Once, we had to get a prescription from the GP to obtain insurance coverage of the testing. Our current BCBS does not require that.
It usually depends on the diagnosis codes. My son’s is always covered except for our $20 co-pay but he has a well known diagnosis.
Sbjdorlo, if you can tie the testing to a medical issue (and your son has some), then insurance will cover it. Our neuropsych. helped us tie testing for our daughter to a collapsed lung at birth, which was a stretch, but she implied in her write-up to insurance that a few moments of less than optimal oxygen at birth may have caused some problems. Even blood sugars might be used: some kids don’t function well at either end of the blood sugar spectrum, as you well know, but you could also say years of highs and lows may have affected functioning.
For the person who mentioned diabetes above, we parents certainly do expect our kids to manage their diabetes independently. The new technologies present some boundary issues for parents in terms of how exactly to be involved. Mostly, we serve as back up alarms, and that is it, unless the kid wants to talk about issues.
As I mentioned in post #34, there are many variables that go into whether or not any particular insurance carrier will cover testing, and if so, how much they will cover. Even if 2 people have the same insurance carrier, what one employer’s coverage includes may differ than what employer 2 purchased in their coverage plan. And personal plan coverage may differ as well. then there are differences in coverage for PPO vs POS vs HMO plans. Some carriers, like, IIRC, Cigna and Aetna, have very specific verbiage for what criteria they require to justify coverage. And some insurance carriers will do audits after the fact and review a report, only to decide they shouldn’t have paid, and require a repayment from the provider (which the carrier can get in several ways).
What they cover for different procedure and diagnosis codes often differs, and yes, whether the evaluation can legitimately fall under the medical benefit can be helpful, as long as the patient’s history supports the diagnosis used (the claims dept usually goes by the diagnosis and procedure codes to determine payment). As long as it’s legit, fine. Bu insurers are getting better at catching the claims of deviated septums to cover a nose job.
Very helpful thread. My D16 has a significant split between processing speed and intelligence. She receives extra time for tests but refused to ask for extra time accommodations on SAT. Predictably, she didn’t finish the math section either time she took it, but even so, did quite well. My S19 also has slow processing speed. They both have severe anxiety, and D also has ADHD (inattentive) and is on the autism spectrum.
We just had a meeting with the person who runs the College Support Program for kids on the spectrum at Rutgers University. They do provide case management, and help the students interface with other services at the university including, but not limited to disability services, the counseling center, and the learning center. They will even help the students talk to their professors if necessary. It seems like a great program, but requires a big time commitment by the student, which I’m not sure can be accommodated in my daughter’s demanding schedule. It was also interesting to me that all the kids in the program are actually local–my D would be the only one coming from a distance. It is a fee-based program, and unfortunately, we don’t have money for the fee. The total extra cost of the program approaches the amount of the merit scholarship she received. Apparently, one parent was able to get a NJ state rehabilitation program to pay for her child’s participation. Not sure if that could work if you are resident in one state but the child attends school in another.
She has also participated in a program for college-bound students for kids with social and executive function problems called Next Step, which is in the Boston area. Many of the kids are on the spectrum, but the diagnosis is not required for participation.
We had thought that she would take a gap year to help her mature, but now that she has been accepted for several competitive programs in her very specific major, we are not so sure how open they would be to her deferring.
I agree with the poster above: it is ironic that kids whose disabilities are in the organization and executive function realm must be organized and forward thinking enough to get their accommodations in place on their own and before they need them.
Another irony we have noticed: the disability services office often participates in college services fairs. I don’t know about your kids, but mine has sensory issues, and is not at all able to have an intelligent conversation about her disabilities with someone in a loud hall full of hundreds of other students. I have been scolded several times about how she needs to be the one requesting services when I have approached the disability table and she was cowering in the corner because of the noise.
Has anyone had their child enroll at Landmark College, either for summer program, a semester or more? We are dealing with a 21 year old who resists utilizing accommodations despite slow processing and executive function issues. Diagnosed w ADHD many years ago. Doesn’t always take his meds. College is becoming more difficult for him and he needs to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Trying to figure out if he should step back and try to restructure HOW he learns/studies. And I completely agree with those who have expressed how difficult it is that they are expected to self advocate when that is precisely their area of weakness. Seems a time when parents should be allowed to be part of the solution and support team.
