TPP 060a: A Deep Dive Into Assessments, Diagnoses, and Labels, with Melissa Neff, PhD
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
42 min
2 speakers
5 chapters
transcribed 14 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey there, it's Debbie and welcome to Playback Friday. Every Friday I'll re-release one of my favorite conversations from the archives. Unless you're a longtime listener of the show, there's a good chance you haven't heard this one yet. And even if you have, you just may get something completely different listening to it this time around.
I often find myself teetering on this edge of if I were to go by the DSM five, which is what I'm supposed to do, this this girl does not meet criteria for an autism spectrum disorder, or she's sort of like like what you said with Asher, she's kind of on the borderline. But then there's the question of is it valuable to give the person a label or not? And sometimes it's really valuable to have that label and sometimes it's not.
Welcome to the Tilt Parenting Podcast, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. I'm your host, Debbie Rieber, and today I'm talking with Melissa Neff, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Missoula, Montana, in the US, who specializes in conducting psychological evaluations with children ages 6 to 18. And adults. A lot of Melissa's practice focuses on helping parents figure out what's going on with their children and diagnosing things like ADHD and autism. Although she shared with me that one of her favorite aspects of her practice lately is working with girls who are on the spectrum. There are so many things I could have talked about with Melissa, but for today's episode, we focused our conversation on the diagnostic process.
What an Involves and when and how parents can take the steps they need to pursue a diagnosis, as well as the pros and cons of getting a diagnosis, and more specifically, of having one or more labels attached to a child, both in their educational journey as well as their lives as they grow into adults. This is one of those packed conversations with lots of great insights, and I love how Melissa's passion for her work. work shines through. I hope you enjoy it. And before I get to the show, if you're not already signed up for our Differently Wired 7-day challenge, I would love for you to join us. When you sign up for the challenge, you'll get an email every day for 7 days featuring a tweak you can make in your day-to-day life to change the way you think, feel, and experience raising your Differently Wired child.
You'll also get a downloadable workbook to use as you go through it, and you'll be invited to a closed face. Facebook group just for people who've gone through or are currently doing the challenge. Oh, and also, it's free. If you want to join us, you can sign up online at tiltparenting.com slash seven day. And now let's get on with the show. Hey Melissa, welcome to the show.
Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
Well, we have a lot to talk about. We were just prepping for this. We're like, oh my gosh, this could be a mini series, but we'll see what we can get through today. Today we're going to be talking all about diagnoses, getting them, how they're done, and lots of other stuff. And before we even get into that, I just want to even touch upon the fact that it can be kind of confusing for parents to even know if getting a diagnosis is something they need to do. That's something I get a lot of questions from parents, actually. And I know, especially with differently wired kids who are kind of flying under the radar or maybe they're not standing out so much. The pediatrician may not have any clue there's anything going on.
I know that our pediatrician was like, no, this is all within the range of normal and Even when I tried to describe things that were really tough or seemed uh, you know, that they were very different from our friends' experiences. And it was Ultimately a friend who pulled me aside, someone who had a degree in child development, who said, I think you need a little more information here. There's something going on and and that of course isn't an easy conversation for a friend to have, but it's definitely not.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–6:21
2
What is the diagnostic process for ADHD and autism in children?
6:21–22:03
3
Who typically recommends an assessment and how do referrals work?
22:03–38:12
4
What ages are best for psychological testing and why is age six a key marker?
38:12–40:13
5
How does the ADOS test work and why is it considered the gold standard for autism?
40:13–42:47
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids