Has anyone seen Dr. Mastan, a Kaiser child psychologist? I was told she was the best they have if your older child has autism. But I don't see deep expertise. I am also concerned she/Kaiser will take us down a mental health/psychiatry road. Kaiser continues to deny us a full ASD evaluation and have stuck 2 mental health dx on my 12 year old based on 4 tests. I am not seeing that they will be able to help my daughter at all. We started this process in Oct. and I have received no services, just two denials for a full evaluation and a referral to psychology and psychiatry.

Appreciate input on anyone's experience at Kaiser and whether it is worth it to see Dr. Mastan. I am beyond frustated/exasperated with Kaiser. Thank you.

Thank you. Just for the whole board, here is the Kaiser child psychotherapist list again. Any experience with any of these related to therapy for ASD (HF teen girl preferably) would be appreciated. (I believe but may be missing someone, hard to get a complete list I'm finding). I don't see any of them with ASD in their profile and was told they all do CBT but that psychiatrist will only prescribe meds.

Child Therapists out of Burke, VA (closest to us):
1) Ann Freeman, LCSW
2) Lori Miller, LCSW
3) Harumi Sanchez-Yosa
4) Lynn Lynes, LCSW
5) Jessica Hansen, LCSW
6) Ann Cuebas, LCSW
7) Megan Fullen, LCSW
8) Dr. Sulaih Masten, PhD (psychologist)

Other Kaiser child therapists:
Evans Chenere Psychotherapy Child Largo
Felder Linda Psychotherapy Child Shady Grove
Heflin Khristine Psychotherapy Child Largo
Henderson Lisa Psychotherapy Child Largo
Lyte Nicole Psychotherapy Child Ashburn
McKinney Jacqueline Psychotherapy Child Shady Grove
Meader Briana Psychotherapy Child Columbia
Plater Lori Psychotherapy Child Largo

Kaiser Child Psychiatrists:
Chiao Christine Burke
Goraya Kamalinder Shady Grove
Hatten Katina Northwest Dc Mob
Kaur Balbinder Shady Grove
Miller Ashley Burke
Patton-Smith Asha Burke
Stokes Rene Largo
Tripuraneni Bhaskara Shady Grove
Tweedie Allison Burke

Thank you. So far places mentioned here are:

Children's (for full evaluation)
CAAT - Dr. Black for full evaluation and Christy Donly for therapy

We sure would appreciate additional input on therapists. That is our first concern. Christy Donly looks very qualified. She is a bit far for us (we are in Alexandria/Old Town). Hoping there is someone closer and would like to see someone at Kaiser, first. Surely they provide services for ASD? Believe they are legally required to and want to see one of those Kaiser therapists (who treat Autism level 1 through therapy) even if we don't have the ASD diagnosis.

Thank you, again.

Thank you for everyone's read and responses. It is hard not to be overwhelmed as we need services right now, not a legal fight with Kaiser for a proper evaluation. I sure would appreciate any input as to therapists, but within and outside Kaiser. I need to get a therapist ASAP who can help my dd and I'll start the appeal with Kaiser (which I expect will drag on for months). This is from her eval: "Re: Autism Spectrum Disorder: while there are indications of Autism Spectrum Disorder, on both the BASC3 and the ASRS, the data were not conclusive of that diagnosis. The diagnosis of Social Functioning Disorder covers the difficulties she presents." Thank you, again.

Our insurance does not cover out of network. We are limited to the list of child therapists and psychiatrists that are out Kaiser centers.
Here is the full list of therapists with Kaiser (I believe but may be missing someone, hard to get a complete list I'm finding). I don't see any of them with ASD in their profile and was told they all do CBT but that psychiatrist will only prescribe meds.

Child Therapists out of Burke, VA (closest to us):
1) Ann Freeman, LCSW
2) Lori Miller, LCSW
3) Harumi Sanchez-Yosa
4) Lynn Lynes, LCSW
5) Jessica Hansen, LCSW
6) Ann Cuebas, LCSW
7) Megan Fullen, LCSW
8) Dr. Sulaih Masten, PhD (psychologist)

Other Kaiser child therapists:
Evans Chenere Psychotherapy Child Largo
Felder Linda Psychotherapy Child Shady Grove
Heflin Khristine Psychotherapy Child Largo
Henderson Lisa Psychotherapy Child Largo
Lyte Nicole Psychotherapy Child Ashburn
McKinney Jacqueline Psychotherapy Child Shady Grove
Meader Briana Psychotherapy Child Columbia
Plater Lori Psychotherapy Child Largo

Kaiser Child Psychiatrists:
Chiao Christine Burke
Goraya Kamalinder Shady Grove
Hatten Katina Northwest Dc Mob
Kaur Balbinder Shady Grove
Miller Ashley Burke
Patton-Smith Asha Burke
Stokes Rene Largo
Tripuraneni Bhaskara Shady Grove
Tweedie Allison Burke

Thank you for your reply. I would appreciate knowing the psychiatrist and psychologist that you used. If you have experience with any Kaiser ones to avoid, that would be helpful, too.

