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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Thank you for asking this question, and for all the responses. We paid thousands for a diagnosis from someone recommended by our private school this spring, and ended up asking for our money back (eval report was not timely delivered). I am now trying to find ways forward to see how to help our child without feeling like we are being scammed. In our case it seemed that all the person did was administer tests, and was not actually working as a counselor to help children, and it was clear our child has a high IQ and likely (?) dyslexia and possibly (?) borderline ADHD but maybe not (never got the report) and the sense we received from the tester was it was all geared towards getting our extra time and accommodations in school. This was the third person we’ve tried to seek help from, we tried recommended nutritionist and independently a psychiatrist before the school made a suggestion. So even assuming we can find affordable testing, what are good indicators that the results are trustworthy and the administrators are looking out primarily for the child’s welfare? Do you get second opinions? See,s hard to do when it is so expensive. But the responses here have been incredibly helpful and validating the feeling that this should not be so expensive and alternatives exist…even if we have to wait.[/quote]

I'm sorry you have had bad experiences. I think you might have misaligned expectations, though, as well. Generally the psychologists who administer tests only administer tests. That's their specialty and often their whole practice is administering tests and writing reports. Their reports give the test results and generally offer a list of accommodations (such as extra time) that seem appropriate based on the test results. The psychologist has always met with us after writing the report to discuss and go over the findings. They aren't also the people who will counsel your child.

After having this done, we have taken the report to our child's regular psychiatrist and therapist and school to implement steps from there and decide which accommodations and recommendations make sense. It is that team (and us of course) who are "looking out for the child's welfare."

A nutritionist wouldn't be the right person for this, and probably not a psychiatrist either. You want a psychologist who does testing (a "neuropsych').[/quote]

Except this provider didn’t actually complete a report. But yes, I do think it’s important for parents to understand that the “neuropsych” is done one a one-off basis by a practitioner with no relationship with your child and who will not generally provide ongoing therapy. As well, many of their recommendations for therapy will be impossible to access, nonexistant, or impossible for the school to implement. It’s a LOT of money to pay just on the faith that recommendations made by someone who doesn’t actually know your kid will be executable. But if all you’re looking for is a piece of paper to get extended time on the SATs, that is likely doable.[/quote]

This wasn't our experience at all. Recommendations were definitely actionable and very helpful (extra time is not one of the recommendations). And the evaluator did a school observation, had teachers fill out rating scales, spoke extensively with us and her OT, and reviewed documents in addition to the testing so she wasn't just relying on the testing. If anything your comment highlights the importance of working with someone who will do a thorough evaluation, which takes time, and unfortunately working with insurance limits the time they can spend with your child.[/quote]

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