Is CAAT (David Black's group) worth the extra money?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

Our pediatrician thinks DS, who is 9, has ASD. We are in need of a neuropsych evaluation for him, in MoCo or DC.

From what I gather reading previous ASD threads, CAAT has a great reputation but is guaranteed to be an out-of-network provider for our health insurance (BCBS).

Is it worth it to pony up the additional cash for CAAT, or will DS be ok getting his evaluation and eventual services at Children's?

In case it makes a difference, DS is very smart and articulate, and is not currently having any academic or behavioral problems. He has loads of anxiety and some sensory issues, though, both of which are affecting his quality of life. I assume he will need extended treatment, and our family is not wealthy.

Thanks for your feedback!

[Anonymous]

No personal experience with Black, but you are right that this is a long, expensive journey. If you kid is not in crisis, I would go through Childrens. We had an excellent experience with neuropsych there. (Services will be harder to obtain through Childrens, so you may need to pay out of pocket for that.)

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP's advice. I have noticed that providers' reputations seem to come and go. For a while someone will be really hot in a particular specialty--"the" provider to see for that service--and that provider will become hard to get in with and expensive and then people will buy in to the word on the street and some will come away resentful that they sacrificed in time or money to see that person. For testing there are so many people. Do your own research, make calls and see if you can talk to people.

[Anonymous]

We got reimbursed about 50% when we saw Black.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you'll be fine going to Children's and KK...ask to get on cancellation lists.

Separately try to line up counseling and OT for the anxiety and sensory. You can get going on that before the eval.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

We are huge fans of Dr Black and think he’s especially good at teasing out complex issues. Moreover, our special education instructor said his report was the most informative and helpful one she’d read (and I know she’s seen many from Children’s).

But he has a long waiting list. Plus he’s expensive.

[Anonymous]

We are not fans of Dr. Black. Totally unimpressed. His PhD assistants do all the evaluations.He comes in at the end to help deliver the news with no real insight.

[Anonymous]

You'll be fine going through Children's. Dr. Black is definitely NOT worth the extra money.

Yes, he does pawn off evaluations on underlings. He's smart but smug.

[Anonymous]

Not not not worth any money. Avoid.

[Anonymous]

We went to Dr Ulanet at CAAT. She is worth the money. Totally invested in helping your child get the testing they need and then following through with making sure the iep and placement reflect what your child needs.

[Anonymous]

We are big fans of Dr. Black and our DS was evaluated by him in second grade. We are going back for another eval in preparation for middle school at 10 yo and in 5th grade.

DS has ASD/ADHD, very smart, does very well at school fully mainstreamed, no behavioral issues, has friends - popular and never bullied, and a happy kid: Most of the credit goes to our school and Dr. Black - DS is very well supported by his IEP which has all of Dr. Black's recommendations from the neuropsych eval.

In the past, we've used a very well known and respected developmental pediatrician and a very well known educational consultant plus other therapists and I will say that Dr. Black was and is the best money we ever spent for any provider for our DS. Definitely worth the money in our son's case.

That said, if we were not using Dr. Black we would go to Children's and use either Lauren Kenworthy or Laura Anthony for a neuropsych eval. They are both here:

https://childrensnational.org/research-and-education/center-for-neuroscience-research/research-areas/autism-spectrum-disorders

Looks like Dr. Anthony may have left.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you so much for these helpful responses.

As it turns out, both Children's and CAAT are currently scheduling at least one year out. Children's told me at might take as long as two years (!) before they can evaluate my DS.

Any recommendations for a practice that doesn't typically have such a long wait?

[Anonymous]

We opted to wait nearly two years for an eval with Dr. Black after a quick consultation with him on the phone...he was that great on that phone.
In the meantime, we had a consultation with him to get some ideas to address some challenges with our son and that was really helpful.
I just wanted to through that out as a stop gap if you decided to wait to see him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you so much for these helpful responses.

As it turns out, both Children's and CAAT are currently scheduling at least one year out. Children's told me at might take as long as two years (!) before they can evaluate my DS.

Any recommendations for a practice that doesn't typically have such a long wait?

Stixrud was able to take us in a few weeks and is a well regarded practice.

[Anonymous]

Mindwell in Virginia is also well-regarded.