DS can get on the Eide wait list with an appointment in Oct. 2013. Since we are local, he could be in earlier if there is a cancellation. It is pricey and there is a long wait but they are experts in gifted dyslexics. We could probably get him in to see someone else earlier and pay less for the assessment. Setting the issue of cost aside, would you get an earlier appointment with a regular doctor or a later one with an expert?
I'll start by stating that I'm a huge fan of the Eides and I'd *love* to be able to have my ds evaluated by them - I think that he fits the type of child they are interested in to a tee, and that we'd get a lot of extra information from them as well as a unique viewpoint re ds' challenges based on their research. Unfortunately we're not local and although we've considered traveling to see them (I would like their opinion that much - that says a lot for me :))... we haven't for a few reasons.
Re - what should you do, living local yet having to wait. If cost isn't an issue, I don't think waiting until October 2013 is terribly long to wait for a child who will be in kindergarten in 2013 and who isn't struggling in a huge way at this point in time. OTOH, I also don't think that the Eides are the only experts out there, particularly not in an area as large (population) as the Seattle area. The Eides may be the Rolls-Royce of this type of evaluation (2e stealth dyslexic) but that doesn't mean your other choices for neuropsych evals are not great choices too. I'm not sure you need to consider another eval since your child is still really young... but fwiw, I wish (in hindsight) that I had known as early as possible about my ds' challenges, and the first thing that really helped us see what was up in a cohesive way was his first neuropsych eval. He didn't have his first eval until he was 7, but I do believe it would have helped to have the eval when he was 5 and not yet in school - he'd had ability/achievement testing already for our school district's gifted program that showed a discrepancy that is a red flag for his type of LD, so if he'd had a private neuropsych eval at that time I am guessing we would have found out info about his particular challenges which I know would have helped save a lot of heartache and struggle in his first years of elementary school (even perhaps helped in preschool).
The other thing I'd ask for input from other clients on, and consider before choosing to wait for the Eides is - how accessible are they if you have questions after the eval or if you need a one-hour follow-up appointment for questions 6 months or a year after the eval? I've valued having our ds' testing done through a neuropsych who was accessible for follow-up questions and discussions. A follow-up interview after testing/draft report is always a part of every package (at least most neuropsychs include this).. but parenting my 2e kids has been complicated, and I've found that although I may think I've covered all my questions in that follow-up parent meeting with the neuropsych, I *always* have more questions after I've had time to let that meeting sink in. Things change with 2e kids too - we left his first neuropsych eval with a great, solid game plan. One year later we had a lot of good info from that first part of his game plan and it was obvious some things worked great, others needed tweaking. A one-hour consult with the neruopscyh was really helpful at that point, and we've done that again a few times over the years. We also needed a 3-year update on the testing for our own sanity and understanding prior to ds entering middle school, and I found it helpful to be able to have that testing through the same neuropscyh who'd tested ds previously. I suppose it's sort of like finding a good pediatrician you can return to - a neuropsych eval wasn't a one-time thing for our 2e ds so I valued being able to have accessibility to return and that's one thing I'd want to feel assured about with the Eides... *if* you are only going to be able to eval one time.
One last thought re if you choose *not* to go with the Eides - there is still a ton of useful info to be gained by reading their books and following their online resources.
I'll be interested in hearing what others who've seen the Eides think - I've only heard good things about them!
Best wishes,
polarbear
