Testing:
Brooklyn Learning Center
Dr. Todd Corelli
http://www.healthgrades.com/provider/todd-corelli-2jc9j/appointment - I used this doctor with Violet while she was at the Wilderness Program. He travels all over the country administering NPs to kids of all ages and needs and he created BY FAR the most thorough, professional, well done report I have ever had on Vi. I was floored by how granular and amazing this one was. Huge, glowing referral – not the most expensive either.
NYU Child Study Center
http://www.aboutourkids.org - but I think this group tends to medicate super easily.
Dr. Lori Catania
http://njneurodevelopmental.com/about-us.html - Super great lady, helped me get some covered by insurance – did Violet's first one.
THE NEUROPSYCH -
Now I have always been a pretty lax mom. I was criticized heavily when Violet was disruptive. In walks the Neuropsychologist and BAM! The results point clearly to her brain functioning differently. She had a stew of diagnoses – many of which made the other ones harder to manage. My husband and I looked at it and just felt so empathetic. Her brain must be such a tough place to live in – a brain riddled with mis-wiring and chaos. You wouldn’t discipline harder for dyslexia. You can’t punish out processing issues. OF COURSE, all the things I could do worked the complete opposite way of my own brain – structure, routine, reliability, clear boundaries – HUH??? I’mmmm melllllting, I’m melting. Unfortunately, I was so overwhelmed by the chaos that was running amok on the outside, I was not able to do a great job with these without major help. But there is no way to explain how awesome it is to have this kind of insight into your child and the way they work. It makes it SO CLEAR that so many things were just not her choice. And then you can react out of feeling FOR her instead of angry with her.
The testing runs anywhere from $2500-$10,000 and is approximately 10 hours of testing broken up into fragments of time that your kid can tolerate. They are the most amazing brain mapping you could ever have. I wish I could get them for all of my children, totally fascinating. You can only hope to have some covered by insurance if who you are hiring is associated with a hospital or practice that takes insurance and even then, it’s difficult. You can have a state dept evaluation, but it is NOT comparable to the Neuropsych, those are more for OT, speech and other physical therapies.
I have 3 friends who have used this group and had great experiences…