Dr. Mouton Quoted in Article.

Recently quoted in an article regarding a survey of many having fear of being without their mobile phones. You can view the article here - comments appreciated!

LSAT / LSAC Denial Pitfalls - Accommodations and Extended Time

The LSAT / LSAC is getting very specific about requiring a copy of all the documentation included in the documents reviewed section of assessments for accommodations and extended time.   I'm now asking the patients I assess to include a corresponding outline of the documentation in sequential order to assist the clerks at LSAT / LSAC in determining that the history of documentation is complete... some individuals that do not send in all the historical documentation have been getting delays...past the LSAT petition deadline...asking for copies of the documents reviewed. Its best to send in the whole package as well as the 20+ page report.  Currently, I'm backed up about a month for any new appointments, so keep it in mind when you are looking at your petition deadline, which is different than the actual LSAT registration deadline.  We can discuss the probability based on the three conditions of meeting ADA requirements and the symptom history and documented history of past accommodations.

LSAT Accommodations reasonable

The LSAT accommodation committee is finally getting reasonable with their expectations for evidence or they are so used to me sending in professional assessments for the last 20 years that they feel more confident about the scores and my style of writing. I've had over 95% of the LSAT assessments for accommodations in the past 2 years accepted. Winning. 

I'm working on two LSAT accommodations for learning disorders and ADHD right now. Very busy schedule with other assessments (GMAT, GRE, SAT, MCAT, Medical Exam and Bar Exam.)  I now have a permanent message with my answering service that I have no immediate appointments available and that I will email potential clients from the waiting list...which is working out so much better than trying to answer a dozen calls and emails every day and still be able to work...it just doesn't happen!

I've been able to give much more specific and direct information about accommodations by emailing instead of talking on the phone. http://www.privatetesting.com/ makes it easy for me to refer people for more information about testing and my email:  drmouton@yahoo.com is easier to group and respond.  Its also making it easier for me to filter out people who don't really qualify by giving them a screening test.  I'm turning down 90% of people contacting me because they aren't likely to qualify with their background, diagnosis (or lack of) or unusual cirumstances....which makes my success and my patient's success rate go up much higher.

Fees for Adults 16 and over are $2928 (Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover accepted) for learning disability or ADHD accommodation testing, which includes the 20+ page report and completion of specialized accommodation request forms.  For psychological accommodations, testing is much longer (8 hours)  $3416 (Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover accepted).  I'm able to do the entire assessment in a day. For children younger than 16 ($2440) for school accommodations testing is done in 2 hour increments on two separate days, unless parents request it all be done in a day. 

Adults and fly in testing still makes up the majority of my practice. Most of the fly in patients come from New York and Boston, with states surrounding California next...and of course nearby counties and cities. So many people fly in from San Francisco or Sacramento that I've identified a hotel down the street from my office so people can fly in the night before, walk to my office, get tested and take Supershuttle back to the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank....really neat process.  I'm able to pdf the report in an email in color with my license stamps and send physical copies by 2 day priority mail.  Had a few South Easterners from Georgia, Florida and Louisiana fly in last month. Two out of the country client fly ins since February.

I get resumes from Psychologists wanting to work for me every month, but I'm not hiring additional people, standards go down, quality goes down and I don't have time to impart my specialized accommodation knowledge on new people trying to enter the field. Lawyers keep asking to have me on retainer for their cases and again....no. I'm focused on helping individuals get accommodations through the regular route, not going through the court system.

Its been a while since I've done a post...just venting and updating!

ADA accommodation misunderstandings and denials

I find it amazing that even professionals in the field of learning disorders do not understand the difference between accommodation assessments and learning disorder assessments.  A learning disorder or ADHD requires atleast the minimum qualifiers in the DSM-IV-TR, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision.  Where as accommodation assessments must contain the DSM-IV-TR as its foundation criteria AND it must meet the much higher Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA criteria. The misunderstandings occurr most often with attorneys or academicians who know one or the other but not both. A psychoeducational assessment is a minimum requirement to show the significant discrepancy between potential and achievement for a learning disorder and for ADHD, a 10 minute checklist will identify the diagnosis. But, for accommodations the golden triad includes: diagnosis, impact on accommodation recommended (and supported by percentile scores), as well as independent evidence of the symptoms affecting the person, more than the average person, on a daily basis, in multiple areas, is where so many reports fall short and thus contribute to the large number of denials. Just having a diagnosis doesn't automatically qualify someone for accommodations under the ADA, so the emphasis on the diagnosis instead of the impact of the symptoms of the diagnosis are the leading reason for ADA criteria to not be met and for denials for accommodations on the LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, SAT, Medical Board and Bar exams.  It is not adequate to have clinical testing for a learning disorder or ADHD. You MUST meet ADA requirements to have a legal case to receive accommodations. The web is full of information about why people are denied, but it almost always comes down to the paperwork submitted was inadequate for ADA standards.

