40 | FEBRUARY 29 • 2024
J
N
HEALTH
F
amilies seeking psycho-
logical evaluations for
their children often wait
up to a year or more before
being assessed by a medical pro-
fessional.
These assessments, which
can help diagnose develop-
mental conditions like autism,
are critical to beginning timely
treatment and intervention. Still,
barriers with health insurance,
access and simply getting an
appointment can leave months,
if not years, wasted waiting for
help.
For clinical child psycholo-
gist Dr. Dana Cohen, PhD, LP
,
who previously served as the
clinical director of Beaumont
Children’s Center for Human
Development, helping families
receive early intervention was of
utmost importance.
Seeing firsthand the impact
that long waits for psychological
evaluations had on families and
their children, who grow rapidly
at young ages and require treat-
ment as soon as possible, Cohen
knew she wanted to do more to
serve Metro Detroit families in
need in the community.
It was one of the main reasons
she decided to transition out of
her longtime role at Beaumont
to start a private practice, where
she could better cater to the
individual needs of each family
she helps evaluate.
In February 2024, Cohen will
be opening her private practice
in West Bloomfield on Orchard
Lake Road between 14 Mile
and Maple roads. She’s current-
ly accepting new clients and
scheduling evaluations.
Cohen specializes in diag-
nosing and assessing children
with developmental disabilities,
particularly children ages 8 and
under. Her work spans autism
spectrum disorder, ADHD,
cognitive and learning delays,
and speech and language delays
among other developmental
concerns.
CRITICAL EARLY
INTERVENTION
Many health insurance car-
riers, such as Blue Cross and
Blue Care Network, previously
required that children be evalu-
ated at approved autism evalu-
ation centers — namely, hospi-
tals, which face extensive waits.
Now, Blue Cross will no lon-
ger require autism evaluations
to be completed at approved
centers, which allows thousands
of families the opportunity to be
evaluated in a private practice
setting such as the one Cohen is
offering.
It’s a major change and a win
for improving access to early
intervention.
“These first five or six years
in particular, the brain is rap-
idly growing and developing,
”
said Cohen, 50, a Temple Israel
member. “If we can hit interven-
tion as young as possible, kids
will do better in the long run.
”
Having the right tools and
technology are also critical to
assessments. In her new West
Bloomfield office, Cohen is
implementing high-tech features
that allow her to assess children
both face-to-face and at a dis-
tance, such as observing their
behaviors from another room.
“If a child’s behavior changes
significantly when I step out of
the room, that’s very telling,
” she
says.
Psychological assessments will
include a consultation to deter-
mine a family’s needs, followed
by a parent intake. Then, testing
for the child begins.
Child testing generally takes
three hours or less and will vary
based on the concerns but can
include cognitive intellectual
testing or academic testing.
Once testing is complete, there
will be a parent feedback session
a week later — meaning there
are three appointments total.
“One thing I’m going to offer
in my private practice that I
wasn’t able to [in a hospital set-
ting] is consultations to families
post-diagnosis,
” Cohen says.
“Sometimes, families just want
some help navigating through
this world.
”
REASONS TO EVALUATE
While signs and symptoms of
developmental conditions can
vary greatly from child to child
based on their age and type of
concern, Cohen says there are a
few red flags to look for.
Common signs are speech
and language delays, delays
in gestures and nonverbal
communication (such as
nodding or pointing), social
difficulties (like reduced eye
contact) and repetitive behavior
that seems out of the ordinary.
A child showing these
signs won’t necessarily have
a developmental condition,
but getting a psychological
assessment can help rule out any
concerns.
“It’s really important to
carefully piece out what is a
developmental delay versus a
symptom of anxiety versus a
weakness in communication,
”
Cohen explains. “They can all
present similarly in some ways.
”
That’s why early intervention
is critical — and Cohen hopes
to give local families peace of
mind and the help they need to
pursue next steps.
“It’s so hard for families to
wait because they know how
important it is to seek early
intervention,
” Cohen says.
“That’s something we stress all
the time, yet there are so many
barriers to getting it.
”
Doctor hopes to make child psychological
assessments more accessible.
Breaking Down
Delays and Barriers
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Dr. Dana
Cohen