Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Please reassure me I am not wasting my money

So we are finally having dd8 tested with a reputable and very expensive psych from the Hoagies list. I have been contemplating it for 5 years. But...dd has appeared less gifted than I previously thought, and I doubt her teachers would think spending the time and $ is warranted. If I don't do it I will always wonder if we are missing something. But it is really a huge amount of money--and I just realized an additional $800 for the report? WTH! I am sure this is in line but ugh. We only spent $500 total for older dd. I am familiar with what giftedness looks like, older dd is HG (not bio sister to younger dd) and had a successful skip. I will feel really stupid if we spend a ton of money and find out a FSIQ of 120, no LDs, and it was completely unenlightening. Someone help me feel better, please.

You will feel better because you will have an answer, so yes, it is a good idea.

I am relatively new to all of this but I would have never imagined one of my DD as being PG. It was because of behaviour issues in the classroom that we had her tested. We have paid out of pocket and it is a lot of money but knowing for sure will help you ensure that she is getting her needs met (if there is any question of such).

It makes sense to spend the money -- but the costs you mention do seem very high (we spent less than 800 for testing including a full report). I know it varies by geography, though. Are there any other testing options?

I agree with JonLaw. You've had questions and concerns for five years. If you find out that your DD is twice exceptional then can get to work on remediation. If not, you can stop worrying about it.

We only had one of our three kids formally tested. For us, the key question was if the testing showed what we suspected, would we do anything different. For us, the testing did show that our kid is twice exceptional.

It does sound expensive, but it is a one time thing and if the Psychologist got a good "clean" test it should be a one time expense.

I had a lot of second thoughts about testing our DS when he was in his 3s (am I wasting my money? Of course he's not gifted - he seems so average etc). The money I spent on testing was some of the best money I have ever spent. I am so glad we did it - the information we got helped us so much.

Thank you all so much for the feedback. I think it is clear it is the right thing to do whatever the results. I appreciate you sharing your experiences!

I'll share from the other side--I have two free testing reports from the district that got us what we "needed" (gifted programming) but are laughably short and lack detail. I always am amazed by what others here have and know. I literally have one page, and I never spoke to either psychologist in person. Again, I have what I need and I don't think they're really far off the mark, but jeez, it's a bit sad. (One of my kids may be 2E, but not in a way you would really see on an IQ test)

Is the testing just for giftedness or also a possible disability? I was told that getting an educational eval can cost $4k or more.

DD's WISC IV cost $300 and that included the report, and a few recommedations for the school to manage her ADHD (but no actual ADHD testing).

So I had the parent mtg. today and she was incredibly thorough. My other dd is the kind of kid who tried her best even just meeting the psych immediately before testing--with this one I think it is worth the money so I will have more faith in the results to have dd meet her tomorrow before testing on Thursday so that she is more comfortable. And, she has lots of experience with gifted kids and 2e (the one I am wondering about is ADHD, although...who knows--she is a puzzle). Whatever happens I think I will have a lot of information about dd's strengths and weaknesses.