Neuropsychologist appt?? | ADHD Information

StacyAnn,

First.....how old is your son? 

The first thing I did before my son's neuropsych testing was pull together an extensive info packet .....prior speech evals, auditory processing evals, report cards, teacher reports, etc..... to give a chronological history of my son's case.  This is valuable data for the neuropsych to have.  If you have no prior evaluations....at least give him grade reports.

My son's testing was done when he was 7....almost 8. (He is now 13).  He was in 2nd grade when testing was done.  It took several hours over a  two day timeframe.  They did all sorts of psychoeducational testing.....plus extensive IQ testing.   My son had mild speech/language deficits plus an auditory processing deficit..... so the IQ tests they did were ones that didn't penalize for those communication problems.  For example..... he was given non-verbal IQ tests such as the TONI.  He was also given verbal IQ tests to compare the spread between verbal and non-verbal IQ. 

Back when I had my son's neuropsych testing done, we weren't able to get it covered by insurance in 2000.  It cost us about 00 and we got a 9 page report of extensive information about my son's strengths and weaknesses, plus recommendations.

We had ours done at a local teaching university hospital....the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Univeristy of Oklahoma's Health Sciences Center.   The neuropychologist who did my son's eval was Dr. James Scott.  He had about 3 PHD level graduate students who assisted with the 2 days of testing.

With this report in hand, I then went to the school system to get my son's educational plan negotiated.  My son tested in the gifted range IQ wise, so I also used the report to get him accepted into the GATE (Gifted and Talented Enrichment) program.  At the same time, I negotiated the IEP to include modifications and accomodations for his ADHD (Primary Inattentive).

Having the neuropsych input is invaluable because school districts make decisions driven by data.  The better data you have (that is unbiased), the better educational plan you can negotiate.    The neuropsych is the professional who will try to "put all the pieces" of the puzzle together for you.

Okiemom

Okiemom,  thanks for the advice....I will keep an eye on the anxiety.  It worries me so much because it kind of makes him somewhat of a misfit at school.  It kills me to see him standing outside of a group of his classmates.

Pammar, your son sounds like me!!  And my husband actually!  I hate speaking in front of people.  I'm 36 and I still get nervous and red faced!  My husband has to speak alot at work and he has kind of gotten over his anxiety.  He used to take a "speaking pill" before he had to give presentations.  He swore by them!  I tried one once and it did nothing for me.  Hmmm......I wonder where my son gets his social anxiety from!!

Thanks,  Stacey

StaceyAnn, my son was so bad as a kid, he didn't even want to stand in the chorous, in the last row, when the kids had a show for the parents . If I hadn't adopted another boy, the same age and grade, I'd never have known about any shows! He didn't tell me and tried to throw out all references to plays so he wouldn't have to go. Now he finds it hinders him at work. He literally claims he can't get the words out when he has to speak in front of a group. He's had lots of therapy, but still struggles with this. He's not really shy, but he definitely has anxiety with any sort of large group. He took meds at one time, but claims they just made him feel doped up.

Pammar,

     Thank you so much!!!  I hope they evaluate my son.....what your Dr. did sounds like exactly what we need!  I don't feel like his pediatrician, his psychiatrist, or even any of his teachers have really got to know him yet.

     After your son's testing, did they give him a diagnosis, recommend a certain medication, offer suggestions??

Thanks so much for your insight!  Stacey

Hi Okiemom! 

      Your reply was so helpful!  My son is 8.  He sounds a lot like your son at this age.  I am guessing he is primarily inattentive type ADHD.  He is a quiet kid.....never a behavior problem in class or at home.  He is very bright.  He reads books several grade levels above his and we often catch him up late lying on the floor by the bathroom light reading!  He goes to a private school and recently won first place in a spelling competition against the best spellers in his grade from 9 other schools.  Sometimes I wonder if that is part of the problem....maybe he is just bored.  But then he comes home with a spelling test where he left 4 in a row blank because he was daydreaming.  The teacher says when she calls on him he never can answer her questions because he wasn't paying attention.  He is always the last one in line, he forgets to bring home his books and homework, forgets to turn things in. 

