autism spec. dx only 1 hour??? | Autism PDD
I think an expert can recognize a kid on the spectrum in about 10 seconds. If you're just looking for a diagnosis, and this person is an expert, I would guess that an hour would be sufficient, unless your kid is a real edge case. If you want a break down of the kids strenghts and weaknesses as measured with a bunch of assessment tools and a treatment plan based on those assessments, obviously an hour is insufficient for that.Thats what this app. was supposed to be for is a full evaluation tho. I thought thats what they all do when you go there. Maybe that was just her average guess? No wonder I got in so fast
I read a thread of everyone talking about their evals and I dont think I saw any that was just one hour! This is supposed to be a specialist and I really dont want to take my son to a half a$$ doctor like we always end up getting! Altho maybe Im over- reacting???
This is the dev. ped. who I got an appointment right away with and also rescheduled and still got a fast app. Dosnt seem like he has too many patients. THe other one Im on a 7-9 month waiting list.
The reason im so worried about this one is because ive got an app. with dept. of dev. disabilities and a school eval. that need those records for services and Im afraid this doctor will rush thru everything and Im sick of things like that happening! Is this normal and am I over-reacting?
Thanks everyone.
I called the secretary back and asked if I could have a full evaluation to assess him and she said thats what the doctors going to do so ????
I have a long history/psych questionare the other dev. ped. mailed me and I copied it and am sending it in the mail to the one Im going to on wed. so maybe they can read it and save time AND get a better picture of my son.
My son is not the classic severe case so I would like as much time for the doc to go thru different things before telling me this and that AND if what he dosnt have. I dont like them to jump to conclusions that he does have something too.
I will try to find a support group in phoenix and ask about that doctor. Thanks Payne's assessments by a ped psychologist was more like 7-8 hours.
Our appointment with developmental pediatrician was about 2 1/2 or 3 hours, if I remember correctly...about 1 hour of observation, 1 hour interview with me and 30 minutes or more doing the biomed stuff (i.e. height, weight, head measurements, ears, eyes, etc., etc.)...but my son was only 2 1/2, and as fred indicated, he doesn't always exhibit the characteristics, so I guess he would be considered an "edge case"...we still didn't walk away with a dx after all that...she told us to come back in 6 months because she was reluctant to give a dx that young when it isn't a clear cut case (apparently they don't like to formally diagnose before 3?)...so, 00 later, we were right where we were before walking into her office...
Then at 3, the team of diagnosticians from the school district dx'd after an hour of observation, so who knows...they had very specific activities that they engaged him in and were expecting certain behaviors from...the developmental pediatrician more or less just had a bunch of different toys in her office, and watched how he played with them...I didn't find her approach all that scientific, or at least, not what I expected, and not like what the team from the school district did later on...but what do I know?
yeah, I would call and talk to them, find out what you can expect from the appt., what it entails...
That sounds short. My dd's was about 4 1/2 hours. I am getting a second opinion in a few weeks and cutting out the IQ portion to save money (already have the cognitive from two sources that matches up). That is going to be about 3 hours cutting that out.My dd was an iffy case though. She was dx with PDDNOS but the psychologist was making sure for awhile this just wasn't a speech/language thing.
I never saw a developmental ped, so I don't have any input on that, but for us our neuropsych evals have always been about 8 hours total.
the first 1-2 hours is me answering all the questions for all the tests about behavior etc. Then they would do about 4-5 hours of testing and observation with Mason and then the last hour would usually be a review of what they found and recommend.
Our first evaluation with dev. ped last over 3 hours and that was with me already having all the evals from speech, school, neurologists and ABA doing ABBLS...he knew she had it instantly but still needed to know what her strenths and weaknesses were..most of the eval. was me going over my list of concerns and some play with her and watching her...the followup was very short though and just told me she moved up from mild to moderate to high functioning..this was two years ago..I see him again monday and I hope it is longer and more detailed than last. Write all your concerns down and dont leave his office till you are able to give him a full picture of your son! Best of luck:)For my youngest, our appointment was about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Part of this time was just spent talking and asking questions about what she felt we should do. A diagnosis could be accomplished in an hour and 15 minutes, but I think I would feel rushed.I'm wondering if this is strictly just a diagnosis appt. or do they plan on giving you some feedback and recommendations to go with the diagnosis? They told me around at least an hour but to come 20 mins. early to get the paperwork done. I was told this guy supposed to be really good. He was recommended by Dev/ behavior Ped website and he also works at childern's hosp. I hope so
' He was also recommended by tri-careMy ds was evaluated by the school district first. That took place over 3 weeks and involved 4 different appointments and was about 5-6 hours total. Then we saw the developmental pediatrician, who had already read through what the SD had. He took almost 2 3/4 hours with ds - went over the two-hour limit. He was not sure whether to diagnose, but in the end - he gave him the diagnosis so ds could get help. SOOOO glad he did!
