If this is for a school age child/adolescent/teen you have lots of options here. Adults, not so many, but kids & teens in school absolutely do. Assuming this is for a student of public school---do NOT let the school get by with making YOU pay for these things. I'm well aware how important it is for parents to get independent evaluations done, since the school's are going to be somewhat slanted (in whatever direction the school wants them to be-of course) However, if I would have had to pay for this stuff myself, my daughter would NOT have ever gotten any help at all. Public schools HAVE TO disclose where and how to get real evaluations done, and provide really academic ones (for learning disabilities, etc.) THEMSELVES. I don't know the exact details of that one, but I'd bet eabeam's a good resource for what law or whatever to quote (check out this site, you'll find him easily enough). An in-school assessment/evaluation is vital, but if it's for AD/HD, you need a MEDICAL evaluation (outside of school, with a qualified doctor, preferably a child psychologist or psychiatrist) AND and in-school ACADEMIC evaluation, and yes, the school and doctor are BOTH doing a great disservice if they fail to communicate with one another. In my daughter's school district, there's an AD/HD clinic that's ran through the local health department. Parents NEED to be referred by the school in order to access it at all. They do medical evaluations, prescribe medication (rather responsibly, too, compared to most private doctors I've met) and communicate WITH the school, through checklists they send for the teachers to fill out, even phone calls-when issues come up. I've even had the child psychologist from the clinic attend 504 meetings WITH ME at the school, advocating for my daughter. They've even offered to come in and do classroom observations, when the school wasn't being so cooperative-and they were seeing issues not being properly (or being in-properly) addressed. They've been one of my daughter's strongest advocates, and they are technically IN the system. If your school has their own psychologist (not COUNSELOR-but CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST) they will know if there's a program offered through your local health department, through the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, and/or Behavioral Health. With insurance, and with NO insurance and NO MONEY, they saw my kid. It wasn't some crappy public clinic either, they don't want a bad rap. Another option is IEE, independent evaluations that the school has to pay for, because they have either taken too long to get around to them, or they don't have anyone qualified to do them. If you ask the right questions, they HAVE to give you real answers, or risk serious issues if they don't. If this is for a kid in a private school, it gets a little more complicated, but I'd bet someone out there knows some ways around that. If it's a private school and they are stonewalling, hoping you'll foot the expense completely yourself, try calling your public school district. Ask for the special education department. Don't let the label scare you. Tell them what the issue is, your kid needs these evaluations, you cannot and should not have to pay for them, what do you do, who exactly do you go to? Let them know YOU know that the public school system still has some level of responsibility, regardless, if this is a school aged kid. An adult? That's a whole different ball game. I'd still look into public resources first, and then look for private resources once you have some real info to go on. Too many people (and organizations) are making just too much money off this whole AD/HD thing, without really being able to help in the way they are promising to, to just up and pay $2000 and up for a comprehensive eval. I would exhaust EVERY public resource first, and save the shiny, high dollar evaluations for when you've got a specific problem and have run out of other resources to get it addressed. When you have an evaluation in hand, don't be afraid to question it. It should never be "written in stone"-unquestionable, absolute. Unfortunately, AD/HD is a cash cow for milking distraught parents-AND a very REAL condition-both sides of that ongoing controversy are absolutely correct- and how much you spend on an evaluation rarely affects quality but how many good questions you ask makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE.

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@ADHDMommy81,

The school is your best resource to get started if your child is in public school (also, there are laws that dictate that pre-school aged children are included -- if your child isn't school age yet, contact your local school board and inquire there). Make a formal request, in writing, for an evaluation (find sample letters here: http://www.ldonline.org/article/14621). Most won't/can't even discuss ADHD with you, but they will observe your child in the classroom and evaluate behavior. Usually a face-to-face with the school psych is part of this evaluation. If you request an evaluation in writing, they have to comply, by federal law. They should also be able to give you local resources to help you get an ADHD evaluation too. Often there are public clinics and such available at a reduce or no cost.

Also, I am wondering about your insurance situation. If you can't afford insurance for your child, there are public insurance programs for children in every state, not medicaid but programs that qualify families at a higher income level than medicaid. Search for the program in your state and see what the income requirements are to qualify. These programs often cover a lot more than private insurance does (I know this from first-hand experience).

