Getting Assessed:Where did you go?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-10-2005
Getting Assessed:Where did you go?
20
Mon, 09-24-2007 - 2:18pm

I'm trying to figure this out! The Dr. said start with the school and the school won't assess DS, for it is not interfering with his education. The Dr. also referred us to a local agency who is so full that they only take the mentally handicapped.

Have all of you had your child assessed? If so, where did you go? DS needs OT and I can't believe the school or medical insurance won't help with this!

Thanks

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 09-25-2007 - 12:15am

Oye. I have not heard the best things about that RC (I think it is inland Empire or some such). I am in San Diego RC area.

You may be able to just insist on a intake though if you call the main number. The folks on the phone I sometimes think get a commision on "no's". They gave me the run around with one of my kids and I just said something to the effect of I wanted to go through the intake process anyway.

I love the info on Kaiser in SD. That is helpful. Kaiser doesn't go through regional center but it is likely they were trying to get you to go that route so they don't have to fund it. Unfortunately in California it is a great big case of Pass the buck sometimes. School says it's not them it is RC, RC says it is the school and the insurance just likes to go back and forth.

I do know Kaiser down here does have an autism specialist and all that so maybe that will be helpful.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-10-2005
Tue, 09-25-2007 - 12:59am

Kaiser here in Riverside has an Autism coordinator and the only thing she did was refer me to the Inland RC. Wonder how much she gets paid for that job!

Some of my son's behaviors just don't seem normal and I can't believe no one will step up and help. It shouldn't be this difficult. It doesn't seem like anyone is on our side.

I'll check into the center in San Diego.

Thank you so much!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-27-2007
Tue, 09-25-2007 - 2:03am

I gather in the posts you are

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-28-2007
Tue, 09-25-2007 - 4:43am

Fpr Liam (7) we went to Kennedy Krieger Institute when in Md. At the time we had insurance that would actually cover a great deal (we were spoiled, had no idea how much). His dx then was adhd (he masked a lot incredibly well at that age). It was actually the schools here in Ga that finally dx him with ASD as well, but this was after he tried to leave school and run into traffic a few times;)

Now with Cian as he is mildly affected and still in preschool, we started with getting him speech through the school system, and we looked EVERYWHERE for anyone to assess him, but most dev peds here won't take any insurance. We lucked out and I found a psychologist (phd)who was able to run a whole bunch of testing on Cian. IQ scores, behavioral, asd etc. We are hoping (eye roll) that ins will at least cover the evaluation, or part of it anyway. We won't know until the psych bills them.

Basicay I just trawled through my ins co's online doctor lists, yellow pages ANWHERE I could think of,

GL

Dee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2007
Tue, 09-25-2007 - 5:03am
Even if you do have to pay out of pocket for the testing,
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 09-25-2007 - 5:23pm

HEY! I live in Vista! There are a few of us in the area.

I thought that Weidenhoff's place was in Carlsbad. Did she move? I have heard great things about her but have never been because it is private pay. If you want to go private or through insurance there are other options in this area as well but I would rather give that info out via email. You can email me through my profile.

Renee

Local resources- Children's Hospital in San Diego has an autism center as well. They are covered by most insurances. There are a couple pediatric neuro's who assess as well who are not part of the autism center. Doris Trauner is very busy but specializes in AS/ASD and epilepsy. As a matter of fact if your son had seizures before you may want to look into her. She has done alot of research on epileptic aphasia, etc. She caught my dd's seizures.

There are a lot of resources out here. Our local autism society has loads of info on their website as well.




