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

