If your dd/ds had an assessment for ADHD, who did you select to do the assessment? and why?
The price ranges are very wide too. I am not sure if the price will closely correlate to the quality of the assessment?
My kid has been a great student as a freshman and sophomore in college and wants to test for adhd. (The college doesn’t have any assessment capabilities.)
If you know of any amazing websites and/or forums, please share with me.
Could you share your adhd experiences and with me. Our family doesn’t know anything about this topic.
Usually, the testing will be done by a neuropsychologist. The testing will include testing for ADHD, as well as other specific learning disabilities, and identify areas of strength and weakness. It should also include recommendations in terms of educational accommodations and how to improve current performance.
Definitely ask what the assessment will include and when you can expect to get a report (4 weeks is a pretty good turnaround. I’ve had reports take 4-5 months to get to me). Also, check with your insurance. They are much more likely to cover a report from a neuropsychologist than a “therapist” or “counselor”. My guess is that this will be out of pocket though as they are pretty strict about why they will cover assessments.
Some MDs will give a diagnosis, however, any recommendations they make will be boilerplate at that point. If you are able to get a good neuropsych it can be very informative and give much more specific recommendations.
If DD is planning on using the report for accommodations, check with the disabilities office about what they need for documentation and what they offer. We saw the gamut when we were touring schools. Everything from “What do you think you need?” to “We offer these specific accommodations and you need evidence of needing them in high school to qualify”. If she does qualify look into if they offer executive functioning coaching or a counselor she can meet with regularly.
My son had it done this year, not adhd, it was pretty much all day, I think it was around $4500 (not covered by insurance, I’ve heard it can take a year to get an appointment with someone who takes insurance, we had to wait a month to get him in). He does have accommodations and we submitted his report, also used it to submit to the tuition insurance company since he had to withdraw from college. My niece and nephew. had their neuropsychological evaluations right before starting college (and were diagnosed adhd and medicated). My 25 year old son got an unofficial adhd (no hyperactivity) by his pediatrician in 6th grade and has been medicated since then, but he never needed a 504 in HS or accommodations in college.
A Psychiatrist should be able to do this. You can look on Psychology Today for someone who specializes in ADHD. Use the pull down menu to specify Psychiatrist and not Therapist. It does not have to be done at a hospital, take that long, or cost that much, at least not in my state. You can also filter by who takes your insurance.
A Psychiatrist can and usually will prescribe meds.
If you are not looking for meds you can consult with a Psychologist. When my oldest was a kid we went to an educational Psychologist for evaluation. It took about an hour. We did not pursue an ADHD diagnosis, although there were some markers there. We did get a non-verbal learning disability diagnosis, but we never did a IEP, etc. Just mainly meant that math was not a favored subject.
Around here if you’re not in-network with insurance a regular appointment usually runs around $150. Evaluation might be a bit more.
The reason for you to undertake this seems to be because you estimate that moving forward things will get more challenging - and you anticipate she will need some accommodations. So first ask her school what they require in terms of reporting, and what they will offer to support her.
As @vwilzard aptly states, all schools require different documentation and offer different services. Your student’s college may say that a doctor’s report will suffice, they may require the full neuropsych evaluation. Go the route of what is required, hopefully it will be a less expensive one.
Neuropsychologist. Testing took 8 hours. Learned areas of strength and weakness, as well as got the diagnosis. Ten years ago it cost $3000 and was not covered by our insurance.
the neuropsychologist sound good as they can find areas of strength and weakness.
Thinking about this, I’m a bit puzzle. My kid has been able to be a great student so far. To request accommodations that will mean my kid knows what she needs. I’m assuming the assessment results will provide some idea if accommodations are necessary.
The testing sounds intense. Were you and your son happy with the assessment results of the test?
Your son withdrew from college so I’m assuming to take a break. Does he plan to return to same college or apply to another one?
We don’t know if my kid needs accommodations or not. So far, my dd has been a great student without any support. Academic will be exponentially more demanding moving forward. We were thinking about strategies she can learn to make her life more efficient. We haven’t thought about special accommodations so I’m guessing the assessment will provide some light about that.
I’m wondering if adhd how my kid has managed to do well without any special accommodations.
@Owl1 we were told repeatedly that there is no test for ADHD/ADD. There is a questionnaire for the person being evaluated and for family. A psychiatrist can do this or even a PCP. We went to a specialized ADHD clinic at a major hospital and they only did the questionnaire. We also went to a neuropsychologist for other tests and the ADHD part was the same questionnaire.
