Frequently Asked Questions
Additional information about testing
What is neuropsychological or neurodevelopmental assessment? Why would my child need this?
A neuropsychological assessment provides a comprehensive understanding of your child’s functioning in many domains, including cognitive, academic, attention, executive functioning, memory, and social-emotional. Each testing battery includes core tests to gain an understanding of your child’s unique learning profile and then includes an individualized, targeted battery of tests to answer questions about your child’s strengths and challenges. The results of this testing provide invaluable recommendations about how your child learns and functions best. It may also result in a diagnosis, such as ADHD, learning disorder, autism spectrum disorder or anxiety (among many others).
Neurodevelopmental testing refers to looking closely at a young child’s developmental profile, including early cognitive, language, play, social and motor functioning. This also includes adaptive measures for parents to fill out. These kinds of evaluations are sought by families who worry about an aspect of their young child’s development, particularly with regards to developmental delays or autism. As with neuropsychological testing, this type of testing can provide important information about early intervention needs for you child as well as diagnostic clarity in order to best tailor interventions to your child’s unique needs.
Why might your child need this kind of assessment? Many parents come to me with concerns including: My child is so smart when he applies himself, but when he’s not interested he seems to just check out or her teacher said that her reading is fine, she’s just a little slow to pick it up, but she’s been so fast to pick up everything else or he gets so upset when things don’t go his way and he just can’t talk to me about it. If your child has struggled with attention, learning, anxiety, or developing friendships and you’re just not sure what’s getting in their way, a more targeted evaluation may be useful. I’m more than happy to discuss your unique situation to help you sort out whether comprehensive testing is right for your child. I work in schools, at Boston Children’s Hospital and in private practice, so I can offer insight into the variety of options (school, insurance, private pay) that might be available for you.
All right, I think my child needs an evaluation. What now?
First, call me and we will discuss your concerns and whether comprehensive testing is right for your child. If testing is the next step and I am the right fit for your family, we will schedule an initial session. I have office hours on select weekends (Saturday and Sunday), as well as Monday and Friday. Typically, I have more availability during the week while weekends book about 1-2 months in advance. There are ebbs and flows to referrals, so feel free to call or email to inquire about availability. Often end of summer/beginning of the school year is busiest. We will schedule 1-2 sessions based on your child’s preference and my recommendations. Often middle school and younger will come in for two sessions while high school or older can complete testing in one long day. Overall, you can expect to spend 6-8 hours in face to face testing sessions. I will write a report within 2-4 weeks and we will meet to discuss results. I also can meet with your child’s school team or complete a classroom observation if that feels helpful. I am available for follow up questions as needed. For older children (middle school or above), I also write a letter to them outlining, in developmentally appropriate terms, the results of the testing. With regards to payment, I ask for 50% at our first meeting and 50% at the feedback session. I accept all major credit cards (including most HSA cards), checks and cash.
Why don’t you accept insurance?
I wish I could! The short answer is that insurance does not allow me to offer the services that I offer in private practice. As you may well know from discussing whether neuropsychological testing is covered by your insurance, insurance companies are quite erratic in their coverage and denials are common. It is impossible to run an independent practice that completes the type of tailored and comprehensive evaluations that I do and to accept insurance. That said, I know privately paying for testing is a luxury that not all families have. I am more than happy to discuss your options with you and will never push paying for something that is outside your budget. I complete insurance based evaluations at Boston Children’s Hospital and can talk to you about the pros and cons of the different settings. In private practice, I can schedule at a time that is convenient to your family, I can complete as many measures as needed and I can really explore learning profiles. If you have more questions, please reach out!
How do I choose the right person to work with my child?
There are a variety of factors that go into choosing the right psychologist to work with you, your child and your family. You should make sure to “shop around” to find the right fit. Ask friends, schools and colleagues for recommendations. The first contact is important, as you will get a feel for how the psychologist will engage with you and your family. Make sure to ask about qualifications, credentials and experience. Ask them if they have any areas of special expertise. There are many disorders that require specialized training and assessment tools, so if you are worried about a particular diagnosis, make sure to ask about that psychologists ability to complete those types of evaluations. You should also ensure that the psychologist is experienced in working with someone your child’s age. I have had extensive training working with infants and toddlers as well as school age children, adolescents and young adults. Not everyone has trained with all those age ranges. Make sure to ask what the testing experience will be like for your child and what is included. How many sessions will there be? How much follow up is there? How long is the wait list? How long will it take to receive the written report? If the school wants a consultation, is that an additional fee? Sometimes places that accept insurance have additional fees that they charge for services that are outside insurance reimbursement, so it is important to be clear what fees you will be responsible for at the outset. I do not accept insurance, but you can be confident that my fee covers assessment sessions (typically 1-2 sessions) as well as feedback, written report, school consultation and school meetings. I always say that testing is only as good as the recommendations and follow through, so I am available to support implementing recommendations for as long as you need! It is also important to reiterate that you need to feel a connection with the psychologist and know that they will truly get to know your child.
Do you specialize in any particular area of testing?
Yes and no. I have received intensive training in many areas, which allows me to say that I am both a generalist and a specialist. I began my training working with school aged children and adolescents in high achieving private schools. I focused on ADHD and learning challenges within these high functioning communities. While completing this training, I also completed comprehensive social-emotional evaluations for children with severe behavioral and emotional disabilities. I received specialized training in developmental disorders (Autism, Intellectual Disabilities, ADHD, learning challenges) at the Developmental Medicine Center in Boston Children’s Hospital. I focused on Autism Spectrum Disorder evaluations and working with infants and toddlers during this time. I still complete these evaluations through the ASK program at Boston Children’s Hospital. I work closely with a local school for gifted children, and so have developed expertise in the unique needs that gifted children have with regards to their learning and their social-emotional development. I have many areas of specialization, which allows me to see a broad range of children and families in my practice.