Assessment for autism for 6YO at Kaiser
Hello, I'm looking to get an assessment through Kaiser for our 6 yr old son who we suspect may be on the spectrum. He does not go to a public school, so we don't have an IEP, but the school counselor where he goes strongly suggested he be evaluated. We're Kaiser members, and I've not heard great things about getting an assessment through Kaiser, so I'm checking here to see if any other parents have had success in getting your child assessed/finding a child psychologist who knows about ASD? With Kaiser, you have to have your child's pediatrician refer you to psychiatry first, who, I guess must find enough reasonable cause to then refer you on to a neuropsychologist for a true ASD assessment. We have gotten the initial referral to psychiatry, but I'd really rather not go in blind if there is a good doctor to request a visit with. We live in Richmond, but I am happy to travel to Oakland or wherever to see a good, knowledgeable psychiatrist/psychologist. If our son is on the spectrum, we suspect he is pretty high-functioning, which makes finding a truly knowledgeable practitioner so important, as he is very bright and presents well, but definitely has some developmental delays around toileting, as well as sensory and behavioral issues. Many thanks in advance for any advice you may have.
Parent Replies
We went through this nearly 5 years ago, but at that time, neuropsych. evaluations for ASD were only done in San Francisco, with a small team of psychologists and a speech therapist. Not a big deal to request this with your East Bay-based pediatrician. At the time, the wait was about 6 months. We were first referred to child psychiatry who did a phone assessment and then we were put in the queue for the in-person assessment (about 3 hours long) in SF.
Good luck!
P.S. If you want to get a far-better understanding of your child with a more thorough assessment, I recommend you also see a private neuropsychologist such as Ori Elis, Lisa Greenberg or Carina Grandison. It will cost big bucks but be soooo worth it!
We liked Jose Lopez and Alexander Klein at Kaiser Oakland. We ended up going to the ASD Center in SF for the eval, which was thorough.
I've seen excellent, thorough evaluation reports from practitioners at Kaiser Autism Clinic in San Francisco. Also, for future reference, students who do not attend public school, are still entitled to many services provided under special education law, such as a free evaluation through your local school to address concerns. There are many caring, informed, talented school psychologists who do excellent, thorough evaluations in the schools.