Was told DC's psychoeducational assessment was basically the same as a neuropsych- feel confused

[Anonymous]

My child underwent private psychoeducational testing and afterwards, I was urged by numerous people to get a fuller neuropsych exam for a better understanding of the challenges DC's facing. I made an appt. with KKI; the gist is that the testing psychologist called me to say that basically her testing would be duplicative of the PE testing and that because we live a fair distance from KKI, she didn't think it'd be worth driving to Baltimore. In no way did she discourage us if we wanted to pursue testing with her, but said she wouldn't necessarily do much different (after I read to her the list of tests from the PE testing) other than perhaps look at potential anxiety more. I cancelled the appt. after a discussion with her and she said that perhaps a developmental pediatrician would be a better gateway.

I feel confused as to how NP testing is different than PE testing. I guess what's done is done, and I hope I did the correct thing by cancelling. I guess it's possible DC's PE testing was more comprehensive than generally done?

[Anonymous]

What else are you looking for? A psychoeducational is not as inclusive but you may have had a good evaluator who dug deeper with a concern. I think its great the tester was honest. You also don't want to do back to back testing as it will give you a false evaluation. What more are you specifically looking for?

[Anonymous]

What tests are done are supposed to depend on the reasons for concern, and also the child's age.

For example my 14 yo was given all or part of 28 different batteries/ tests; our concerns

academic problems, especially with writing and memorization
possible ADHD
possible depression
possible anxiety

There will always some overlap between psychoeducational testing and neuropsych testing -- but in my experience the neuropsych testing drilled deeper

[Anonymous]

How old is your child, what issues is s/he having and how long ago was the psycho ed testing done?

[Anonymous]

KKI can diagnose and write a deeper narrative. Also can do some other tests that psychoeducational test didn’t cover.

[Anonymous]

We were told the same thing with a 7 year old. Maybe there is more that can be done as they get older?

[Anonymous]

Really, there is no reason to not trust the psychologist on this. I think you made the correct choice, OP. Assessments are such a small part of the process. If you still need help understanding how to help your DC, get hooked up with a child psychologist for consultation/intervention.

[Anonymous]

We were told the same thing at KKI. We still pursued the testing and found it helpful. It covered some items the psycho-educational testing didn't.