@grandscheme, if you look back to my post #45, I know a young person who has found success at Landmark after several bad college experiences. So much, in fact, that the student stayed a semester longer to take extra courses to qualify for a particular graduate program in the area of professional interest at a university elsewhere. Prior to attending Landmark, it was apparently unthinkable that this student would actually volunteer for more school.
Thank you @Consolation. It helps to hear from someone with first hand knowledge. Sounds like it could be a good match for my kid.
@supergirlsmom I cant find information on the Next Step program you referenced. There are dozens of programs with that same name coming up in my Google search. Can you provide any other information to help me find it?
Thanks.
Hello everyone I’m a high school graduate and a slow processor, high school was tough even with the help I was getting in special e.d it was hard for me to keep up in class and understand different subjects but my teacher did understand me and of course helped me and let me stay in lunch time even after school to catch up and understand it better. I want to find a good career for myself I really love music and helping people any tips where I’m capable of doing with my disability? Thanks sure will help alot!
Hi @“Dude_itsmanny@”, that’s a great question, and I don’t have an answer. My son still struggles (but with a lot more than slow processing). He’s a musician part time, and he’s waffled on whether or not he should pursue it as a professional. I think he could do that with slow processing because he’s played for so many years.
One thing you could do is maybe go to your local community college and talk to their career/counseling center. I remember they had free tests to help students think about what they wanted to do for a major/career. Might be worth checking into.
Interesting thread. We just had our 15 year old son tested for ADHD. The psychologist feels that because he did so well on the WMI portion, he doesn’t have ADHD. He tested extremely high on everything but two portions, VSI, which was high average, and PSI(processing speed) which was average(70%). She said while it still falls in the average range, it is very low for him compared to everything else. He has trouble reading, finishing tests etc that is becoming an issue now that he is in high school. She diagnosed him with anxiety disorder and mild OCD and thinks this is hindering his processing speeds. According to her, we can get accommodations for him to get more time on tests. I feel weird about this since his score still falls in the normal range, but it is hindering him and I’m afraid it will really cause issues with ACT and SAT tests. We are going to start therapy in hopes to teach him some coping mechanisms, but I am just afraid I guess to get the school involved, I hate to think of a diagnosis following him, and my husband isn’t exactly supportive. I guess I’m just looking for some empathy and advice.
One of both my son’s best teachers was a guy who had struggled with dyslexia growing up. He was really good with kids who needed a more flexible approach, including the gifted kids in his class.
There isn’t really any test for ADHD. A testing situation is one on one in a quiet room away from distractions. The questionnaire many testers use is more useful I think.
He can get accommodations on the SAT and ACT, like extra time and/or extra breaks, or a test in a separate room. Ditto at college. If you want him to have these accommodations, it is smart to start them at high school since that helps get them on the standardized tests and at college. He might need an IEP but more likely a 504 Plan. Ask the tester.
A psychiatrist or family doctor can administer the questionnaire and talk to you and your son and determine the likelihood of ADHD. It can cause issues with reading. Meds sometimes really do help.
Dude, one of my kids is a slow processor and has issues with reading and scanning. She works and takes two classes per semester, one at a time. She also likes online classes because they are done at your own pace and offer privacy.
Have you checked into the music forum here on CC? It is great that you love music. Perhaps that could be a path for you.
Check out Columbia College Chicago for starters.
I also agree with the wise comment about going in to meet with someone at your community college.
Good luck!
My daughter has several LDs that cause her to work slowly (although not officially diagnosed with slow processing). After trying to take a full course load at a 4-year college, she transferred to a community college and is taking 3 classes a semester, some online. That has helped a lot.
Have you looked at music technician/sound engineer programs that just need a certificate with 1-2 semesters of education? If you like helping people, you might want to look into programs to certify as various kinds of medical assistants. Our community college offers a lot of courses in those fields.
Good luck to you and let us know how things are going.
I haven’t read all of the prior responses. I have two sons with low processing speeds. Both are dyslexic and dyscalculic. One had a processing speed of 6%ile and the other was 8th. By contrast, their reading comprehension untimed was in the 98th+ %ile.
