lostinthewoods
New Member
Hi everyone,
I was looking for information about neuropsychologist evaluations, and I am so thankful that Google led me here. I have been sitting here, glued to my computer for 2 hours reading about other moms who are going through what I am going through. It can be so very lonely dealing with these kids with "invisible" disabilities. They are so obvious to us, and I am so tired of people telling me "he's just a boy."
So, here's my story. After struggling with infertility, we turned to IVF and I became pregnant with twins--a boy and a girl. So blessed, right? True, but it has also been a very difficult ride. My twins are now 4. My daugher is sweet, kind, deep, and very wise. My son has a sweet heart, but he is extremely difficult in almost every way. He came into the world with his eyes wide open. We thought he was just so observent. As I look back at pictures now, I can see the fear and terror in his eyes even as a newborn. My boy was born with hypotonia, so he has always had low muscle tone, a slack jaw, and some speech/articulation problems. His twin sister of course, is very capable physically. He has spent his entire life comparing himself to her and in almost every way he feels like he is terrible and it drives him crazy. The fact is, he is extremely bright. He is obsessed with numbers and letters and taught himself multiplication just before his 4th birthday. At 6 months old he really learned how to whine, and that was the start of it all. He was extremely demanding, whining constantly, wanting to be comforted, reassured. He is unbelievably rigid--if things don't go the way he has imagined, he will throw a fit. He is anxious and can't make a decision on his own--most often he asks his sister what she wants and goes with whatever she says. He doesn't know how to handle social situations and kids at school don't like him much. He blames others for his own mistakes and shortcomings by screaming at them, saying "it's your fault." He can not stay away from his sister and is physical with her over even the smallest things.
The first time I read "The Explosive Child" I cried for hours because it was my child. I was so hopeful. My husband and I went to a training with Dr. Greene. We were both totally on board. But we just couldn't make it work. My son seems developmentally unable to elaborate. Say, "I noticed you had a problem with X, what's up?" and he literally can not tell you. So, we really struggled and ended up feeling rather hopeless again.
Right now, he is in preschool and while he has amazing teachers, every day is a challenge. We just started seeing a therapist because we were told by one initial evaluation that anxiety seemed to be his biggest issue. Now his school has recommended a neuropsychologist evaluation. We do not have insurance, and while we aren't poor, it's not like we're rolling in money either. I'm just about to explore the various options locally for a NP evaluation, but does anyone have a ballpark idea of how much it costs?
As I said, I am thankful to have found this site and look forward to learning more from all of you. I feel like we have been walking in a dark forest with my boy for 4 years. We knew there would be a mountain to climb, but we had no idea how big it would be. Here we are now, at the very bottom of the mountain, and we could never have imagined just how big it is. But we are putting on our backpacks, grabbing hands, and we will climb this thing.
Peace.
I was looking for information about neuropsychologist evaluations, and I am so thankful that Google led me here. I have been sitting here, glued to my computer for 2 hours reading about other moms who are going through what I am going through. It can be so very lonely dealing with these kids with "invisible" disabilities. They are so obvious to us, and I am so tired of people telling me "he's just a boy."
So, here's my story. After struggling with infertility, we turned to IVF and I became pregnant with twins--a boy and a girl. So blessed, right? True, but it has also been a very difficult ride. My twins are now 4. My daugher is sweet, kind, deep, and very wise. My son has a sweet heart, but he is extremely difficult in almost every way. He came into the world with his eyes wide open. We thought he was just so observent. As I look back at pictures now, I can see the fear and terror in his eyes even as a newborn. My boy was born with hypotonia, so he has always had low muscle tone, a slack jaw, and some speech/articulation problems. His twin sister of course, is very capable physically. He has spent his entire life comparing himself to her and in almost every way he feels like he is terrible and it drives him crazy. The fact is, he is extremely bright. He is obsessed with numbers and letters and taught himself multiplication just before his 4th birthday. At 6 months old he really learned how to whine, and that was the start of it all. He was extremely demanding, whining constantly, wanting to be comforted, reassured. He is unbelievably rigid--if things don't go the way he has imagined, he will throw a fit. He is anxious and can't make a decision on his own--most often he asks his sister what she wants and goes with whatever she says. He doesn't know how to handle social situations and kids at school don't like him much. He blames others for his own mistakes and shortcomings by screaming at them, saying "it's your fault." He can not stay away from his sister and is physical with her over even the smallest things.
The first time I read "The Explosive Child" I cried for hours because it was my child. I was so hopeful. My husband and I went to a training with Dr. Greene. We were both totally on board. But we just couldn't make it work. My son seems developmentally unable to elaborate. Say, "I noticed you had a problem with X, what's up?" and he literally can not tell you. So, we really struggled and ended up feeling rather hopeless again.
Right now, he is in preschool and while he has amazing teachers, every day is a challenge. We just started seeing a therapist because we were told by one initial evaluation that anxiety seemed to be his biggest issue. Now his school has recommended a neuropsychologist evaluation. We do not have insurance, and while we aren't poor, it's not like we're rolling in money either. I'm just about to explore the various options locally for a NP evaluation, but does anyone have a ballpark idea of how much it costs?
As I said, I am thankful to have found this site and look forward to learning more from all of you. I feel like we have been walking in a dark forest with my boy for 4 years. We knew there would be a mountain to climb, but we had no idea how big it would be. Here we are now, at the very bottom of the mountain, and we could never have imagined just how big it is. But we are putting on our backpacks, grabbing hands, and we will climb this thing.
Peace.
