Carina Grandison, PhD
Parent Q&A
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.Hi - we worked with Carina Grandison for an ADHD assessment at age 6 and she was excellent.
Hi- There was a similar question posted recently and the following paragraph is my response. With regard to 2E, I know both Drs. Grandison and Thompson understand the sensitivity and complexity of issues related to 2E (one of my kids was 2E). They are both very warm and empathic- I felt like they both went out of the way to be supportive of our family. Dr. Grandison does not have a website (but check Yelp), Dr. Thompson's is: www.eastbayadhd.com . Also- you didn't mention how old your kid is but Big Minds school in Pinole (https://www.bigmindsunschool.org/) is FANTASTIC for 2E kids. If the testing does show 2E and your child is the right age, consider doing a tour of the school. Good luck and it's great that you're being so planful about this- I found having a really solid assessor (if that's a word) made all the difference.
Carina Grandison is great- she did an evaluation on my kid a couple of years ago and was very collaborative with us. When my other kid needed neuropsych assessment Dr. Grandison had a long wait list and we found Kim Thompson who we thought was thorough and fantastic. BTW- before we met with Dr. Grandison we met with Dr. Eraklis and thought the evaluation was fine but not excellent and that impression was confirmed once we received evaluations from Drs. Grandison and Thompson. The report from Dr. Eraklis felt more lightweight and less thorough than from the other two, and wasn't that much less expensive. One thing to keep in mind- brace yourself for the cost. Our insurance didn't cover the testing and each assessment cost at least $4K (I don't remember the specifics).
I would highly recommend Carina Grandison, PhD. She conducted an IEE Neuropsych evaluation for our daughter when she was 11 that was instrumental in securing my daughter's IEP, and helped us better understand her educational needs. Dr. Grandison impressed us as highly skilled and perceptive. And an added plus is that she worked in a very kind way with my daughter who had undergone numerous assessments by the time she met with Dr. Grandison. She observed my daughter in her classroom and school and was able to elicit helpful feedback from her teachers. She was also efficient in using our time, and was gracious and easy to work with.
We also engaged an advocate who was able to support us in making our case to school district personnel who initially seemed unable to recognize my daughter's challenges.
Carina was great, she did an assessment of my son 5 years ago. She's a child neuropsychologist (PhD). We were sort of asking a similar question to you : "what is going on here?" If you talk with her you could tell if what she does is what you are looking for (she is not a school psychologist). Good luck with this, it is difficult to see your child struggle, I know.
I second Carina Grandison. She was recommended many times here, by my daughter's pediatrition, and by her psychiatrist. She was great for us!
Carina Grandison, PhD, Berkeley. We have the exact same kid -- she was great. It was a good experience for my kid, as well as for me. Her schedule fills months out.
I can’t speak to her availability, but I highly recommend Carina Grandison. She was great with my ADHDer and her evaluation helped us set up appropriate supports both at school and home. I don’t think we waited very long to see her (though it was a number of years ago and we may have gotten in when someone else cancelled).
About 2 years ago, my son aged 16 at the time, saw Dr. Carina Grandison who is in Berkeley. She is a child neuropsychologist. My son is also 2E, gifted and ADHD, and also with depression. He didn't want to go, but when he met her, she was so disarming, welcoming. Thorough test results but also insights about him. She was booking a fews months out at the time.
I highly recommend Dr Carina Grandison. She provided a thorough and insightful evaluation for our ADHDer (combined type) with sensory challenges. It helped us immensely in understanding and how to support our child. Her evaluation and recommendations have held up in two different schools (public & parochial) to get our child the necessary accommodations. She’s not inexpensive, but you may be able to get insurance to reimburse (depending on diagnosis) if you can create a paper trail indicating it’s medically necessary (start with your pediatrician).
Carina Grandison, Berkeley. We had to wait about 2.5 months. We're in the middle of our assessment and Dr. Grandison seems great, but you can read the other reviews of her to check. Our son is a teenager and now we wish we had done this way sooner, so good for your daughter that you are taking this in hand at a young age. Good luck.