The younger is a freshman in college now. He has accommodations of extra time for tests, class notes and preferential seating (he has visual issues as well). He is withdrawing from a class in law because he can’t keep up with the reading. Therefore, for next semester, he is also going to ask for books on tape or audio books so he can listen in his free time. He thinks this will help.
Sorry, long post. This is a great thread. I am a few years out still for college, but I have been dealing with learning issues since my son was in 1st grade. Sadly, the school tested him and like most school testing - who average the results and find children to be “average”- denied him an IEP. He does seem pretty normal, and I am grateful that his problems seem to be limited to “sensory” issues, which caused anxiety and increased reaction to emotional stimuli. He is growing out of some of this as he is going through puberty. But averaging the results of psychological testing masks specific problems that appear in the subtests.
Prior to school testing and IEP denial, I’d had him in Neuronet therapy for auditory processing problems, pragmatic language training to learn to interact with his peers, vision therapy to address his slow eye hand issues - he would copy one letter at a time from the board, and I’d retained him in first grade. The system is set up for linear sequential learners, so if your child is visual spatial learner, they are often at a disadvantage. It wasn’t until his third grade teacher that had a child with dyslexia, and recognized that he indeed had some sort of undiagnosed learning disability, decided to go to bat for him, that we made progress. By this time, he was plagued with migraines and It took two years, plus private testing, psychologist, neurologist, to finally get something the school would accept and issue a 504. His processing was 7th percentile. Oddly, processing speed and poor working memory usually go hand in hand, but in my son’s case, his working memory was compensating.
So fast forward to 8th grade. We’ve been through additional therapy in explicit phonics training and visualizer verbalizer training to address the damage done when schools encourage a visual spatial learner to “creatively spell,” which I truly believe imprints bad spelling on the mind. He will never spell well, so thank goodness for spell check. He also had a tutor for many years that came to our home to work with him and he worked with an OT to sort out problems with his gestalt - which is how the body works together, again, this is a sensory problem.
Thankfully, he seems to be growing out of the migraines, and he is an A-B student for the most part now on his own, without the tutor. He does not test well, and he does not like people to know he’s different, so he doesn’t use his accommodations much at school. He still will occasionally have a mental melt down that requires him to be removed from all interactions with other kids until he can regroup. He is extremely sensitive to criticisms from his peers.
One thing I will point out, at least here, an IEP is covered under exceptional education, so the school gets resources from the central office to work with those children. A 504 must be implemented fully by the school with no additional resources, so the schools tend to resist them. I was also told that an IEP cannot follow them to college, so a 504 was the better choice, since it’s federal. I would guess that some of the posters here have engaged with colleges that wanted to help.
With this sort of diagnosis, he is required to be re-evaluated every three years. Obviously, I can’t trust the school to do it, so I am back to private testing. I’m pretty sure he would like to be done with it, but I can see the work getting harder and him being unable to cope. I also know that typically he wouldn’t be able to get ACT/SAT accommodations if he doesn’t already have them. So we are in process. The insurance approved the initial testing, but I think the Dr. characterized it as ADD testing, which he said is typically covered. He said the psych testing after may not be.
Sadly, the best place to go, and also the hardest to find, is a developmental pediatrician. We waited for a year for an appointment with the only one here in town several years ago. Sadly, that Dr. left town and the facility that did our testing a few years ago, won’t take him since he’s over 5 and has been out of their care for more than 3 years. We were referred by our pediatrician and are seeing a psychologist. I think that since we have history with the school, they will likely take that and whatever our pediatrician sends over to recertify him. Fingers crossed.
My fear is of course high school that comes next year. My kids have been lucky to attend a school that actually implements a hands on curriculum associated with museums (yes, same school that I criticized above for their focus on whole word reading rather than phonics - no school is perfect). So the learning goes hand in hand with real world interactions. This is top notch for a visual spatial learner. I am looking at some potential schools that can continue this kind of project based learning. A regular high school for him terrifies me. I’ll be following to see how all of you progress through the system, and I am happy to answer questions either here or pm about any of the therapies.