When you can get in somewhere really fast, it does make me wonder. For instance, the doc we saw - there was a 6 month wait for. But, we could get in to see his colleague in about a month. This colleague is actually a very famous guy - but he has gotten a reputation among PARENTS as someone who doesn't believe in any kind of autism except for kids who are severe. So, no one goes to him!
I would be a little cautious and see if you can ask around at parent support groups - even if you have to call or e-mail people who are very far away from you. I'm sure there has got to be some kind of support group in Phoenix! Call them and ask the leader to send out an e-mail asking for feedback on all the dev peds in the area. Go to the Autism Society of America website and find the state you live in. They should have lists of support groups somewhere on there.
Good luck - I think I would do a lot more checking before you make such a long trip!
[QUOTE=143hayden]O ya and I really dont see the point of the IQ test for a 4 year old unless maybe its warranted for some reason!
[/QUOTE]The IQ test really helped me see where dd's struggles lie as far as learning. The gap between her nonverbal and verbal skills was something I knew was there but seeing it in numbers and in a report with the specific areas broken down was extremely helpful for me. I can also see it being beneficial for a teacher to look at so they can gear some of their teaching methods around the child's strengths.
We have an appointment with Iowa City next Friday however, we see a social worker, devel ped (1 hour), psych (2 hours), speech therapist (1 hour). However, we are not lined up to see a peds neurologist and I was a bit concered about that so the following Friday after this long DX we are goign to see one and they told us max would be 1 hour for dx. I do not get it. If all they are going to do is use that checklist that everyone has read we could just do it our self! LOL I would keep this appointment and than still sch for the one who is at a 7-9 month waiting. At least you could get your 2nd opinion. Doctor Hymen who is supposed to be an expert in Rochester, NY. gave my daughter an autism dx in 5 minutes an hour would have been great!In my opinion, the length of time it takes to come to a conclusion about a diagnosis is not as important as what GOES ON during that time. Do some research, write out a list of questions you want definitive answers to, and make sure you fully understand what it is the school requires to provide special education/other help to your child, as they will often try to wiggle their way out of helping a person who hasn't received a complete diagnosis regarding IQ, learning disabilities, conditions like ADD and autism, etc. (They did that to me!) Know the specific information you're seeking from this dr. BEFOREHAND and don't leave until all your questions are answered. After all, it's your money and your child! And YOU'LL be the one left holding the bag when it's time to face the school, not the doctor. You have rights when going to any kind of doctor/medical professional. Many docs will try to take shortcuts or find easy solutions requiring the least effort possible, so know EXACTLY what you're looking for before you step into his/her office.The neurologist dx'd my son within 15 minutes. That was over three years
ago.
For a full evaluation with the neuropyshe (lots of tests in all areas) it takes
7-8 hours, We had to break this down to 2 days for our son and this was
just last fall. The report I received was very comprehensive and 37 pages
long. We even had an interview with the Dr. over the parents report before
we had the evaluation. My evaluation was very expensive. I needed it for a
variety of things. I look at it at least once a week to see if we are on tract.
I am about to make another appointment for the fall. This report has been a
critical in deciding the placement of my son and also in deciding what to
focus on in terms of his programming.Our Dev Ped talked with us, asked questions, spent time with Jaden doing some different activities and completed a CARS test. The whole thing took 2 1/2 hours, but we didn't have a lot of questions, etc. afterwards. We were just there to have a professional confirm what we already knew. We knew we could get IQ tests, etc later.
Raquel we are seeing Dr. Timothy Jordan on 21031 N. Cave Creek Road Ste. F4 in phoenix. Do you know if hes any good?
Thanks Leanne. The reason im so stressed is because I get the feeling that everyone here (not on the forum) is telling me PDD-NOS may not get any services unless he has a thorough evaluation. And of course I do have a diagnosis within 15 minutes from his neuro and am still in denial too. From one day to the next I cant make up my mind until something slaps me in the face which it usually does. I want him to get services for any problems he needs help with and I also want a clear diagnosis because Im still sometimes expecting and hoping to hear the first doctor was wrong all along and tell me its just sensory processing disorder or something because I know theres SOMETHING out of wack. Ive heard that they cant tell til their six or so too.
