difficult child evaluation was a joke!!!!!!

We went to Vanderbilt yesterday for difficult child evaluation. I was told that he was going to be tested for I.Q., ADD, autism, speech & language. We already had the ADD diagnosis but I wanted him tested for everything.

I was told it would take about 3 hours. Ok.....to my suprise when we got there she came out and gave me autism paperwork to fill out. She told me to answer all questions and she'd bring difficult child out after testing.

Ok....I finished all paperwork and difficult child comes out about an hour later. huh? Then the doctor gave me a piece of paper telling me he needs Speech/Language evaluation. Possibly Occupational Therapist (OT).

I knew this already......wanted him to go to one of her collegues for a Developmental Pediatric Evaluation & speech therapy with their hospital.

I've taken him to their speech center before. They told me not to worry about him. It's like a 6 month waiting list too!

OH....and the results will be ready tomorrow, BUT.....they can't get me an appointment to hear the results until the end of February!!!! huh??????

So his teacher called me last night and we talked about how long the testing took....etc....

She was irritated also. We discussed what we needed to do next at school. Could the school go ahead and test him for the speech/language? He needs an IEP....She called the school psyc and called me back. She told me to send in a copy of the paper requesting speech/language from Vandy. That the school was going to go ahead and get things going.

I'm so irritated....

 

smallworld

Moderator
I would be irritated, too. Do you know what department at the hospital you contacted to do the testing? Do you know what kind of professional "tested" your difficult child? Do you know what kind of tests were performed?

If the school does the speech testing, they will only assess in terms of how his speech impacts his education. My understanding is that it's more thorough to get a private speech evaluation. But others more knowledgeable in this area will be by to give their opinions.
 
It was the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital,Center for Child Development. Dr. XXXXXXXX, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Psychologist.

My concern is by the time something is done the school year will be over. I scheduled everything the first month school started.

Then she was second guessing his peditrician.....I know that you have faith in your doctor but come see our specialists.....


I want to pull my hair out!!!!!!


Oh...and the icing on the cake was "he is such a sweet, intelligent child, I'd hate to see him fall behind because he's not getting the therapy he needs. Why hasn't he had it before?"

Oh...and I don't want to wait 2 1/2 months for my diagnosis either.....
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
You can also request to have a neuro psychiatric evaluation done via the school.

Now I don't know what type of specialist "evaled" your son, but he didn't get a neuropsychologist evaluation. Those take hours and hours to complete. been there done that Travis' took if I recall correctly 7-8 hrs. Most docs will break it up into a two day period. But Travis' had the opening and did it all at once.

I'd be fuming.

((hugs))
 
I wasn't happy. I thought that I was doing something good by getting him into the best Children's Hospital in our state. I just can't believe that I have to wait that long.

I asked difficult child what tests they did and he would say he couldn't remember and get mad. (Common with him)

But I was under the impression that his diagnosis is mostly going to be confirmed/diagnosis'd based on what they saw & what I filled out in the papers.

The booklets they gave me were for general autism (if there is such a thing....more based on communication) and Asperger's. On the Asperger's he scored high on. The other just a mild characteristics.

I don't know....I've got a call in to his doctor. We've got to get his ADD medication's upped because we were holding off until testing was done. His attention span is horrid!
 

smallworld

Moderator
Full neuropsychological testing is one of the best ways to assess for many childhood disorders, including but not limited to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). My kids have had full neuropsychologist testing, and like Lisa's son, it took many hours (between 8 and 10 hours). You need to find a neuropsychologist, which is a psychologist who has extra training in how the brain functions. Unfortunately, some neuropsychs have long waiting lists, too, although it only took us two months to get into ours.
 

klmno

Active Member
I'm going througha similar (but different) painful waiting process here too. It took 4 mos to get an evaluation by a team that included a psychiatrist and Ed spec. and I've already waited 2 mos. trying to get results. They gave me verbal feedback while there, which was consoling, but doesn't help a bit with sd and others. I've called a zillion times and I'm told the psychiatrist's evaluation has been done but the Ed spec.'s isn't. Can I go ahead and get a copy of psychiatrist's portion? Sure, they tell me- just like they always tell me what I want to hear on the phone. Then, I still get nothing in the mail and no phone call back with info or to schedule a "feedback" session.

I think this is what we have to go thru when we get these evaluations from well-known places with good reputations. I've decided to proceed with what I can and quit waiting on these results. However, I hope I still get them at some point because I think they will be more accurate and helpful then basing IEP and treatment plan on what we have now.

To summarize my suggestion- I wouldn't put everything on hold, proceed as best you can but keep trying to get the tests and results in hand that you need. Unfortunately, you'll probably find you need them in 6 mos as much, if not more, than you do now.
 
I understand your frustration well. We were on the waiting list for an evaluation for our difficult child at the Autism Center at a local well known University Center for over 1 1/2 years. We finally gave up, did some research, and found a local private neuropsychologist to do our testing. We got an appointment in two weeks, and took difficult child in to the office on 3 different dates for 12 hours of testing. I thought it was very expensive, but well worth the cost. I wish we had gone there to begin with! I plan on making the trip to the Autism Center to retrieve the 1 1/2 inch thick stack of paperwork and medical records that I sent them way back...
 
Why would the doctor want him to go for a Developmental Pediatric evaluation?
She suggested that he do that before we come back for results.....

I know that the school is going to work with me on getting him therapy. His teacher is great but there was a hold up because Vandy assured me that they were going to do the evaluation.

AAARRGGGHHH!!!!!

So....since I have to wait on Vandy for results I'm thinking about calling his pediatrician and letting him know my concerns.

Should I go ahead schedule the other tests? I'm so confused and irritated now.....
 

smallworld

Moderator
A developmental pediatrician evaluation assesses just that, development from a physical, emotional and social perspective. When my son had a developmental pediatrician evaluation, the doctor talked with us, talked with son, observed him in a school setting, looked at the testing we had at the time and wrote a 6-page report indicating observations and recommendations for interventions (including therapy, medications, school placement, etc).

A neuropsychological evaluation, on the other hand, takes anywhere from 6 to 12 hours and gives the child many tests (including IQ, achievement, psychological, motor, etc) to assess cognitive and psychological functioning. My son's neuropsychologist report is 33 pages. It's much more thorough.

Hope you can find a way to get a firmer diagnosis for your difficult child.
 
I made a few phone calls this morning. I talked to someone else and complained. GREAT NEWS.....

Now I have an appointment with the doctor for the diagnosis on the 9th of January! Woooooo......hoooooo!!!!!

And I've got a Developmental Pediatric Evaluation set up for the 30th of January.

Now....the school is supposed to be setting up testing. I've been told it will me in March. Blah.....

So I called Vandy back and now I've got to get his pediatrician. to fax over a request for testing to get this done.

That part will take awhile!
 
I know....I'm so excited I just don't know how to contain myself!

I'm thankful that I will have a diagnosis & evaluation this school year. but, I'm a little disappointed that he's not going to get the help he needs this year in school.

His teacher assured me that once we have the diagnosis she'll do everything she can to help him. (she already does...but we'll see)
 
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