pediatric neuroligst evaluation question | Autism PDD

well, my mind is already off and running on preparing for the next phase of the diagnosis journey. So, my question now is, of course, what to expect at the pediatric neurologist evaluation. That way I could also help prepare dd. The referral already came through (from just yesterday!) so I can make the appointment tomorrow (of course who knows how long we'll have to wait to actually get it, but still).

Dd's pediatrician said they run standardized tests, etc. Like what? ST type stuff? Pointing at pics, etc. Will he also physically examine her? How else do they "test" and evalulate? Will I get to stay for all of it (she's 3). And then my famous question, if she has a severe language disorder, how will she be able to answer the questions???? I'm assuming the specialist can wade through that distinction??

THANKS!

Our experience with the ped neuro was perhaps a bit different. We were seeking answers to why our autistic daughter (not then diagnosed as such) was having these terrible behaviors (screaming, hitting, biting, etc).

His 'method' was historical. He listened as we described our child's history and drew on that. He never really examined her other than to see her there.

He ordered an EEG on her brain to check for seizure activity (there was none) and told us to get a test done for "Prader-Wiley Syndrome" (that's a whole 'nuther story)

He also suggested a Behavioral Therapist who ended up being a Godsend to our family.

So, be prepared to answer questions about her behavior and habits and Good Luck!

lynnmom2kelly

I would doubt a pediatric neurologist would do any standardized testing (they simply wouldn't have the time to do so), unless they have someone working for them that does the testing, or they may refer you to someone for testing. I have taken my severely autistic son (his twin brother is the one that reminds me of your daughter) to 4 pediatric neurologists. They ask history questions and ask questions about behavior. They may do bloodwork, they may suggest an MRI of the brain, and/or an EEG. They may do a neurological exam, (they should but 2 of the ones my son saw didn't even do that).

http://www.pedneuro.com/services.shtml

What Happens During a Neurological Consultation

The first component of your child's neurologic consultation is a complete neurological evaluation.

During this evaluation, a complete history will be taken followed by a neurological examination. Following are the details of the history and examination.

The complete history includes:

Chief complaint or present illness
Developmental history
1. Gross and fine motor skills
2. Language
Social/personal history
Past medical history
Family history

The neurological examination includes:

Mental status exam
Cranial nerve examination I through XII
Examination of the motor system including reflexes
Test of coordination including reflexes
Sensory examination including primary and cortical
A review of test results from the hospital and/or school
A discussion of findings and recommendations with the parent

If indicated by the initial neurological examination, one of the following testing procedures will be performed on a follow up visit:

Assessment of aphasia, including speech and language, with interpretation
Developmental testing including motor, language, social adaptive and/or cognitive with interpretation
Neurobehavioral status exam including thinking, reason, judgement, knowledge, attention, memory and visual
Administration and medical interpretation of developmental tests.

The tests are used to determine the appropriate placement needs of your child, proper patient management, and individual educational and medication decisions.

We were just at the ped neurologist for my son's appointment
today. ( My son is 2). We had to book this appointment two
months in advance because this doctor is so busy. The doctor
spent a lot of time taking the family history and asking about all
the therapies and at home treatments we had been using. He
just did a general exam and checked our son's reflexes, his
grasping skills, visual tracking, and gross motor skills. The
actual physical exam was less than 5 minutes. He has
scheduled us for an EEG next week. Not really looking forward
to having to give our son medication to sedate him, but ya gotta
do what is necessary to find out what's going on in his little
brain. If anything questionable comes out of the EEG, then he
will be scheduled for an MRI. He also has to go through a
mess of blood tests. The doctor said not to be alarmed by how
much blood the lab tech takes. Not really looking forward to
watching them try to extract the blood from my son either. If
everything comes back negative, then we have to wait three
months and then go back to see the doctor one more time to
finally officially get some sort of diagnosis. Not sure why they
put that three month delay in there. Hope this helps you get
some sort of idea of what to expect. Good luck!

Thanks for the Info Gabu!

Heres another link for what to expect from a (LD) evaluation maybe it will help too http://www.fetaweb.com/help/eval.expect.meyer.htm

My DD just went for her first visit.

He asked tons of questions about what behavior she does that concerns us, her birth history. Also her early months what was she like. Our family background.

All this was done with him observing her playing in the background. He gave her some blocks early on to play with. He tried to get her to copy him building but after several attempts he gave up. LOL guess building blocks is even on HER terms. He felt she is on the spectrum so we go back for an appt. with the psychologist that will do the actual testing, pictures, playing with her etc.

I almost forgot he did take us in a room and watched her climb up stairs and tried to get her to jump. Not sure why but he did. We did blood work too which was not as bad as I expected. If you have it done in the same building they are usually very good working with children.

And yes we stayed with her the whole time except when she kept escaping and running down the hall. He tried to catch her once and they were in the hall and she went into the noodle leg, floor angel stance. Quite funny actually.

He did a physical but it only lasted about 10 minutes tops.