Sorry I dont want to offend anyone but this autism thing is so confusing just when I think im understanding it I get totally lost again! Im not sure if its just me or what! Thanks everyone for being patient and helping me out so much and responding to my threads cuz I know I ask the stupidest things!
O ya and I really dont see the point of the IQ test for a 4 year old unless maybe its warranted for some reason!
My son's diagnoses took about an hour. He had only had a speech eval before that which put him as severly delay, and suggested we go to a Nero and had all the behaviors ds displayed listed in the speech eval. head banging, hand flapping, repeating everything she said, etc..
For our report from his Dev. Ped, it didn't list and strength or weaknesses. Just that he had autism mod-mild and had a summery of our interview.
We go back to her in September, and I am hoping we can get a more in depth eval done then.
I am also still pushing for ds to see a nero. since 2 doctors have recommended it, but the one who can make the referall, ds's regular ped. has already said No. I am making another appt with him on Monday, and I will stay up his till he says yes, and bring both eval ds has had, strongly suggesting he had a nero eval. Eventually he will get tired of seeing me in his office every week, and we have full coverage on Dr. visits, so it is only costing us time
Should I cancell and have a neuropyche?
His neuro already diagnosed him within 15 minutes but I really wanted a confirmation as well as a thorought evaluation. I dont want to go out there for no reason or to just have the doctor do a bunch of things within a limited time frame or for no reason. Ive been driving EVERYWHERE between EEGS, MRIS and neuro app.s the past couple monthes.
Maybe I should just cancell and wait till the other doc calls me in 9 monthes and just go to another doc (neurosyche)? Ive heard the longer wait dev. ped. is very good and located in St. Josephs Hospital.
Nikki, do you have a evaluation through the school scheduled? That's the one that's going to give you what you're looking for. The dx really doesn't matter - the educators are the ones who will be providing the real help.No, dont cancel. Go and see what they say. You can call a Neuropsych later if you want to.
Ya I have one for Sept. 7th but the lady I set up the app. with told me I should bring the records for his dev. ped. app. to her so they can look at it too and the way she made it seem is that PDD-NOS dosnt usually get services so I can use all the help I can get. She also said if he dosnt qualify shell want to keep an eye on him. So I am alittle worried. The screening I went to last time was such a joke I couldnt believe it. They skipped and passed him on so many things including hearing and vision and ignored problems he had which were really obvious even to me!
Also the dept. of dev. disabilities which I have an app. with on the 13th said they want those records too along with his neuros records.
I think its because AZ so hard to get services unless your severley impaired is what I heard from DDD so thats why I wanted to make sure this app. isnt bogus.
Who are you going to go see? We are in the Phoenix area and have seen a good number of them.
Raquel
Haven't read all the posts - tired tonight. Forgive any redundancy.
FYI, my gifted NT son had an IQ test done at age 3. It took 30 minutes or less! Their attention span is so short when they are little, that IQ testing is done very quickly. Otherwise, you run the risk of their short attention span pulling the scores down. They stop answering or stop answering correctly because they're sick of it, not because they don't know the answers.
Jack was tested by a pro who works with kids of this age all the time, and she did the Woodcock-Johnson. It measures math(ishness), verbal, and scholastics. The scores were done independently and they came out extremely close in all three areas. The closeness in the scatter implies accuracy.
My point? Somehow this woman hammered it completely and seemingly pretty accurately in like no time flat.
And if by chance your son is fringing between aspergergers and pdd nos, or one of those on the cusp with NT-with-some-quirks, he is going to be hard to diagnose precisely at this age. We had the same trouble with our older son.
It is hard for parents to accept a foggy diagnosis, but sometimes they dump them into PDD NOS until they are maybe 6 and things are clearer. The goal is to get him autism-related services now, not nail the bullseye precisely.
Your broken heart of course wants to know about his prognosis (believe me, we all have been there and it can be agony). But what his neurology needs is therapy - not a precise name while he is so little.
Hugs to you!
But if your child has mild symptoms - I don't think you can diagnose in a short time, which I believe fred said as well. Our dev ped took over 2 3/4 hours with ds and ds had already been through lots of evals through the school district.
I don't know if an IQ test would be necessary. Our dev ped didn't do one and he said that they really aren't very valid until age 5 or 6. And like nakama said - it does not determine autism. I would question why the dev ped would want to do one...
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