What did you pay for Dyslexia testing? And what did you "get" for it?

[Shari]

I have my ds scheduled for dyslexia testing. The person I found to do the testing is a student who needs a 'test subject' to finish her graduate work in special ed. (All her findings will be reviewed and approved by a supervisor at the dyslexia research center.) She made sure to tell me that her report (30 pages +) will not qualify my child for special ed (not that we need that) but would get him an IEP or 504 at a school. It is, in other words, a 'real' diagnosis.

The cost is several hundred dollars, but still cheaper than the other educational psychologists I called in the area. She mentioned having to buy her own testing supplies so I suspect the $$ is going primarily for that. I am not sure what to do. What was your purpose in testing for dyslexia? Where did you go? What did you pay? And what did you "get" for your money?

TIA

[EKS]

Aside from understanding my child better, which is extremely important to me, getting testing accommodations has been the primary reason for getting an accurate diagnosis. The evaluation where we finally got the dyslexia diagnosis cost $2500 but that was a special case. But before we got accurate diagnoses with this evaluation, we had spent several thousand dollars on other evaluations that just revealed pieces of the problem. We recently did another evaluation at a cost of $1500 specifically to get our ducks in a row for College Board accommodations. Over 6 years, we've spent probably close to $10,000 on evaluations.

For this reason, I think it's really important to find a tester who is likely to "get" your child the first time. I personally would not pay several hundred dollars to someone who has never done this type of testing before as it is as much of an art as a science.

[iwka]

:lurk5:

[cathmom]

We paid $600 to a tester that we found through the Barton website.

[lisasaysto]

Our testing cost $300 total. It included a screening, about 4-5 hours of testing and a two-hour consultation to review the results. The report is about 30 pages and includes a full description of the tests and the results, a formal diagnosis, curriculum recommendations and a list of accommodations Daniel will need if we ever have to put together a 504 plan.

[Shari]

Thanks for the responses. I canceled our appointment. In speaking with the Barton representatives, I learned that homeschoolers were not eligible for "free" testing (that the newbie was charging us $600 for). Turns out they need the 'paper trail' that a traditional school student would have accumulated by this point. Very angry, frustrated, disappointed.. Now I'm back to square one.

Someone PLEASE tell me .... how do I get my child tested for dyslexia!!????!!

[Dobela]

My son has not been tested yet. We did do the psychological testing that showed tendancies, and I am waiting for the written report there. We just hired a tutor thru the ALTAread.org website that is a MEd in reading and has been tutoring long enough to know which people in our area will actually do the testing, and that actually have experience doing the testing. In a few weeks we will be looking/considering which one to go to.

Have you spoken to your pediatrician and asked for a referral there?