We are not in a position to pay much out of pocket right now. That is part of the conundrum for our family. I am very appreciative of everyone's read and any help/suggestions.

Yes, we know the tests that should have been done and weren't (even the evaluator pscyhologist gave us the list of additional tests he would recommend but as I mentioned he said no insurance co would pay for them) The 2 dx given were “Social Functioning Disorder of Childhood" and the report said "her difficulties do not rise to the level of Autism Spectrum Disorder but are real and do require attention."

Other dx given is "Persistent Depressive Disorder”.

The tests done were BASC 3rd edition (daughter and I both filled out), Autism Spectrum Scale (both mom and dad completed), WISC 5th edition, WRAML2 and story making subtest and Rorschach Inkblot.

Thank you. We know Dr. Conlon as he evaluated my son several years ago. Unfortunately, he went to Krieger last summer (at John Hopkins) and Kaiser does not have a developmental pediatrician on staff right now. I initially requested to see Dr. Conlon at Krieger or a specialist at Children's for my daughter's evaluation due to Kaiser's gap (as they aren't fully staffed). They denied my request. We went to Dr. Syd Brown at Shady Grove thinking we were getting a full neuropsych evaluation. Only after the testing did I find out according to his words, he did "cognitive and personality testing". He said no insurance company would pay for more testing, including what he said was "education testing". Just to note, I didn't request education testing. I was looking for a correct dx specific to whether our daughter has Aspergers and to receive the needed services. My expressed concern with our pediatrician was that our daughter would not be dx accurately.

I'm really struggling as I can't find a therapist (Kaiser or otherwise) who is skilled at working with Girl Aspergers Tweens/Teens and I am overwhelmed at how best to deal with Kaiser. We started this process in Oct (at my daughter's 12th birthday) approaching Kaiser for an evaluation due to our concerns and middle school is only months away now. Our daughter needs a therapist so that is my first priority.

Thank you so much.

Help. We can't find a qualified CBT therapist for our 12 year old daughter who seems to be Aspergers (know it isn't called that anymore but it Autism Level 1).

Our insurance is Kaiser. Does anyone have a Kaiser therapist to recommend? Or someone that has helped their daughter?

We live in Alexandria.

We also weren't given a full neuropsych. eval from Kaiser. We requested one suspecting she has Aspergers. She was just given 2 mental health dx. The psychologist who did the evaluation said no insurance will pay for the full evaluation. Now Kaiser is only referring us to their mental health therapists and I can't find one who has experience with autism.

Thank you in advance. This has been quite complex as she is very high functioning, under the radar which I'm learning is typical for girls.

I'm just curious. Did you find this type of therapist in Alexandria? I'm looking for one for my 12 year old daughter who seems HF Autistic but not diagnosed, yet (Kaiser which is our insurance would not do a full evaluation, unfortunately.). Thank you!

I'm just curious. Did you find this type of therapist in Alexandria? I'm looking for one for my 12 year old daughter who seems HF Autistic but not diagnosed, yet (Kaiser which is our insurance would not do a full evaluation, unfortunately.). Thank you!

Our daughter is in 6th grade. She just retook the CogAT but we don't know her score, yet. She has always been considered very smart. She had high Naglieri and CogAT scores in 1st/2nd grade but not high enough. We did not refer her in the past as our neighborhood school was a good fit. However, we do believe she would do best in AAP for Middle School based on her abilities.

What should I include in her packet? Does anyone have any samples they can refer me to?

The school already knows she received 2 600s and 1 590 on her 5th grade SOLs. She is in advanced 6th grade math and at a minimum is on track for pre-alegbra in 7th grade.
She just demonstrated 9th grade English ability on the 6th grade i-ready. None of this is a surprise to us.

She has many awards from a church program called AWANA, her soccer team recently won the championship in part with her strong defensive skills, she is an avid outdoors/hiker child having hiked at many National Parks and earned numerous Jr. Ranger awards, and she has an uncanny musical ear and ability per her piano teacher.

Her teacher and our level 3 AAP teacher are supportive of us referring her. I don't know who else is on the committee and my understanding is that they are meeting this month.

Our daughter flies under the radar (a true introvert) as she can be very quiet. Our level 3 AAP teacher at our local school said our daughter needed to talk more in order to be a good candidate for level 4. She said it was a lot of group work.

Thank you for any and all input. I am really hoping I don't have to appeal the committee's decision but also am thinking she may not automatically score in with her CogAT (she thinks she got tripped up in the beginning with the timed test instructions). I