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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I knew DS had autism since he was little (no one believed me, initially). We paid a reasonable sum, in the hundreds, when he was diagnosed with ADHD by a developmental pediatrician at 6. His MCPS elementary school gave him an IEP due to extremely inattentive behaviors, inability to complete assignments on time, and write: he had group speech, a scribe/aide for writing, pull-outs to finish his work, preferential seating, repeated directions, etc. The works.

We paid Stixrud prices (thousands) for a full neuro when he was 10, because he needed updated data to qualify for MCPS' gifted and learning disabled program. ADHD was confirmed but we were told it would cost extra to explore autism. We chose not to, because he was getting everything he needed with the IEP, predicated on the ADHD. He got into the special program, which turned out great for him.

Only when he was 17 did we return to Stixrud to specifically ask for autism testing (and a reconfirmation of the ADHD), so we could request services and accommodations from colleges. His chosen college's Disability Office assigned him a single room with private bath on the strength of the autism diagnosis.

All this to say, OP, that:

A. You will need to budget money and time for repeated evaluations over the course of his childhood, because most institutions/programs require paperwork that is 4 years old or less. There are waitlists everywhere for testing and some of them can be very long. Make sure to schedule in advance.

B. You can be strategic in your diagnosis targeting, depending how you plan on using that label.

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This is not necessary. You can schedule repeated testing at places like Children’s. I was encouraged to schedule serial testing years in advance. You don’t need to pay that much for it. Although I’m sure Stixrud loves your viewpoint![/quote]

PP you replied to. You're right, but we have ADHD ourselves and scheduling years in advance is not our strong suit :-) Also, and this is important, not all neuropsych reports are created equal and we REALLY appreciated the doctor we worked with at Stixrud. The reports were extremely detailed, explained so much, and included a page in MCPS-speak of recommended accommodations that no elementary, middle or high school denied us. We had the same success for college accommodations, with the same doctor. It's not the label that opens doors; it's the way the doctor argues for accommodations that often clinches matters for institutions who need to be persuaded to provide those accommodations.

Of course I'm sure Children's and other hospital centers also have psychologists with good writing skills on staff, but they might be more pressed for time. We continued wth Stixrud because you don't change a winning team.
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If you have $20k to waste or are set on justifying an accomodation to keep up with the Jonses (eg extended time on the SAT) ok fine. But for those of us who have limited budgets and have to invest in services that our kids need (OT, therapy, tutoring) then no, we cannot pay uneccesary money. [/quote]

Please realize you are being a little hurtful here to families who have kids with serious problems. No doubt this stems from struggling with this yourself.

I am the PP. We do not have a high income. We put money into this and not fancy vacations or a big house. Our cars are 19 and 14 years old. Our kids are in public school, and YES, one needed expensive therapies, medications and one-on-one tutoring. This is a priority for us, and as I explained, after one excellent experience when DS was 10, we chose to stick with this company when he was 17. The first was 3.2K, the second was 5K. Money well spent, no education consultant needed, all IEP meetings went smoothly, no fighting. For parents like us with ADHD, we thought it was worth it.

I don't know why you assume that people who pay for private neuropsych are just doing this for frivolous reasons. They're not.
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