Neuropsychologists will do comprehensive evaluation of learning challenges. There are learning challenges that may resemble ADHD, meaning challenges that affect focus like issues with executive function, other things. Thorough testing can make those distinctions.
In one of my kid’s lengthy assessments with a neuropsychologist, he did test for “focus” but told us it wasn’t really valid due to the artificial circunstances (radio playing while doing tasks). The other neuropsychologists and psychiatrists just used the questionnaire,
ps if you just do the questionnaire, you potentially save money!
@compmom, thank you for the heads up. How do the providers do the questionnaire? pen and pencil ? or do the providers ask the questions in-person like an interview?
Were you and your kid happy with the results of the assessments?
Did the testing results give you any lights about whether or not your kid needed special accommodations?
A good neuropsychological evaluator will want some background information about your student, usually before the assessment is done. This will give them some direction…and also help to answer any questions you might have moving forward with this testing.
I’ve read tons of these reports, and all the good ones have included areas of concern and suggestions for accommodations to be provided.
I would try to think about the reasons why you want this done, and any questions you have. And why you think this might benefit your student.
@Owl1 and @thumper1 again in our experience a neuropsychologist was not needed for assessment or accommodations for Attention Deficit Disorder.
As I remember, the psychiatrist at the major clinic asked questions orally. For the neuropsych., who was doing a thorough assessment and tacked on the ADHD questionnaires, it was paper and pencil and given to my child and to me.
We had a letter from the psychiatrist affirming the diagnosis. Insurance covered the appointment.
Basically what I was told is there is no objective test for ADHD, only the subjective self-assessment via questionnaire. I am sure that there are neuropsych.'s out there who say they are testing for ADHD, but we saw two and both said that there are no tests for it.
ps in our public school ADHD is covered under 50 plans (medical) not special ed/IEP.
I agree that there is no “standardized test” for ADHD. But a good neuropsych will be able to evaluate how a student attacks the things they are asked to do. And will also do a thorough request for information from the family regarding why they are asking for the evaluation. Of course, a psychiatric could do the same.
This parent is concerned about potential future educational issues. Perhaps this can be addressed…and perhaps not. But in my experience, a neuropsych has a better handle on educational issues than a psychiatrist. But that is my experience, and of course YMMV.
The key thing is…find someone with experience with the age group of your student and the concerns you have.
It’s very possible that a psychiatrist can deal with your student issues, but that’s not something any of us can really recommend in this forum.
I think you have done the right thing by reaching out to your PCP. It may take time to get an appointment and that’s not unusual.
I hope something opens up for you sooner than later. Make sure you ask to be put in a list for cancellations should the provider have any.
He withdrew with some anxiety and depression issues (unfortunately brought on by a bad vape and psychotic episode). I never suspected adhd, but he wanted to be evaluated, and it pointed to depression and anxiety. But, it also showed him how very bright he is (he’s 1 of 5 and they’re all very successful). He just finished a year at a local university, deans list, is medicated with a therapist, and although he had accommodations like testing centers and late assignments, he’s never used one. It’s nice to know they are there. My niece and nephew really did well after being medicated, my niece wasn’t as stressed with school work, and my nephew (who had a 35 act 1540 sat) who had a low gpa due to not handing in assignments or caring about easy classes is going to have a better shot in college, his HS grades/habits improved senior year.
Could you explain how the academics will get so much more demanding. And how her life isn’t efficient now? You don’t have to explain this to us here, but this will help whatever Evaluator you choose to guide their assessments.
I seems to be based on my readings that adhd is kind of subjective. Not sure, if people in this field have figure out testing strategies to make it more objective.
Could you elaborate a bit more how neuropsychologist can handle educational matters better?
From the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry:
What can a neuropsychological evaluation test?
Components of a neuropsychological evaluation are determined based on the reason for referral, or need for the evaluation, as well as whether or not the child has received assessment in the recent past by another clinician. In general, a neuropsychological evaluation will typically include assessment of intellectual functioning (IQ), academic achievement, attention and executive functioning, and emotional and behavioral functioning. The evaluation may also include more in-depth assessment of visual-spatial and visual-perceptual skills, visual-motor and fine motor coordination, verbal and visual memory, aspects of language, and adaptive functioning.