Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Ouch.. testing seems to be more $$ than I though.

I've been calling psychologists to see if I can get my son set up for neuropsyc testing this summer. The first person I talked with said she charges by the hour $200. The process includes an initial assessment, testing & appointment to go over the results. At least 8 hours.. so a minimum of $1600. Is this normal? I was figuring about $800 but this is at least twice that. Is this normal?

And this is on top of the fact that I am already paying for a psychologist & and a education therapist to work with my son. Both whom I've already done intake interviews and have set up a good working relationship. Saw the psychologist for a 2nd time yesterday and I really like her and she seems to connect with my son. Bit frustrated because the psychologist is qualified to do this assessment but doesn't because of logistical reasons.

I might be able to get my insurance to cover 50%, I need to call them. But what this psychologist said was that insurance doesn't usually cover anything unless there is a diagnosis. But we don't know if there is a diagnosis until we do the testing. Catch-22.

Unfortunately, it was normal even 4 years ago, when I asked about the

"cost of IQ & achievement testing"
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/82580/1.html

It depends on what's being tested. It seems like you may be looking for a potential 2E diagnosis, which would include IQ testing. Do you have an idea about what kind of 2E your child has? Or would you need broad testing?

Also, the school district should provide this service for free.

We live in the SF Bay area, and IQ testing cost only $550. We went to a highly recommended woman with a solo practice. I think the larger practices charge a lot more. You might want to look for someone who works alone.

Here's a list of people who do asssessments.

Thanks for the past thread gives me some perspective. And I live in a high rent area and I'm looking for something more complex than IQ testing. I'm going to wait and see what the cost looks like with the other psycologist I've called. And since I've been told I really want a neuropsyc eval the cost per hour isn't going to change much. Partly I didn't expect that it would take a minimum of 8 hours.

It cost us a bundle in NJ too but we went to a place that gave us paperwork and the appropriate codes to put on our health insurance claim so I believe we got about 50% back. Check before committing to see if the tester will do this.

Yes we are looking for a 2E assessment. Specifically trying to figure out if he is having processing problems like his sister or general Anxiety/mental blocks. Psychologist told me we didn't need an IQ test, although I kind of wanted one.

We are pursing this but it wouldn't happen until at least a month into the new school year. DS is 15 and I really wanted some answers before the start of the new semester. And I am not 100% sure I can convince the school to test. They think he is just being defiant and unorganized. I didn't get a lot of love out of this schools special ed program when my daughter had her IEP. But given the cost this is something I need to consider.

I would doubt practitioners in the SF Bay Area would be cheaper than here. Otherwise since we will be there in the end of July I might ask his/her name. Right now I'm going through the list from the psychologist.

Just looked at that list. Wish it was broken up in N. Cal vs. S. Cal. I am going to have to check each link. There doesn't seem to be any overlap with the list I already have. (Just figured out I'm being dumb I can use the are codes.)

I sent you a PM with the information.

ETA: Suggest you check education law regarding testing. In California, they pretty much have to test if they get a "referral," which can come from a parent. They might not like to do the testing, but they have to.

I will check. What I do know is we have to wait 8 weeks from the first meeting and show lack of progress before they will do anything. Problem is a end of year, beginning of school year isn't the best time to show that. And second, I haven't been idle.. didn't want my son to fail his freshman classes so that we could get them to do the testing.

Wow. That's awful. Talk about making things difficult.

Medical insurance will often cover if you are testing for a developmental disability.

Some counties or states have funding specifically for diagnostic testing as well. To find out, call the pediatric psych department at a hospital and ask what is available in your area...