Dr. Miller has extensive experience in and provides both Child Psychological Testing and Assessment and Neuropsychological Evaluations.
Psychological Testing and Evaluation
What to expect:
You may have often thought “I think I need to get my child tested.” A parent may have also heard this from a teacher or school administrator. Most pediatricians require this prior to the initiation of medical treatment particularly for ADHD. Dr. Miller hears this frequently.
While school systems provide dedicated school psychologists who provide thorough psychoeducational assessments to assist in the determination of eligibility for special education services, they typically do not provide diagnosis or recommendations for private treatment. They often provide very useful recommendations to you and your child’s multidisciplinary team regarding strategies to teach and assist your child during the school day.
But sometimes parents desire to obtain their own private clinical psychological evaluation particularly after consultation with their child’s pediatric provider related to complex diagnostic questions or what type of treatment or services will be best for their child both privately and in school.
During the initial 90 minute consultation, please bring all available documentation including school records, school psychological evaluations, METs and IEPs. Following review with you and meeting with your child for an age-appropriate clinical interview, Dr. Miller will help you determine if you have sufficient information to answer your questions or whether further psychological “testing” is recommended.
This opportunity to “test” your child will then be set up during a second appointment. This typically lasts about 3 hours. It is painless and most children will say they had “fun”.
Following the writing of the Psychological Evaluation Report, Dr. Miller will arrange a third appointment with you to review results and make recommendations.
Parents need to be aware that if the problem is emotional or behavioral, commercial insurance may pay for a portion or all of the evaluation (minus any deductible you might have). If your child’s problem is related to learning alone (a learning disability), commercial insurance is unlikely to pay for the evaluation and this would become the parent’s responsibility.
Dr. Miller’s office can assist you in checking your insurance coverage and discussing with you probable charges so there are “no surprises”.
Neuropsychological Evaluations
What to expect:
Neuropsychological evaluations are usually ordered by a pediatrician or other physician specialist. They are typically determined as medically necessary and an order from your child’s medical provider will be provided. (Some commercial insurances require this. Some do not.) All medical records and previous psychological evaluations will need to be provided to Dr. Miller prior to the evaluation.
Neuropsychological evaluations typically include all of the components of a Psychological Evaluation with additional specialized tests to assess the adverse impact of a child’s condition on learning, emotional and behavioral adjustment.
Neuropsychological evaluation typically takes an additional two sessions beyond a Psychological Evaluation.
Dr. Miller then uses his knowledge of brain-behavior relationships to pin-point areas of concern to determine the current neuropsychological status of your child’s strengths and weaknesses and make recommendations to you and your child’s treatment team in both the healthcare setting and educational environment.
Some suspected or known conditions which frequently may need neuropsychological evaluations are:
- Toddlers with complex birth histories and/or NICU stays
- Toddlers with genetic conditions or rare medical conditions
- Children post viral or bacterial meningitis
- Suspected or confirmed Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury in children
- Children with cancer before and after chemo- and/or radiation therapy.
- Children with brain tumors and cancers
Dr. Miller writes a comprehensive report and provides and personally reviews this with you and with your permission provides this to your child’s treatment teams.
No surprises: Commercial insurance typically covers a portion or all of the costs associated with neuropsychological evaluations (if medically necessary, minus any co-pay) but you will need to work with your insurance provider and Dr. Miller’s office regarding your payment responsibility. Neuropsychological evaluations are expensive and medical necessity may need to be proven to your insurance provider.