My 3 younger boys are on the waiting list at the nearest university for testing.

[Renee in FL]

The waitlist is a YEAR!

Too bad I didn't know about this place, well, a year ago!:lol: They do all the testing for $60, which is why the waiting list is so long.

I talked to the head of the clinic by accident (called the wrong number) and he was incredibly helpful! He told me to make sure to get an *opthomology" evaluation for each of them - not an optometrist, not a developmental optomotrist, but the actual M.D. It's a requirement for their clinic because some problems with eyes cannot be fixed by regular glasses (and are not determined through the regular eye exam.)

We had an interesting conversation about visual perception issues and dyslexia. I told him about my 9yo flipping the book he was reading upside down to see if he could read it easier - he thought that was pretty funny.:D

So, a year from now, we will start the process (which takes 2-3 months total.)

He did say that the school psychologist could give us a basic evaluation and tell us if he is eligible for services (which he isn't, because he is homeschooled.) We may do that, but my contacts with our local school were very negative and that is what keeps me from doing it.

[cathmom]

A year! Wow!

Glad they are on the waitlist though!

[RamonaQ]

We had an interesting conversation about visual perception issues and dyslexia. I told him about my 9yo flipping the book he was reading upside down to see if he could read it easier - he thought that was pretty funny.:D
.

I am interested to hear some of this conversation, if you care to share because I have wondered about the links.

Sorry the appointment is so far off in the distance, but it does sound great! And for the record, where I live the most notable neuropsych. has a waiting list of about 6 months, anyhow! And it most certainly won't be $60!!!

[kokotg]

He did say that the school psychologist could give us a basic evaluation and tell us if he is eligible for services (which he isn't, because he is homeschooled.) We may do that, but my contacts with our local school were very negative and that is what keeps me from doing it.

Have you checked the state laws to be certain he's not eligible for services? In Georgia, the public school systems are required to provide services for special needs homeschool students (my son had speech therapy at our local school for a short time), but it varies by state. Probably you've already looked into it, but thought I'd mention it just in case.

[AHASRADA]

Welcome! Just as a bit of encouragement, my kids went through testing at our local university this past fall. We were advised that the wait could be 6-9 months, but they ended up calling us back within a few weeks! So, you never know...

Also, this university clinic charged $300 per child, which we thought was a great deal, since the private neuropsychologist we were considering charged $1200! So, yes, $60 is a fabulous deal!

My only caution would be that (at least in our case), the evaluators were experts at "evaluating", but don't know that much about instruction or giving remediation recommendations (by their own admission). They gave a few basic suggestions which, of course, I already knew and/or was doing.

The testing was helpful to know their specific areas of difficulty, and to have an official diagnosis in order to create that history. However, if you are expecting them to recommend curriculum or remediation programs, you are probably better off seeking those here!

Best of luck.

Asmaa

[AHASRADA]

Welcome! Just as a bit of encouragement, my kids went through testing at our local university this past fall. We were advised that the wait could be 6-9 months, but they ended up calling us back within a few weeks! So, you never know...

Also, this university clinic charged $300 per child, which we thought was a great deal, since the private neuropsychologist we were considering charged $1200! So, yes, $60 is a fabulous deal!

My only caution would be that (at least in our case), the evaluators were experts at "evaluating", but don't know that much about instruction or giving remediation recommendations (by their own admission). They gave a few basic suggestions which, of course, I already knew and/or was doing.

The testing was helpful to know their specific areas of difficulty, and to have an official diagnosis in order to create that history. However, if you are expecting them to recommend curriculum or remediation programs, you are probably better off seeking those here!

Best of luck.

Asmaa

[wapiti]

On the vision thing, if they insist on an opthamologist checkup, then I'd want to have a separate checkup with the developmental optometrist in addition to that, because it's also true that there are things that the opthamologist does not check for and may not catch (happened to us). The checkups are different, and there are significant philosphical differences between these specialties on top of that. Since there is a sibling with some sort of vision or vision processing issue, I'd pay particular attention to the vision component. (FWIW, I think our checkup with the developmental optometrist was in the range of $125. The opthamologist appt will be more than that but is probably covered by your medical insurance.) I guess I'm trying to say that the opthamologist checkup, while it should cover similar things, and more, than a regular optometrist checkup, is not a substitute for a checkup with a developmental optometrist - they are literally different kinds of appointments.

Just my two cents :)

[Renee in FL]

Have you checked the state laws to be certain he's not eligible for services? In Georgia, the public school systems are required to provide services for special needs homeschool students (my son had speech therapy at our local school for a short time), but it varies by state. Probably you've already looked into it, but thought I'd mention it just in case.

Only OT and ST, which they are already in the process of getting through Easter Seals. I may possibly switch the ST to the local school, though, as I was told by the Special Ed coordinator that they do use LiPS.

Welcome! Just as a bit of encouragement, my kids went through testing at our local university this past fall. We were advised that the wait could be 6-9 months, but they ended up calling us back within a few weeks! So, you never know...

Also, this university clinic charged $300 per child, which we thought was a great deal, since the private neuropsychologist we were considering charged $1200! So, yes, $60 is a fabulous deal!

