neuropsychologist evaluation, what should I be aware of ... m

[sosotired]

difficult child has never been formally tested privately or by the school. He's currently on a 504 only. I'm having him privately tested over the summer, then will address the school to place him on an IEP. I know they may not consider the private testing I am having done but it's more for my piece of mind in understanding how best to help him via psychiatrist, social classes, etc.

The testing is being done by a major medical hospital in my area and will run approx. $3k, although most may be covered by my insurance (first thing they do is call the insurance and determine coverage, pre-cert, etc). I was told that after they get the insurance information, they will call me back and ask a few questions to determine what testing needs to be done. What should I take into consideration? My biggest concerns are behavioral and determining a diagnosis so we can get his medication on the right path (he is not responding well to what he's on and I'd like to no longer play russian roulette with his brain chemistry).

Any suggestions on what I should consider / ask / do / etc??

 

[helpangel]

Not sure how to answer your question so I will just mention that neither of my girls had success with Concerta or Clonidine. I'm looking at your signature and wondering who diagnosis'd mood disorder? Because if bipolar is the specific mood disorder your child has there is a good chance the Concerta is "fueling the fire" and making it much worse then it ever has to be. Angel was taking Concerta when she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital when she was 6yo and I believe the Concerta was a big contributor to the mania that caused that first admission.

I'm so glad you are getting the full testing done; yes it's expensive and time consuming but there are answers you can get from the neurology part of it that you can't get anywhere else. I don't think its pure coincidence that many first line mood stabilizers are also anti seizure medications. Anyway until someone can make a crystal ball that gives reliable answers we parents have to make do with the answers we get from EEG's & MRI's and filling out lots of questionares. I hope something here helps you know where to look for some of your answers.

 

[BusynMember]

I would just answer the questions honestly. That's what I did. And we made sure the school district listened to the private evaluation. The Dept. of Public Education in our state told us that they have to consider it and they pressured them to do it. The school really didn't do very good testing and my son was never correctly diagnosed by them.
They had to accept the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified diagnosis. in the end, even though I think that some people in the school district don't agree with it even now. I don't really care--he's getting really good help and me and hub know he's an Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) kid. That's all we care about--that they do what's right by our son and that WE know his diagnosis. is correct.
If your child has a mood disorder and hasn't been diagnosed wrong (my son was wrongly diagnosed with bipolar) then Concerta is NOT the right medication for him. That could be making him worse.