I'm new to the board - thanks in advance for any responses. We are trying to line up a full assessment/evaluation for our 6-year-old boy, who shows definite intellectual precocity, and has some high early DAS scores, but also has some sequencing and social-interactive weaknesses.

We are hoping to have results in hand before the start of school in late August to help us in discussions with local schools, which we know already to oppose acceleration on principle. We have been in touch with Johns Hopkins, which has a heavy backlog, and wanted to ask for referrals to testers in this part of the country that others on the board have worked with successfully.

Thank you again. I am also posting this note on the regional board.

I always offer the Hoagies' link for parent-recommended, tried-and-true testers:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/psychologists.htm

Thanks, Kriston! I am still getting a handle on the Hoagies board, which covers a lot of territory.

Sadly, Nadia Webb - the only recommended psychologist (actually I think she is a neurophysiologist) - has relocated to Louisiana. The only recommended center for Maryland (also close by) is CTY, which is the Johns Hopkins center. It's funny that there are no names in Washington, D.C.

It is odd. Sorry.

You can recommend someone to the list if you find a good tester. Carolyn is *eager* to add to this list!

In fact, I would recomend to anyone who finds a good tester, please pass on the name to Carolyn at Hoagies! I found a young tester new to our area, and she was all that I could have asked for in a tester. I (selfishly) want to keep her in business and (unselfishly) want to help other parents, so I passed her name on to Carolyn, and now my tester is on Hoagies' list.

Is traveling a possibility?

Traveling is a possibility, but cost is a constraint. The more we spend on gas and motels, the less we have for testing. I doubt we could afford to fly to, say, Denver or Minneapolis.

Oh, sure. I was just thinking that driving a couple of hours might give you better luck. Flying seems excessive to me, too.

We got a good referral from our allergist I asked him where to take DS for an educational assessment and he recommended what turned out to be an excellent clinic. We were very satisfied and brought DD there for testing the following year.

We have considered Julia Osborn in New York, who I think is a rock star, judging from the quality of her introductory articles on the DI site. But NY costs are high. Johns Hopkins has the advantage that is is recommended by, and should therefore be recognized by, our local school principle. We may end up going there in the end, even though the timing is not terrific.

Inspired by Cathy, though, we will continue checking with our local resources for new leads.

Cheers!

We had good luck with Dr. Lisa Efron at Children's National Medical Center -- plus it was covered by our insurance.