     Socially, he has one really good friend.  Another friend of his he does great with one on one but shys away in group situations.  He seems very nervous around kids he has gone to school with since PK.  I think he might have some social anxiety issues as well.  Do they test for that??

Thanks so much for your help!

My son's neuropsyche eval at a children's hospital cost 00. Supposedly it's covered, but I'm not sure how much yet. You need to get the CPT code from the doctor and then call the insurance and ask if the CPT code is covered.

My son was 7, and the doctor did 5 hrs of testing plus a classroom observation, and interviewed me. The younger the child, the less testing they can do.

I'm not sure it was all that useful. It wasn't particularly enlightning, and I'm not convinced that it's really accurate. Some things seem flat out wrong. It may help me deal with the school though. I would suggest that you thoroughly check the background of the actual doctor, regardless of the facility that you are going to.

 

StacyAnn,

From what you've described, I'd bet your child has some area or areas of giftedness.  My son is also dx'd inattentive, plus generalized anxiety. My son is very nervous in social situations.  At age 8, I can remember how much he wanted to please everyone....the teachers, the evaluators, his speech therapist.  He would be so hard on himself when he thought he made a mistake or answered something wrong.  That is the anxiety.

My son also spends a lot of time reading about whatever topic he's interested in at the time. And its always subjects that most kids could care less about.

If you suspect your child has anxiety..........keep a close watch on it and call in a professional if needed.  My son's anxiety has been a bigger issue for him at school than his inattentive ADHD has.  My son had to start on Zoloft at age 9 due to this.  It has helped him tremendously.   Not all anxious kids will need meds though.  The problem with anxiety is that it can easily lead to depression, so keep an eye on it.

Okiemom

A neuropsych can't test for social anxiety. That's a psychiatric issue. A Neuropsych runs a lot of performance tests to see strengths and weaknesses--and what they may mean. Social anxiety is common in many disorders, but it is diagnosed mostly by what you tell the therapist. My grown son has it really badly--hates getting up in front of people to talk even at 28. He prefers not to take meds for anxiety, but there are meds that can possibly help it, although not always.

Hello!  I took everyone's advice and called a neuropsychologist to have testing done on my son.  We have been seeing a psychiatrist since February of last year and he has been on a few different medications (currently Concerta 36 mg.)  but we haven't seen much improvement yet.  Or we will see improvement for one or two weeks and then he is back to his old self.  He does not have any hyperactivity problems....just very inattentive.  His teacher has already called me once and sent a couple of emails and the year has just begun!

Anyway, when I called the neuropsychologist's office at the Children's Hospital they asked me some questions about my son and then told me that they would get the information to the Doctors and let me know if they will approve my son's case.  Is that normal??

What can I expect at his first appt?  What type of testing do they do?  How long does it take?  Does insurance usually cover it?  The only other neuropsych I could find doesn't take insurance and charges 0/hr and that includes evaluations, time to read the evaluations, follow up appt.'s, etc.  usually around 10 -12 hours.......yikes!!

Thanks so much to everyone for your help!!!  Stacey

We did have 12 hours testing, but didn't have to pay (covered). My son was tested in almost every area of function. In fact, I can't think of anything the neuropsych missed. It was very helpful. Me and hub also had to fill out 100 forms (it seemed like it). The neuropsych was more intensive and put in more thought than any professional we'd ever seen. He observed everything about my son and saw things others missed that I'd been trying to get them to see for a long time (such as how he tended to drop his eyes and not make good eye contact). He also read all of Lucas's school evals and records, but said he wanted to form his own opinion. He was great. I hope you have the same good luck, and that insurance covers it. Remember that even if it's ADHD, a pill alone will not fix everything. You need school interventions relating to the problems.