LSAT Accommodations & LSAT accommodation denials

Well all the accommodation assessments for this deadline are finished and have been sent out.  I still have people on http://www.testaccommodations.com/  emailing me about helping them even though the deadline has passed for the LSAT accommodation for this time around. And as usual, up to the day before the test I had people pleading to do their assessment and offering to double my fees to complete it. There is just no way to get it done in such as short period of time and waiting for the last minute is really not the best way to go about it since you will probably leave out some key piece of evidence that could put you in a "denied LSAT accommodation" situation that you definitely do not want to be in.  But, if you are one of those people who sent in "incomplete" petitions or were denied because the information you sent in was "inadequate" or were denied for any other number of reasons...try taking the test under regular conditions and compare it to the Full Scale IQ percentile rank from the WAIS-IV you sent in.  Is there really a big difference? If not, than you probably didn't have a good case going in. If you are asking yourself "what is the WAIS-IV" than you probably didn't have the right evidence inthe first place.  There is a reason half of the people I assess fly in from out of state and it isn't because you can't find someone to test for a learning disability or ADHD, its because very few professionals prepare the report to Americans with Disability Act standards.  If you've already spent two or three thousand dollars in test documentation and got denied, there is still a chance 12 months later to be reassessed and apply again...assuming you do have a DSM-IV TR diagnosis and a symptom paper trail from grade school, high school and/or college, your scores show significant impact on the accommodations requested and you have independent evidence of it affecting you, more than the average person in several different environmental areas of your life at present.  It helps to have a professional has prepared for the LSAT accommodations hundreds of times before, using ADA standards and not just a clinicians who has been testing for ADHD or learning disorders.  Be prepared, ask for organization checklists,  take the time to get your transcripts and old report cards. Find your old doctor's notes, your job performance reviews etc. Anticipate this as a major project.  You are not beeing screened in for accommodations, you are actually being screened out!

LSAT Accommodation deadlines!!

Don't wait until two weeks before the LSAT accommodation deadline to get an assessment. Not only will it be extremely difficult to get the testing done and all the documents ordered that are required that provide a good background history of symptoms, it also leaves no time for appeals if you leave out something in your last minute haste. It is extremely difficult to get someone to change their mind about a decision that has already been made. You have to show "significant new evidence" and by waiting for the last minute deadline you essentially lose out on the ability to appeal if you send in your request right up to the minute of the deadline.  It takes at least 2 weeks to complete a report from the last day of testing and that is if everything is in order and all documents are complete.

LSAT - Medical Disability Accommodations

Aside from the usual accommodation calls related to learning disorders (some symptoms are dyslexia and dysgraphia); attention deficit disorders (ADHD subtypes impulsivity, hyperactivity and inattentive types.)

I've gotten several inquiry calls recently about accommodations for genetic disabilities; physical problems and neurological problems related to surgeries, past tumor removals etc.  The key component (aside from the Medical Doctor who documents the Medical ailment) is the impact of the ailment on the ability to take the LSAT. If all you are doing is documenting that you have a broken arm, or a tumor that was removed or whatever physical ailment that causes a problem, than you are leaving out how it affects the ability to take the test (quantified as a percentile ranking).  The psychoeducational assessment piece that identifies by percentile ranking, age equivalent and grade equivalent the person's performance level in relation to the average person is the other significant aspect of showing that a person has a disability in relation to taking the LSAT that stems from the physical or genetic problem and how (very precisely) it impacts different aspects of the exam. Usually I get the calls about the medical disability after they have already sent in just paperwork for the medical issue without any impact scores.  It is important to document the impact along with the actual medical disability!

LSAT accommodation previous tester

Here is an interesting theme from a few dozen phone calls: many people calling to say they have used the same person or clinic to test in grade school, high school and college and they got turned down with a long history of accommodations and don't understand why?

Clinical testing is WIDELY  available, clinical testing with Americans with Disability Act, legal presentation and organization of documents for accommodations (as required by LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, GRE, Bar and Medical Exams) is a speciality area that very few clinicians master or even begin to understand.  Accommodation testing written to ADA standards is a "must" that as a parent or as a patient you need to understand because the clinician may not know the difference and assume they can do their usual "psychoeducational" assessment to school standards. Be forewarned and look for an accommodation specialist for the LSAT that is a licensed Psychologist and knows the differences between ADA standards and Clinical standards. If you have to explain it to them than you are probably not going to get the report you need to receive accommodations if you qualify!

LSAT Accommodation Extra Time

I've had so many requests about LSAT accommodations this week that I'm directing all inquiries to my email drmouton@yahoo.com .  I have more phone calls than I can respond to right now. Thanks. Please be succinct in your questions.  See the web site:   http://testaccommodations.com/