Edited 9/25/2007 5:27 pm ET by rbear4
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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-27-2007
Wed, 09-26-2007 - 12:43am
Oops sorry it is Carlsbad. I just checked. The lady who gave me the info told me Vista for some reason. Makes me want to go there now that you have heard good things too.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-19-2007
Mon, 10-01-2007 - 9:55pm

Hi,

What a mess. First of all, IDEA requires that the school assess a child if the parent makes a written request. If it wasn't in writing, it didn't happen. After the assessment, they may conclude that he doesn't need an IEP or 504, but they have to do the assessment. If they do do the assessment and they deny him services after that, you can ask that they pay for an independent evaluation from a private psychologist. You may not, in all honesty, get a super-thorough evaluation, because the schools don't reimburse all that much, but you'll get something. Also, if you have health insurance it will pay for part of the cost of a psychological evaluation. Typically it will pay for the psychological part, but not the educational part. If you decide to hire a psychologist/neuropsychologist privately, make sure you get one that is good at dealing with PDD/AS. If s/he feels your child needs an IEP, you can submit that report to the school to counter-balance their findings. They aren't required to accept the findings, but they are required to consider them. If they reject them, you can demand that they provide you with Prior Written Notice of this (PWN). There's also a process of appeal of their findings. It varies a bit from state to state, but every state has a process (again, based on federal IDEA legislation).

How old is your son? I've never heard of a pediatrician thinking that a child is too young to diagnose. Maybe he thinks that his delays may resolve themselves, but early intervention is the most effective. Also, pediatricians (unless they are developmental pediatricians) are infamous for telling concerned parents to "give it time." They're right sometimes, but aren't always right. Again, this is a reason to find a psychologist who is used to dealing with Spectrum disorders, and with early childhood assessment. That's how they'll be able to compare your son's development with what is the typical range of normal development for his age.

The best website I've ever seen for child advocacy guidance is www.schwablearning.org. It's scheduled to close down at the end of 2007, so go there quickly and learn fast (LOL). They have tons of documents, sample letters, outlines of the law, etc. The message board is populated with people who are amazing child advocates. Check it out. Another good resource is www.wrightslaw.com (it might be .org) It will tell you all about the sped laws in your state.

Good luck, and please be sure your son gets a professional evaluation one way or the other. It's important that you know for sure what his diagnosis is, and while you may be right that he has AS you may not be. Treatment needs to stem from diagnosis. Plus, he could turn out to have more than one issue. It can be really subtle. I'm a clinical psychologist, and I evaluate lots of AS/PDD kids. It's fascinating, but complex. Don't try to go it alone.

Beth www.bethkingphd.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-10-2005
Tue, 10-02-2007 - 6:37pm

Beth,

Thank you so much for your input. The school called last week and, for some reason, they've decided to go ahead and assess DS. Apparently they said they usually don't involve the OT unless the child is in special ed, but I'm going to meet with her tomorrow and talk about DS' sypmtoms.

So, now that they've agreed to assess him, I'm even more nervous. He is just about 8 yrs old and very sharp. I don't want to hurt his self esteem by him thinking there is something wrong with him. I hope that makes sense.

How should I tell him that the school is going to talk with him? The speech therapist called and left a message that he overheard! I explained that she calls every parent in the school. At some point, I'm going to need to be delicately honest. We've spoken with him about his jumping/hand flapping and he says he doesn't like to talk about it because it's embarrassing.

I want him to feel good about himself and independent!

Thanks for the help!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-19-2007
Tue, 10-02-2007 - 6:47pm

I would suggest that you tell him that you know that he does some things, and has some reactions, that embarrass him and that he doesn't understand. Tell him that a bunch of people are going to talk to him and do some activities with him to help you and he to understand what's happening and why. That way you all can make a plan for how to help him get better control of his behavior (or whatever it is that he thinks of as a problem). I would tell him that everybody has things they're better at, and things that come harder to them. For example, he's very smart and very good at ______. However, he seems to find ______ more difficult. By doing the evaluation, you all will be able to develop really effective strategies to help him with things like _______ and ______.

He may well tell you that __________ isn't a problem, you misunderstand, or he doesn't care about it. I wouldn't argue with him, but just tell him that you understand that's how he sees it but that you want to think carefully about what would best help him--that's your job as his parent and you have to do your job.

Congratulations on getting the evaluation!

Beth www.bethkingphd.com

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