Cannot say enough great things about the Camaratas. We've taken our son 3 times since he was 3yrs 8 mos old. The last time was early this week. Our son is almost 7 now. They have been right on the mark with their prognosis and predictions. It's not cheap ($700 per session), but it is SO worth it. They are great people and brilliant. Dr. Camarata was a late talker himself as was one of his sons. Take a good audio recorder with you to record the consulting session when they speak with you after testing your child. It is so helpful to listen to it from time to time.

Bumping this up. Just got my child's report card and confirmation that EVERYTHING the Camaratas told us about our son was correct. Thank goodness we listened to what they told us!

Anonymous wrote:Does he only see very young kids or would you recommend for an older (verbal) child (10)? His ST seems to have a good handle on his issues but another opinion is always helpful.

My son is almost 10 and we are still seeing Dr. Camarata. He provides new guidance with each visit.

Could you share his contact information? I left a vmail with an answering service number on latertalkers.org and haven't heard back. Thanks.

I just found this discussion. For what it is worth, I am a mom of an almost 5 year old boy in N. VA. We've been through the ringer over the past few years and we have been going to see outstanding developmental pediatricians at Kennedy Krieger (John Hopkins) in Baltimore. We went to go see Dr. Camarata early this year and it was amazing. The amount of information that they give you is exactly what we needed. It is so helpful to hear about their experiences with kids like my son. If a child is autistic they will tell you that he is on the spectrum. If they think the problem is language based they will tell you that as well. They are very direct and very passionate about what they do. We are thinking about scheduling another appt with them early next year. We debated for a year before we actually went and we left thinking that that was the best thing that we could do for our son and for ourselves. Hope this helps!

Does he only see very young kids or would you recommend for an older (verbal) child (10)? His ST seems to have a good handle on his issues but another opinion is always helpful.

Hi--could someone please send the number by which they reached Dr Camarata to sikhmama at gmail dot com? i've tried several times to reach him via email and his vanderbuilt number with no luck. thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Aside from the travel and incidentals, what is the cost of going there?

There are two ways to see him....one is through Vanderbilt. I'm not sure how much that is, or how long the wait is. Because the waiting was stretching into years through the university, he now also consults with the Late Talkers Foundation, and if you see him through the foundation, the appointment is $700. He's typically there for the last half of the testing, but is very generous with his time and will answer whatever questions you have. It's normally a 3 to 4 hours session in total.

Anonymous wrote:What did you include in the video? Were you asking your child questions, or what?

One year I sent in a speech session with his therapist. One year the school made a tape of my son in the resource room. The very first year we went was us at Christmas, opening gifts.

Aside from the travel and incidentals, what is the cost of going there?

What did you include in the video? Were you asking your child questions, or what?

I just got done speaking with this man about my child. He was knowledgeable and intensely passionate about his field. I contacted him out of desperation and frustration about my late-talking 2 year old. My son is not a patient of his and he was so helpful! Amazing and as a registered nurse I know the doctors that are full of it. Dr. Stephen Camarata is a true professional. Go to him....go now! I am thinking about driving from northern VA to take my child to him. I hope this helps.

9:44 here.

Yes, we send a video in advance. They can tell so much from the videos! It helps give them a running start before you get there.

I have an upcoming appointment with the Camaratas. Mary was so helpful just from our phone interview. For those who have gone: Did you send in videos of your child before your appointment?

Just met with the school for an end of the year status report. I'm so very glad we made that trip to Vanderbilt and listened to the Camaratas' advice, and not the schools recommendations. The schools had it ALL wrong!!! The amount of growth and maturity we've seen in our child has been huge the past two years. The Camaratas told us to fight for a mainstream classroom, and they were so right! The school kept pushing for an autism diagnosis and separate autism classroom for a child that instead had a severe language disorder and processing issues. What he really needed was typical peers in a language rich environment of a regular classroom.

The thing about a language disorder is you have to protect your child from all the wrong therapies and labels when they are young. As their language comes in, everything changes! The teachers themselves could not believe the changes in the past two years.