#ANYWAYS IM FREEEEEEEEEEE | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

firelord-frowny · 2 years ago

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@itsmerandi

imma explaaaain what my experience of getting tested and diagnosed for ADHD was like ok woooooooooo here we go!

So, I got my testing done at UMBC's ~psychology training clinic.~ This was a few years ago, so their policies and whatnot may have changed, but when I went, I believe they mentioned that you don't actually have to be affiliated with umbc at all in order to use their services, which included adhd and learning disability testing, therapy and counseling, annnd probably a bunch of other stuff that wasn't relevant to me.

As for the pricing, since they're a training clinic, they didn't accept insurance, but they did charge based on a ~sliding scale~ with your income. My parents paid for my testing, and with their combined income, which I guess fell into the category of Middle Middle Class or whatever, it came out to about 700 bucks (WHICH WAS EXTRA IRRITATING BECAUSE IF THEY'D GOTTEN ME TESTED IN ELEMENTARY OR MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL LIKE I ASKED, THE TESTING WOULD HAVE BEEN FREEEEEEEEEEE but anyway).

I should also note that I didn't actually go there for adhd testing?? I went for dyscalculia testing lmao but apparently the learning disability testing and the adhd testing had enough overlap that they were able to confidently diagnose both issues???

The first part of the process was basically an ~intake meeting~ or something, I guess, where I filled out some questionnaires, and then I was introduced to the trainee who'd be testing me, the more advanced trainee who'd be assisting her, and the supervisor who'd be breathing down both their necks the whole time to make sure they didn't fuck up lmaooo. My parents were also at the meeting, and we all answered a bunch more questions about my academic history, my behavioral patterns, etc. I don't remember exactly how long this meeting was, but I'd guess at least an hour.

The next part of the process was the actual testing, which took place over uhhhhh 2 or 3 separate visits that were each 3ish hours long. It was kinda grueling, ngl, but not because it was ~difficult~ or anything. Just very tedious and time consuming.

They tested across a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide range of subjects and abilities, so like, just because it was primarily for dyscalculia didn't mean they didn't also test reading and language skills, verbal and written expression, comprehension, spelling, attention to detail, ability to follow instructions, general knowledge shit about history and science and whatnot. I remember one of the questions was "how long does it take for light from the sun to reach the earth" lmaoooo and I said 7 and a half minutes but i was wrooooooong it was 8 and a half. 😢

I think there was also part of the test where I had to like... configure a bunch of geometric blocks to match various shapes they showed me??

I can't really remember the entire scope of questions/activities that it all entailed since it was SOOOOOOOOO expansive, but suffice it to say that it was EXTREMELY thorough. they did not leave one single stone unturned omggg.

So after that, the last part of the process was the meeting where they explained the results. the document was hellaaaaaa long, like 15 pages or something, and had detailed breakdowns of my scores in all the different areas, along with lil graphs/tables/whatever that showed how those scores compared to the general population, and where those scores ranked on a scale of ~severely impaired~ to ~superior.~ what was so fuckinnnn wild was that for literally almost EVERYTHING that wasn't a mathy subject, I scored in the ~superior~ range, while EEEVERYTHING that was mathy had ~severely impaired~ scores lmaoooOOOO randi im literalllly a bona fide genius and a bona fide idiot all at once.

But yeah so, they explained what it all meant and how they did the scoring and blah blah blah, and basically confirmed that my dyscalculia is SHOCKINGLY BAD lmfao like, the supervisor lady was STUNNED by how bad. and then she whipped out the ADHD as like a Surprise Bonus Diagnosis lmaoooo. I remember she'd mentioned it in the intake meeting, that some of what I was describing to her sounded like ADHD, but I was noooooooooooot expecting to actually get a diagnosis on it one way or the other, and at first I didn't even really take it seriously, but then as she started explaining what ADHD actually even is, I was like

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. and it was like whiplash how hard it hit me because I had NO IDEAAAAAAA that many of the life skills that I struggle with were associated with an Actual Thing.

But anyway! At the last meeting, they alsooooooooooo explained a bunch of possible treatment options, or just, things I could do that might help me be more successful in school/life in spite of the deficits I had, and one of the things they recommended was a ~smart pen~ that would record audio while you take notes in class, and then afterwards if you wanna listen back to what was being said in class while you were writing a particular thing down, you can touch the pen to the spot where you wrote it on, and it'll play back the audio from that moment! 🤯 which, i never actually got a smart pen, and i know thats prolly not relevant to anything that might be useful for you lmao but im just mentioning it bc i thought it was such a fucking cool concept like woooooooooow.

Annnnd then after I had all the paperwork confirming my diagnoses, I was able to get my math requirements waived so i could graduate without a math credit lololol and that was that. cost 700 fucking extra dollars to finish college, booooooo.

but honestlyyyyyy it was SO worth it, and at the very least i would hellaaaaa high key recommend, if ya feel like it, that you at least see if you can find out how much it would cost you with the sliding scale, and/or considering it for a second opinion if you do get tested somewhere and don't feel confident in the process or the results.

obviouslyyyy i can't really compare it to the experience i might have had if i'd gone through a regular psychological services provider through insurance or whatever, but i have a strong feeling that it wouldn't have been neeeeeeeeeearly as thorough, and i wouldn't have felt nearly as attended to. 10/10 for umbc psychology training clinic. would definitely recommend.

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