Penny W., ADDitudeMag.com Community Moderator

mom to Luke, ADHD, age 8

creator of the Website {a mom's view of ADHD} at http://adhdmomma.blogspot.com

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We have undgone 2 separate assessments with 2 different school phsycologist over the years. We also have insurance , however was told by the phychologist that most insurance does not cover ADHD because it is a behavoral issue. But my understanding is that it is a mental issue!?

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@adhdmommy81,

Yes, ADHD is often treated by mental health professionals. If you see a psychologist or even an MD in a mental health office, your insurance considers it mental health and has a separate payment structure for that typically. And usually it is a lot less coverage and a bigger deductible. For us, the deductible was so large we couldn't see a mental health provider until I was able to get my children on the state's children's health insurance. Now, there are other practitioners that also evaluate and treat ADHD. Where we live, there is an office of Pediatric Behavioral and Developmental Specialist MDs. They bill the same as a specialist under our insurance plan. You may also have a neurologist in your area that specializes in ADHD (no neurologist in my area treats ADHD). Typically, this will fall under a specialist visit on your insurance too. (Here's a list of the different professionals that can evaluate for ADHD: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd-web/article/565.html).

When we had private insurance for our children, we were first referred to a mental health office for evaluation but couldn't afford to pay for it out of pocket under our deductible. So we were referred to the behavior specialist MD and just paid our specialist copay for the entire evaluation. I hope this info helps and I hope you are able to find someone to do an evaluation that falls under your insurance.

Penny W., ADDitudeMag.com Community Moderator

mom to Luke, ADHD, age 8

creator of the Website {a mom's view of ADHD} at http://adhdmomma.blogspot.com

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You may not need to drop your private health insurance to get the benefits of state children's health programs. State insurance for a child can usually act as a "secondary" insurance plan, covering co-payments, deductibles, etc., as long as you do a "coordination of benefits" designating your private insurance (usually the insurance through an employer) as the Primary. The state children's health program are actually a form of Medicaid, but the requirements are very different, and children in a household often qualify even when the adults do not. Your local social services office (welfare office) will be able to direct you to the right office to apply for state funded children's health insurance, even though you won't be applying for it through social services. In the interim, I really think the school (or school system) needs to be a little more helpful in giving you information that's specific to where you are. It's been my experience that no health insurance (even the state programs) will pay for what they consider "educational" evaluations, or behavioral issues. You can get AD/HD looked at as "mental health" to get around some of that. You may want to also contact ChildFind (if that's what it's called in your area). It's an early-intervention program, but they may well know what public resources are available to you. An independent evaluation is great, if you can afford it (which sounds like what your doctor is suggesting) but a lot of parents can't, including me! I think the lady in the last post is right, about calling your school board, or maybe even your state's special education department. Just like paying truckloads for an evaluation doesn't ensure good results, using a public program doesn't mean you'd be getting inferior results, either. The doctors my daughter has seen through the local health department's AD/HD clinic have proven to be very dedicated, extremely knowledgeable, and I actually trust them more than some of the private clinics, some of which seem to have a agenda of their own. If you just have no other options but an employer-based insurance plan, call them, call the medical side and the mental health side (probably 2 different phone numbers). Long hold-time, but a great way to get real information, and a list of local providers. Your insurance carrier may also have a website. I work for an office that does medical billing-doctors, god bless them, are not exactly insurance experts, for the most part. Also, if you have an employee-assistance program (usually called EAP) that may be a resource, as well.

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Here's a link to a helpful resource

http://helpguide.org/mental/adhd_add_diagnosis.htm

at the bottom is a link to a PDF file from the US Department of Education. in that file is a section titled "Legal Requirements for Identification of and Educational Services for Children with AD/HD". Schools are not required to conduct a medical evaluation, but if one is needed in order for the student to qualify for services, they also must ensure that the parent is able to have one conducted at no cost. Depending on what prompted the need for an evaluation, this may be very helpful information to have.

Here's another link to that US Department of Education information (in case the link at the bottom of the above-link doesn't work):

http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/adhd/adhd-identifying.html

"If a public agency believes that a medical evaluation by a licensed physician is needed as part of the evaluation to determine whether a child suspected of having ADHD meets the eligibility criteria of the OHI category, or any other disability category under Part B, the school district must ensure that this evaluation is conducted at no cost to the parents (OSEP Letter to Michel Williams, March 14, 1994, 21 IDELR 73)."

It depends on the reason for the evaluation.

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