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A question for the hive...
particularly those of you with educational/development training and/or experiences.
Jack (FKA Wild Thing...I'm not feeling much need for anonymity here anymore, since I see most of you on FB!) has been struggling with emotional issues and resultant behavior issues. In a nutshell, some mild-ish OCD rituals, occasional extreme anger, some depressive symptoms (which worry me mainly because I have battled severe depression since I was a kid about his age and Lars has as well, so Jack's at high risk). My main concern is that his issues seem to be escalating rather than getting better as he matures. I do NOT want to enter adolescense (sp?) without a better grip on things.
So we talk to the pediatrician and he recommends a therapist. Sign me up! I love therapy. Might not have written my first suicide note at at 7 if I"d had some therapy, but what did they know back in 1976 about child hood depressing.
We meet with Therapist alone first, and he mentions that some cognitive testing might be good. Gives him a better "road map". He meets with Jack a few times over the course of a couple of weeks. We have a parent follow up session and he recommends testing again.
I'm generally in favor of it. It's apparently extremely detailed and can pinpoint how an individual learns and areas in which they may be struggling. Lars went undiagnosed with ADD until he was about 32 and I can't begin to tell you the cargo ship of luggage he carries because of it. So, if this can help us get a handle on these issues and help Jack find a better way to deal with things, great.
Here's the kicker. He's referring us to his wife who does cognitive testing. And it's $2,000. I'll wait while you pick up your jaw.
I generally get a good vibe from the guy, and have been to enough therapists that I have some reference points. But, I'm uncomfortable with the nepotism angle.
So, what does the hive think of cognitive testing in general? And what would the hive do about this referral? Does that pricing seem outrageous? (Her format involves 3-4 separate 90-120 minute sessions with a final meeting with parents to review results). Am I getting caught up in the awful precious snowflake syndrome ("of COURSE we'll pay that much money...our precious snowflake is worth a mortgage payment"). Am I depriving my kid of something that could be long term detrimental to his mental health? (I am the opposite of dismissive about mental health!).
I'm at a loss.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by kommishoner on -
I generally support cognitive testing, just to give parents/teachers/care providers a full sense of what the kid has going on. I have no idea re: price points, though. I think just shop around in your area (talk to other parents in the district, maybe special ed coordinators, etc, who might make referrals for such things, and ask your pediatrician). If you're getting about the same price from everyone, I'd go with his wife, since they'll theoretically understand and be able to communicate about one another's results - if the price is the same, the nepotism factor wouldn't bug me. But I wouldn't pay it without shopping around. Even for my precious snowflake. ;)
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Permalink Reply by wookie on -
That cost is spot on to what I paid for ours. No idea what that is compared to your area though.
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Permalink Reply by bap2 on
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This is a full neuropsych? That cost is competitive with testing around here and the information they provide is invaluable. It is basically the keystone to any accommodations/medications/strategic planning you will be doing. I'd go for it. Maybe insurance can cover some?
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Permalink Reply by Tea on -
See if you can get part of it done in Dec. and the balance in Jan to straddle the coverage over 2 benefit periods. You can also try getting the appointments billed one to you , one to hubby and others for child to try and max out your benefit coverage.
Wether or not you chose to go to his wife I would highly recomend getting the assessment done. THere is so much information to be gained from it that might make life easier for all of you.
the price point is comparable to here too.
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Permalink Reply by ruth on -
Yep, the price is comparable to a private eval here too. In terms of shopping around, the one thing I can recommend is checking out any large universities in your area that have graduate psychology departments and see if they offer psycho-ed/cognitive testing there. We had both of our children evaluated that way (to supplement the pretty much crappy testing done by the school district) and the evaluations were thorough, spot-on (as verified later by better school district evals) and CHEAP. They're done by Ph.D students under the supervision of an experienced, licensed professor, and the reports we received were comparable to anything we've ever seen done by a private psychologist, and the maximum cost was $500 (it was a sliding scale fee).
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Permalink Reply by wookie on
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I have good benefits, and about 2/3 of mine was covered by insurance (still had to pay out of pocket originally). It did really shine a light on what was going on for that particular kid though.
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Permalink Reply by Mommy Monster on -
Unfortunately, I don't think mine will be covered by insurance at all. Sigh.
But, Ruth, I like the idea of checking out the local universities. We have some really top notch schools around here.
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Permalink Reply by MamatothaMax on -
Personally the whole referring you to his wife thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It may be by the book ethical but I would feel vulnerable or that I was putting myself in a position to be taken advantage of. But that is a gut feeling.
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