Reply to CAAT vs. Mindwell neuropsych eval

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A private pay “full neuropsych” is rarely necessary and often a waste of money that could be better spent on therapy or childcare. We got all we needed with school educational testing and testing covered by insurance. The exception could be if there was a suspected learning disability, but even then, the answer is a focused set of tests for that and not a full battery that takes 2 days and costs $7k.

If these “full neuropsychs” that they charge so much money for came bundled with say 5-10 hours of additional support to liaise with schools, advise on IEP, or provide some home-based guidance for parents (eg setting up study habits, discipline plans) then it might be a better value proposition. But places like CAAT also want you to pay $300/hr for that. [/quote]

I'm a special ed lawyer who represents families who cannot afford outside testing or neuropsychs. The quality of services that they are able to get is much worse because so much is known about their deficits. Autism and dyslexia, especially, are diagnosed later and they are much farther behind when they begin services. School testing usually includes an IQ test, achievement testing, and some sort of checklist for behavior. A private neuropsych gives much richer information and more robust recommendations.[/quote]

… and I bet you charge $500/hr for the same services someone could get from a non-lawyer advocate for $150/hr.

In my experience the school exam was all we needed for the IEP; then an insurance-covered exam later on when he aged out of the developmental disability category.

Also neuropsychologists are not actually special education experts and sometimes don’t give actionable recommendations. diagnoses yes, but the recommendations for accomodations and services are often better coming from advocates in my experience.

And of course, the fact that poorer parents cannot access diagnoses or interface with the school system does not mean that the right thing is that they need to buy an expensive neuropsych since they cannot afford that either. They presumably have insurance and can get great assessed at KKI or Children’s. As you hopefully know. [/quote]

Not the PP, but I am also a special education attorney. I always review options for testing with my clients and explain the pros and cons of school testing via outside testing.

I would be very very cautious about assuming a non lawyer advocate can provide the same expertise as an attorney. I've seen some big messes non attorney advocates created. Unfortunately, sometimes it's too late to clean things up. [/quote]

But outside testing can be done at an insurance covered practice. And if you are unhappy with the school testing you can request an independent evaluation. And of course none of this type of advice requires a JD. I am a lawyer and I strictly used an advocate who was a former teacher. She was awesome. The goal is to get an IEP not prepare to litigate. [/quote]

Insurance almost never covers academic testing, the kind you need to diagnose learning disabilities. And as I hope you know, IEPs are not binary, yes or no. I've seen a lot of bad IEPs.[/quote]

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