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Please tell me about testing...

S

Spazmelda

Member
Hello everyone. I posted an introduction thread elsewhere. Instead of typing all that back out again, I'll just link to it: Possibly have kid with AS, here to poke around and explore | AspiesCentral.com

So, we are in the process of getting referrals to have my 8 year old son tested to figure out what's going on with him. Potential diagnoses are OCD, anxiety, something on the spectrum, and (not likely, but want to test for) Tourette's.

His therapist/counsellor has recommended a particular psychologist in her practice, but at a different location to do the testing. His pediatrician recommended our local children's hospital's development & behavioral department.

I have no idea how to evaluate which would be the better option. The children's hospital would have a longer wait (they told me 2-3 months). Not sure about the other psychologist, but I get the impression it would be less of a wait.

So many questions, and I'm not going in any particular order, but please give me any insight you might have...

Would going with the hospital be better, since they have a lot of specialists there, or would getting it done quicker be better?
How do the tests work? What can we expect?
Any tips for dealing with insurance? We are changing from Humana to united at the beginning of the new year. At this point we don't even really have any information about what our new insurance is going to cover.

More questions later. This is all new, and I don't even know what I don't know.
 
Usually, public hospitals are the worst choice. You come to a psychologist, say you're depressed, he says okay and 10 minutes later - you're out of the room waiting for the next session in a month. That's what I've heard.

BUT, your kid needs a diagnosis so it may be good for him. You need to know that you'll wait an additional 1 month after those 3 months.
You need to find a good psychologist because frequent meltdowns can develop suicidal behavior, anti-social disorder, BPD and similar.

Testing is usually done in only several hours, but it all depends.
Kid can expect a lot of tests (probably including an IQ test). It's only 'innocent' questions, so don't worry. I found testing to be comforting, and I'm a very tense person. Psychologist will probably want to talk to you as well. He'll ask you about his habits and 'weird' behavior. There's really nothing to be afraid of. Diagnosis can only make his life better.

Personally, I've found myself in a lot of things you wrote about your kid. He is lucky to have you as parent. :)


That's it from what I know, but I don't live in the US nor UK.
 
Thank you for your reply Balkan. He's currently seeing a counsellor every other week and sees his school counsellor about once a week or every other week as needed. He's been generally happy lately, but he was quite depressed a few months ago when he got into trouble for saying something inappropriate on the school bus. Since then, he's been in a good mood.

I think I'm leaning toward a private psych who is associated with the hospital. He's got a good website with lots of details. Since we are switching insurance around jan 2nd (due to my husband's employer deciding to change their provider), I can get absolutely no information about what portion of the testing will be covered from our new insurer. They say call back when you start your new plan, grr. I hate insurance. I think this is a particular US problem that we have.
 
my son is 5 and i am going thru the school board for testing. he's seeing a child pscy early next month it's free but may not work for you due to your child already being in school. this is a program for kids entering school in the fall. by the way how does he do in school?? i'm so scared about sending mine to school he is typical aspbergers like i said i have no diognosis yet but i am sure i just need conformation from the professionals.
 
Rogersmom, academically he does well in school. He tested gifted for math and in his latest common reading assessment he came out as advanced (everything was off the charts, except for the portion that involved interpreting fiction which came back as proficient). He usually gets all As in his 3rd grade classes. Social aspects of school are becoming problematic. He has a verbal thing where he repeats a word over and over, often coming up to kids to say it. Some kids think it's funny, but it really bothers others to the point that they are going to the counsellor to complain and ask for help, so we are trying to help him remember not to say it. He shows signs of switching to another word instead, which doesn't really solve the problem. Making friends is practically impossible for him as he doesn't really know how to interact or have a conversation. In second grade he didn't seem to notice, but it's starting to really bother him this year. So, it's a mixed bag of good and bad for him right now.

It sounds like you are more on top of things than I was. I just kept thinking he was immature and needed to grow up a little, like he would grow out of it. Maybe with you seeking a diagnosis earlier, your son will have an easier time!
 
Yeah, that is strictly US problem. :D

I advise you to tell him he's extremely gifted, A.Einstein had Asperger's (so I heard).
 
I thought id update for anyone who might be interested. My son had his evaluation today and he did indeed come out on the spectrum. This was no surprise at all to me. The doctor said it was pretty clear, not a complicated diagnosis. We discussed over diagnosis and my fears that I was making it up or inventing problems and he told me that it is true that over diagnosis does happen, but in my son's case there is no question. He said he is high functioning, and two years ago would have been diagnoses as Asperger's. He was optimistic about his future, and will prepare a report for treatment recommendations.

Thanks for all your kind words earlier. They helped me through and I appreciate them greatly. I've been lurking on this message board while we were waiting to figure things out, but will be hanging around on this board some for sure, now that we have a diagnosis.
 
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