Insurance is frustrating

I haven't been able to find anyone to test my son for dyslexia. No one. Well, that's probably not true...I'm sure there are docs...they just aren't on my mental health provider list (and how is dyslexia a mental health issue anyway?!?!)  I tried to find one person to do the ADHD testing and the dyslexia testing but it's apparently not meant to be. Either they weren't taking patients or wouldn't call me back or, my personal favorite, they don't actually do that testing.

Tonight, I was talking to my son about why, after four years of school he still acts surprised that every sentence has a punctuation mark at the end. I was frustrated, he was crying and it finally came out. He said, "I just don't see them, Mom! When the letters are jumping and moving, I don't see them! I'm trying to read the letters!"  Ah. The moving letters? When I asked, he explained that they jump over each other while he's looking at them and it makes them be in the wrong order.

I've been claiming phonological dyslexia for a few months and the testing was to see if it was actually there. He has mentioned moving letters twice in his life - once when watching Percy Jackson and once when I was talking to him about dyslexia and specifically asked him. In 9 years of life, that doesn't seem like a lot, you know? If my letters were moving, I would tell somebody. I would complain. I would ask why they did that. I would make sure every teacher I had knew that the stupid letters were dancing. But my son? Nope. But what if he thought they did that to everyone and he worried that he just wasn't doing as good as everyone else at figuring out the word anyway?

I called insurance again tonight. I explained that I was willing to double my search area and split the testing into two practices - one for ADHD testing and one for dyslexia testing. Total number of names: Nine. That's the total for BOTH. I'm feeling defeated before I've even begun.

The school won't test him. Few doctors even do the testing and the first group of 6 couldn't help us. He needs help and I can't seem to make it work. I think I need to check the balance in my flexible spending account because I suspect I'm going to end up paying out of pocket for this. But at least we'll have answers...and that's money well spent.

**Update** I called several offices this morning and one actually talked to me.  I was flabbergasted. Even better - they had just gotten a cancellation for tomorrow afternoon! Believe it or not, he has an appointment tomorrow!!!