Dear folks, just wanted to post an update on our search for an evaluation for difficult child 1, N.
I spoke at length with the psychologist that N's pediatrician likes to work with. However, she does not make diagnoses on children N's age. She is also not in our insurance network.
I have inquired into what services our school district provides for evaluating kids and giving families help with parenting classes, etc., and I've been told by some teachers I know that although we have a great program for preschooler therapy in the schools, because we are in the process of applying to the gifted kindergarten, we shouldn't go through the district just now.
Finally, I've got calls in to two separate scheduling areas at our local children's hospital in the Behavioral Health dept. They offer a Friday morning clinic, where a family can have a 1hr appointment, kind of like "triage," I guess, to see where they need to go next in the system. Or, we can go straight for the thorough neurodevelopmental evaluation there. I am tempted to do the one-hour clinic appointment first, so I can learn what the hospital has available for us. They have psychologists and psychiatrists in that department, plus six highly qualified psychology interns who conduct most of the testing. Should I be concerned that the interns do the testing? These internships are some of the most sought-after in the country, but still I'm a bit nervous about that.
Of course, Monday is a holiday, so no one will call me that day. Sigh. More waiting and suffering for us all.
Any observations or recommendations you have are welcome. Am I allowed to say the name of the hospital? Is that unsafe or improper ettiquette--or both?
I spoke at length with the psychologist that N's pediatrician likes to work with. However, she does not make diagnoses on children N's age. She is also not in our insurance network.
I have inquired into what services our school district provides for evaluating kids and giving families help with parenting classes, etc., and I've been told by some teachers I know that although we have a great program for preschooler therapy in the schools, because we are in the process of applying to the gifted kindergarten, we shouldn't go through the district just now.
Finally, I've got calls in to two separate scheduling areas at our local children's hospital in the Behavioral Health dept. They offer a Friday morning clinic, where a family can have a 1hr appointment, kind of like "triage," I guess, to see where they need to go next in the system. Or, we can go straight for the thorough neurodevelopmental evaluation there. I am tempted to do the one-hour clinic appointment first, so I can learn what the hospital has available for us. They have psychologists and psychiatrists in that department, plus six highly qualified psychology interns who conduct most of the testing. Should I be concerned that the interns do the testing? These internships are some of the most sought-after in the country, but still I'm a bit nervous about that.
Of course, Monday is a holiday, so no one will call me that day. Sigh. More waiting and suffering for us all.
Any observations or recommendations you have are welcome. Am I allowed to say the name of the hospital? Is that unsafe or improper ettiquette--or both?
