11.23.2004

Carpetbaggers

Those of you who ride on the DAN! train, or are simply POA's (parents of autistics) trying to do the best you can by your child know that the associated therapy and treatment field is rife with people who are only too eager to use your grief as a direct line to your wallet.

We've definitely put Leelo through some procedures of questionable validity, but in each case they weren't that costly, were harmless if not effective, and we were apprised of the price beforehand.

However, thanks to a brain fart on the part of Dr. P or his staff, Leelo's blood was recently subjected to a test that we didn't ask for, at a cost we were never warned about. An $845 test. I am totally fucking livid, as Dr. P is not covered by our insurance--we pay for him 100% out of pocket.

I expected to pay about $800 total for the blood draws, testing, supplements, and office visits involved in Leelo's re-evaluation. That is what the lot cost 18 months ago; we budgeted for that. We did not double-budget for it.

Though I am not out to impugn Dr. P or his staff, I feel that not advising us of the cost of this test beforehand is certainly an egregious fucking oversight, and I will make sure that they know we are not pleased.

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Addendum: I do not consider our initial diagnostic outlay of $800 to be anything other than costly, nor do I consider those same tests to be less than informative.

What I am complaining about (this time) is a tendency by some autism professionals to assume that parents will not only suck up any costs thrown at them, but will in fact bend over, thank them, and ask for more.

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