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    parentologyco, Smartlady60, petercgeelan, eterpstra, Valib90
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    Joined: Feb 2012
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    We used Liz Smith, and were quite happy with her. I'll PM you my email address if you have questions.

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    The Eides (on their website) now refer East Coast families to Dr. Devon MacEachron. Does anyone have experience with her that they'd be willing to share here or privately in a PM? We are on the East Coast and would consider her. Thanks!

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    A few months ago I contacted the Eides and Brock Eide wrote back recommending Dr MacEachron. I asked here and received several PM's from people who have worked with her and were very happy. My district is currently in the process of approving her for my DD's next evaluations. The only problem I see is that she is a certified School Psychologist not a neuropsychologist. With my DD's complex situation I'm not sure if that will be enough.

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    Originally Posted by Pemberley
    A few months ago I contacted the Eides and Brock Eide wrote back recommending Dr MacEachron. I asked here and received several PM's from people who have worked with her and were very happy. My district is currently in the process of approving her for my DD's next evaluations. The only problem I see is that she is a certified School Psychologist not a neuropsychologist. With my DD's complex situation I'm not sure if that will be enough.

    As a SP myself, I just have to mention that a doctoral-level SP (which Dr. MacEachron is) has nearly the same training in assessment as a NP, and more training in school-based interventions (instructional practices, behavior/classroom management, and systems work)--it's more a question of philosophy and context.

    Dealing with complex cases is less a function of the difference between a SP and NP's training, and more a function of clinical experience, as what you are really looking for is someone who has seen enough, is intelligent enough, and is a nuanced enough clinician, to interpret testing results through the lens of the whole child, and not the reverse. Especially for 2e, where the most important data often doesn't come from the composite norms.

    (I don't know her myself.)


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    Thank you Pemberly and aeh. Your responses were very helpful. I was also concerned about seeing someone who wasn't a neuropsych since we are interesting in getting a diagnosis (or ruling out) dyslexia, ADD, and dysgraphia for our PG son. We had previously been to the GDC in Colorado for IQ testing, but they were not able to provide diagnoses for 2E issues. I gave Dr. MacEachron a call and she has a lot of experience with 2E kids and her battery of tests will look in depth at these issues.

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    Pi22 when you spoke to her did she explain when/if she would recommend a neuropsych instead? We already had one neuropsych eval that was deemed "invalid" and we lost a year (not to mention $3000!) waiting to retest. aeh do you have an opinion as to when/if a neuropsych would be better?

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    Honestly, it depends on the psych you have. Some SPs can generate an eval just as good as or better than a neuropsych (some actually have post-doctoral certification as school neuropsychs, too).

    In reality, the assessment training received by doctoral-level school psychs, neuropsychs, and clinical psychs is very similar, and probably varies more by graduate training program than by specialization. Neuropsychs have a little more neuroanatomy and cognitive science in their basic science education, and an additional course that focuses on tests like the Delis-Kaplan, WCST, and pegboard--but some SPs and CPs have that course, too. Clinical psychs spend a little more time on psychopath--but again, some SPs and NPs may, as well. I've already mentioned that SPs tend to be stronger in school, systems, and behavior--but a CP or NP could choose electives in those areas during their training or later.

    I think if you are looking at an outside eval, in response to a recalcitrant district or poorly-conducted school eval, there is definitely value in going to a neuropsych, partly because of the name impact it has on the school system. On the average, neuropsychs are more likely to have certain (very expensive) instruments available, due to the kind of referral questions people bring to them, like the TOVA, IVA, or CCPT. There is no professional or ethical reason a SP or CP could not validly administer and interpret these, but their typical clientele are less likely to require them, so it's not as cost-effective to purchase them.

    A CP is the most likely of the three to have access to a Rorschach, so if that kind of perception, ego structure, and reality testing is what you're looking for, then that would be the place to go.

    SPs are more likely than the other two to seek collaborative solutions with families and school systems, and less likely to place the onus of disability on the individual child. Recommendations are more likely to consider the ecology of the school, and to be communicated in the language of school culture, thus being more readily accepted by school personnel. So if that's what you need, then take that into the decision-making process as well.

    Bottom line, you need to have a good conversation with the psych before signing on. Ask for references, what school systems they've worked with, what a sample battery of assessments would be, based on the referral question, what they would do if an unexpected result came up in the standard battery, who their audience is when they are writing recommendations, their experience with the clinical population most likely in question, how they establish rapport with whatever type of difficult-to-draw-out child you have, etc. Don't be afraid to ask detailed questions. You are representing the client (your child). And -please- allow any evaluator access to prior testing history, to avoid invalidating thousands of dollars worth of testing by re-administering something that has been given recently!


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    Aufilia-Did you find a local dr you would recommend? I'm in Edmonds and would love to find someone near by.

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    aeh - great info!


    In the past we went to Dr. John Wasserman - phd, clinical neurophyschology, Fairfax, Va.
    Very familiar with 2e and can do a full physchological+educational evaluation.
    The info he provided was solid, detailed and above all helpful; included a plan for moving forward.

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    We also used Dr. John Wasserman and had a good experience with him. He was thorough and kind.

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