reputation. Only reason we didn't go with her was that we needed an eval sooner than she was able to provide one, otherwise we would have definitely gone with her.

It sounds to me like whatever took Dr. D out of town was very likely out of her control, possibly family illness?

As for whether or not she is an important part of the evaluation - YES! I wouldn't even consider it otherwise. Especially because it seems that your child is having a full neuropsych evaluation as you said you would be there over a period of days. So while Dr. D does have a great team, that team is incomplete without her. She provides valuable insight and does the final evaluation, write up and diagnosis (at least that's what the protocol was when we were talking with her). Plus you are paying to have your child evaluated by Dr. D., so you should at least expect that.

Also, what other options do you have currently? If you decide to go with a different doctor or practice, you will likely have to wait a long time to see that psych. Are you able to wait or is this an "urgent" situation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've been waiting for what feels like forever for a neuropsych exam by Dr. Daisy for our child. The appointment is finally almost here, but we just got a message that Dr. Daisy has been unexpectedly called out of town over the time period of my child's multiple-day evaluation.

I wanted to ask those of you who had evaluations by Dr. Daisy how important you felt she was to the process and to the evaluation? I believe that other staff in her office will do the evaluation in her absence, but I'll check with them in the morning.

Honestly, I'm pretty upset about this but trying to be reasonable. Things have really gotten rough around here lately, and we need this evaluation really soon to meet our IEP timeline, so I really don't want to cancel/reschedule, but I'm also not thrilled. We've waited so long for Dr. Daisy due to her reputation of teasing out complicated issues only to find out that she won't even be involved in the evaluation.....Her experience at NIH was also part of the reason we picked her. If we reschedule we probably won't have anything in the timeframe that we need it.

So, how important was Dr. Daisy to your child's evaluation/analysis of the results?
What was your experience with others in her office?
Any other insights would also be welcome.

Thanks.

Hi OP - We almost went with Dr. Daisy when we were having our DS evaluated. She came very highly recommended and has an impeccable reputation. Only reason we didn't go with her was that we needed an eval sooner than she was able to provide one, otherwise we would have definitely gone with her.

It sounds to me like whatever took Dr. D out of town was very likely out of her control, possibly family illness?

As for whether or not she is an important part of the evaluation - YES! I wouldn't even consider it otherwise. Especially because it seems that your child is having a full neuropsych evaluation as you said you would be there over a period of days. So while Dr. D does have a great team, that team is incomplete without her. She provides valuable insight and does the final evaluation, write up and diagnosis (at least that's what the protocol was when we were talking with her). Plus you are paying to have your child evaluated by Dr. D., so you should at least expect that.

Also, what other options do you have currently? If you decide to go with a different doctor or practice, you will likely have to wait a long time to see that psych. Are you able to wait or is this an "urgent" situation?

Sorry, missed the part where you wrote that you were up against an IEP timeline. Why does the school have your back up against the wall?

[Anonymous]

If you decide to go with someone else Paula Elitov can probably see you quickly.

[Anonymous]

I was very impressed with Dr D and her entire team. Worth the wait! However, I think she is key to the process and the final evaluation. Given the time and money you are investing in the evaluation, I would want her there. Call in the morning. They are all so professional that I feel they will work with you to find a way to accommodate the situation given your deadline, her unexpected need to be out, etc. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

NP here - we had a very good experience with Dr. D when our DS was evaluated (actually for the 3rd time) for ADHD. His prior testing was flawed. We did the three days. The results came back as we expected - no ADHD, but some anxiety issues. Of all the testers we used, I would recommend only her. There are a lot of people in this business (testing) who rush it or don't know what they are doing or take forever in the write-up period. She was the most thorough.