Should we go to a neuropsychologist for further testing?

[Quirk10]

I was thinking thinking of going to a neuropsychologist to have my son tested further. Any recommendations? We went to the neurologist, but he just gave him a 504 plan and asked us if we wanted to put him on meds. The doctor just went off a questionnaire that the teacher filled out no testing at all. It’s a total cost of 3,500 and it’s a full work up.

[Cjkchamp]

Ouch that is pretty costly. A neuropsychologicalfor my son was covered by BCBS and coat was like $90. I do highly recommend a neuropsychological. That was the document we needed that unlocked services at school for my son.

[Bynddrvn]

Two of the leading experts on ADHD do not recommend neuropsychological tests on their own to identify issues related to Attention Deficit Disorder. Specifically they point to this type of testing missing key issues related to executive functioning (EF). It may be helpful to identify other issues but not ADHD.

"Essentially, Barkley argues that neuropsychological tests of EF lack ecological validity; they do not adequately predict patterns of self-management in the realities of daily life: 'they are very poor at capturing the higher adaptive tactical and strategic levels of EF as they are deployed in daily adaptive functioning, human interactions, and social cooperative and reciprocal activities that play out over much longer spans of time (days, weeks, months and years)'" (2011, p19). Brown, Thomas E "A New Understanding of ADHD in Children and Adults" Routledge 2013

[Elijah1]

Neuropsychological testing can be helpful if you suspect learning problems in addition to ADHD. It has limited, if any, value for a child who just has ADHD. It does not necessarily identify the common co-occurring conditions like anxiety.

[Quirk10]

Thank you, we decided to hold off for now because he is doing well in school.