My only caution would be that (at least in our case), the evaluators were experts at "evaluating", but don't know that much about instruction or giving remediation recommendations (by their own admission). They gave a few basic suggestions which, of course, I already knew and/or was doing.

The testing was helpful to know their specific areas of difficulty, and to have an official diagnosis in order to create that history. However, if you are expecting them to recommend curriculum or remediation programs, you are probably better off seeking those here!

Best of luck.

Asmaa

I mostly need to see if there are any issues I don't already know about and to create the history.

On the vision thing, if they insist on an opthamologist checkup, then I'd want to have a separate checkup with the developmental optometrist in addition to that, because it's also true that there are things that the opthamologist does not check for and may not catch (happened to us). The checkups are different, and there are significant philosphical differences between these specialties on top of that. Since there is a sibling with some sort of vision or vision processing issue, I'd pay particular attention to the vision component. (FWIW, I think our checkup with the developmental optometrist was in the range of $125. The opthamologist appt will be more than that but is probably covered by your medical insurance.) I guess I'm trying to say that the opthamologist checkup, while it should cover similar things, and more, than a regular optometrist checkup, is not a substitute for a checkup with a developmental optometrist - they are literally different kinds of appointments.

Just my two cents :)

My 12yo was checked by a DO a few years ago and most definitely had vision problems, but there is no way to pay the astronomical costs for therapy. Not only that, I can't even afford the gas to DRIVE to therapy!:lol:

[cjbeach]

Renee I was going to link to the VT provider nearest to us but he's not an opthamologist. Ugh. I think you'll be going to Jax or Gainesville for that. Ugh. Let me ask around.........

[Renee in FL]

I had a conversation this morning with the leader of our homeschool group. Her daughter has LDs of some sort and she sent her to school this year (9th grade, but she is older.) She's had meetings and meetings and meetings, jumped through their hoops, etc. and they still refused to do the testing. Finally, they did, but after she got her dd's doctor involved. She didn't know that she needed to submit it in writing to the school and they they would have to. It has been an uphill battle for her.

The tremendous amount of blame that has been laid at her feet because she homeschooled her daughter is terrible. Nevermind that she has another daughter with no learning issues! She did convince me, though, that there is *nothing* that will make me have my boys tested through the school. I'll just wait the year!

[Jan in SC]

This won't be very popular, but if you haven't already done this, I highly recommend getting a face-to-face appointment with the school psychologist your dcs are zoned for. Each school is going to be so different, even within the same district.

When my oldest was in ps kindergarten and 1st, I knew something was wrong and they refused to test. We went privately, which was a $3600 price tag. Feeling overwhelmed, I put him in a better school in our district and the difference was amazing.

All I'm suggesting is to go in and check. All three of mine have received services and no one has blamed any issues on homeschooling. In fact, my oldest was already fairly remediated in reading by the time he went back to school. The resource teacher has given me tons of information for him, and he has had tons of growth in his other areas.

You might have a terrible experience there, but I would talk to them.(If you haven't!)

[MomofC&A]

I hope you get in for your evaluations soon. Just a word of caution. We were put on a waiting list for 5 months at a large university near us and were called within 2 weeks. The call came on a Friday afternoon and we had to be there at 9am on the following Monday. It turned out to be with a really strange neuropsychologist who turned out to be very unprofessional, biased against homeschoolers, transracial adoption and a host of other things. I wish I had asked a little more about who it was with when they called me. This guy didn't have any idea of how to talk to kids (or even seem to like them!) or me as the parent. No handshake, smile, or any normal interpersonal skills. I was so disappointed. Sad thing was that he was in charge of training all the rest of the neuropsych doctors! Sometimes I think there is a reason for those cancellations! I wish I would have tried to find out more (if that is possible) about the doctors before I went there. Sometimes they have bios on their websites so one can do a bit of research. I really do wish you all the best!

[betty]

$60 is a steal! Here in Northern Virginia the local university charges $1200 and the cheapest private I could find was $2000. No wonder the long wait.

[Renee in FL]

This won't be very popular, but if you haven't already done this, I highly recommend getting a face-to-face appointment with the school psychologist your dcs are zoned for. Each school is going to be so different, even within the same district.

When my oldest was in ps kindergarten and 1st, I knew something was wrong and they refused to test. We went privately, which was a $3600 price tag. Feeling overwhelmed, I put him in a better school in our district and the difference was amazing.

All I'm suggesting is to go in and check. All three of mine have received services and no one has blamed any issues on homeschooling. In fact, my oldest was already fairly remediated in reading by the time he went back to school. The resource teacher has given me tons of information for him, and he has had tons of growth in his other areas.

You might have a terrible experience there, but I would talk to them.(If you haven't!)

We would have the same special ed coordinator, same school psychologist, same social worker, etc as the other mother. I am not willing to risk it as I am not strong emough emotionally to handle a terrible experience.:tongue_smilie:

[Jan in SC]

We would have the same special ed coordinator, same school psychologist, same social worker, etc as the other mother. I am not willing to risk it as I am not strong emough emotionally to handle a terrible experience.:tongue_smilie:

I'm sorry! In our district, each school has its own psychologist.
Good luck!!!