It has now come down to the time where my childs school is suggesting I have my daughter tested for lack of impulse control and focus at school. We have waited 2 years but things are not improving and some certain behaviours are becoming more intense.
I don't know where to start by taking my daughter to get diagnosed. This is a big journey we are about to go down. As a mother I know there is something special/unqiue about my child. I need to have her tested but I don't know where to begin.
I would start with her peditrician but thats not really something he deals with. He prefers her to see a specialist.
Now I would like to have a refferral for a testing center if any of you lovely people have a suggestion?
Call Sally Fryer at Integrative Pediatrics (Plano and Dallas locations). She is FABULOUS and highly respected. You can check out her website and also google her. Also, this Friday 12/7 from 11a.m - noon she is having a free community eductation event at her Dallas office regarding "Making Sense of Sensory" if you want to meet her and/or learn more about it prior to doing anything. You need to RSVP for it at either of her office numbers.
Sensory issues are usually addressed through occupational therapy. You can have her evaluated at place that provides occupational therapy. Our daughter had her evaluation at Baylor's Our Children's House in Dallas which also has other locations around the metroplex. Typically, to begin any therapy for sensory issues, the facility will have to do a thorough evaluation of your daughter to properly assess her needs. There are also developmental pediatricians around Dallas that could help. Your pediatrician probably has a recommendation. Good luck.
Give the Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) in your state a call, in TX go to: http://www.parentcenternetwork.org/parentcenterlisting.html
Texas is a big state, and has 3 PTIs so check witht he one closest to you!
My daughter was having some issues also. School said prob adhd. Called my health ins co & they suggested a pediatric behavior development specialist. They also covered all testing. It falls under behavior health. We used Dr Rios. ###-###-####. He is in Grapevine. You can also check out his website. Turns out she has dyslexia, not adhd. It has beed such a blessing to have her diagnosed. She has gotten the help she needed & is not doing fabulous in school. Good luck:)
The main thing you need to worry about is how to get your insurance to pay for all of this. I started with a referral from my pediatrician. Unfortunately, my pediatrician did not "buy in" to the sensory issues and would not give me a referral to an OT. But, she did refer my son for speech therapy and so that was covered by insurance from the beginning. The speech therapist ended up referring to the OT specialist, but I had to pay for the OT eval out of pocket. If the OT eval had come from a referral from my pediatrician, I don't think I would have had to pay the full price of the eval. Trust me, all of this stuff starts to add up, so be on top of it in terms of how to get insurance to pay for it.
Good luck,
L.