We used Carina Grandison - highly recommend her. If she is not available I know she will be able to recommend other good people.
For the gold standard of testing, recommendations, and creating reports and plans for schools is Carina Grandison, PhD. (510) 704-1820 · 2006 Dwight Way Ste 301. Berkeley, CA 94704. My younger son has several learning challenges related to a serious illness coupled with an underlying neurological condition, and she has been invaluable to us over the years. My older son, who was clearly bright and engaged, struggled with reading and writing in 3rd grade. Carina dxed orthographic dyslexia and presented a list of teaching strategies for his school. He is now attending a competitive HS and doing very well.
Best of luck.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Oct 2013
RE: Neuropsych evaluation for 7 year old
Both Dr. Peterson and Dr. Grandison are excellent! Both will do a thorough evaluation and spend the time you need to understand your child. If you are interested in having your son evaluated be sure to call ASAP to make an appointment as this is a extremely busy time of the year for them. Nancy
Dr. Grandison is very good - empathetic, effective and thourough. highly recommended! Juliane
April 2010
RE: Neuropsych evaluation for 6-y-o - worth it?
We had a neuropsych eval done for our 4.5yr old son and then later when he was eleven. We found it tremedously helpful. The neuropsychologist Dr. Grandison of Berkeley (used to work at Children's when they provided this service) took time to explain what it can tell us, what it can't, what the results mean, etc. She made it interesting and challenging for our son both time w/ good breaks. Our son wa diagnosed w/ ADHD and learning/sensory disorders. We were able to use it for getting help at school though it was a big struggle nevertheless. But sometimes these struggles can be well worth it with the right expertise and support. Special ed. attorney and mom of special needs child Jean Adams of www.Adamsesq.com was our tool to get our son through the system. I did not wait to get authorization through my insurance so it was a lot of money; we took it off as medical expenses. Still worth it. We wish we got the second neuro eval sooner and took on an attorney sooner. So much struggle and grief. Now, our son is doing well with what we have set up and he's happier. My new motto is ''never say never.'' We've learned a lot through this process. Feel free to contact me directly if you want to talk things over- parent-to-parent. Monica
March 2010
RE: Psych evaluation for gifted 6 year old
I can enthusiastically recommend Carina Grandison at Children's Hospital -- she did a very perceptive evaluation for us that has been useful for understanding our child for years afterwards.
Feb 2000
RE: Neuropsychologists for ADHD Assessment
I highly recommend Carina Grandison. She is bright, thoughtful, and very sensative to children and parents equally. She has great understanding of children, development, and how they are effected by learning environments. She will be able to discuss your child's needs and make recommentations for home, school settings and learning stragegies. I work with Carina and have been privilidged to part of a number of her neuropsychological assessments of some very complex children. Afterwords, everyone involved with these children had a much better sense of their strengths, struggles, and the strategies they use to cope, as well as some ideas for helping them manage in school and at home. I think you will be pleased with her and her work.
I had a great experience with her a few years ago with my then 4 year old. She was very thorough, and I think her diagnosis was spot on, as well as her recommendations. Her evaluation has held weight as we’ve worked to support our daughter - she seems to be well known. You might have just gotten lucky and snagged a spot someone had cancelled.
If you can get Carina Grandison to see you, run, don't walk to her office. She is experienced, knowledgeable, brilliant, child and parent-friendly and will give your child's evaluation her all. She evaluated our son for us and it was extremely helpful. And as a bonus, check out her previous colleague's work too, Ross Greene has a fantastic way of looking at children and their behavior. (Easy to find on YouTube.)
We were very happy with Dr. Grandison, who did a neuropsychological assessment of our son in 2017. Her report was thorough and insightful. My teenager enjoyed working with her. She took the time to answer all of our questions. I highly recommend her.