Hi, Lydiasmommy!
We looked for a tester who had a lot of experience with young children. A professional will probably be able to put your child at ease and develop a good rapport... this doesn't always happen, but you may be able to get a sense of the person and whether your daughter would be likely to be comfortable when you go in for an initial consultation. I would be upfront with the tester that you are looking for an evaluation for giftedness.
Testing costs can vary quite a bit depending on where you live and how extensive the evaluation is. We paid several hundred dollars for IQ and achievement tests which were administered on separate days.
If you are trying to find out if your child would qualify for the YS program, make sure you review the list of tests which they accept. For a 5 year old, the most commonly used test would be the WPPSI-III.
If she doesn't make the cut? You always have the option of retesting in the future. Any test score is just a snapshot of your child on a particular day. It's not a number stamped on her brain at birth
Davidson offers some nice services, but there are many other resources available for gifted kids of all types and their families. This bulletin board is one of them!
Here's another good resource to get you started:
http://davincilearning.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/oh-no-my-kid-might-be-gifted-where-do-i-start/Cathy
