I have a DCB who has some major sensory processing issues. I have been expressing my concern with DCM for about 9 months now, and he has gotten worse and worse during this time. I'm not going to give too many specifics; but it is affecting his eating to the point where he has lost a lot of weight & his Dr is very concerned and has given orders to be on a Pediasure diet if he doesn't eat.

Now, 3 months after giving him Pediasure if he does not eat; he literally does not eat any food at all anymore, with the exception of waffles and chicken nuggets. DCB has gained some weight because of having a full diet of Pediasure, but he is not eating food (because he refuses to). The Dr also ordered an evaluation (my understanding is that it is an SPD and autism evaluation) 3 months ago; but she was not following up with the Dr about his weight and she was not going to make the appt with the specialist to be evaluated. After expressing my deep concerns once again to DCM about a month ago, she finally made the appt for him to be evaluated! I was so happy!!

The appt is this Thursday, and DCM now tells me she does not think she is going to take him because it will cost them more than $1K out of pocket for the evaluation. She says she realizes there is a problem, but that she feels like she already knows what they will say. She hates to spend $1K to find out something she already knows. She "just wants them to tell her how to fix it." She is currently "doing internet research to figure out how to deal with his problems."

While I do understand that $1k is a lot of money to spend on a single evaluation; I am still upset because I really think this little guy needs it!! It's one step closer to helping him with his issues. She is not going to be able to help him with just internet research. She needs the help of several specialists!

I don't know what I can or should say to her at this point? I am just so upset. Any thoughts or advice on this? Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this, I know it was long!

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How old it the child? Most states have many free avenues for evaluating children when there are concerns. If he is under the age of 3, there is typically a child development service that does the evaluation. If he is 3 or older, then the school systems do the evaluations. In both cases the initial evaluations are usually free. She also needs to understand that finding out what is wrong is only the beginning. It isn't simply a matter of finding out "how to fix it." In many cases the way to fix the problem requires many therapy appointments.

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There is no reason for her to spend that kind of money! Every state has an early intervention birth-3 program and then the school's take over for 3+. They can do evaluations for FREE, then once they determine the diagnosis they also offer FREE therapy. Please ask her to go this route

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He is 2 and a half. I'll have to do some research about our state and free evaluations. Thanks for bringing this to my attention! I'll see what I can find.

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Definatley do your research. Here is a starting place from a quick google of texas early childhood intervention.

http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis/index.shtml - scroll down to where it says "what is eci?"

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There is no way i'd have that kind of money either. Especially since it's just an evaluation.

I think they can start over using another avenue if her insurance doesn't cover this. There has to be a less expensive way to help him.

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She needs to call and start the evaluation process here:

http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis/referral.shtml

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You can't really blame her for that. Maybe they don't have that kind of money. There are many resources that she could tap into. I would call the public school district and also public health dept. There are many programs out there that are free or low cost.

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Call our local school district immediately and express your concern!! They are very kind and will direct you to the right people. It will cost the parents nothing out of pocket. When the balls gets rolling, ask that she have them come observe him in your home as well.

Remember, I just did this with one of the DCK's here and he was diagnosed with autism. He now attends our district's preschool for free.

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good luck OP! I hope you are able to direct her to some resources. I know that there is no way we could afford $1000 in evaluations, even if we had a concern about our child. On the other hand, if you are able to direct her to some other resources and she still does nothing, that is a whole other issue. I hope it doesnt come to that.

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Thanks everyone! I will definitely pass all of this info on to her. I could not blame her, either, for not wanting to spend the money on the evaluation. This is the first that I've dealt with having a child evaluated- so I had no idea about the process! I wonder why her doctor referred her to other specialists to evaluate him rather than through the state?

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I would encourage her to keep the appointment and ask for financial assistance if paying that much out of pocket is burdensome.

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