What I offer

Evaluations, Counseling, and Parent Consultation

Offered as separate services, each with its own process and fees, and all focused on improving outcomes for your child.

For answers

Psychoeducational Evaluations

Comprehensive evaluations for ages 5 to 16 that explain how your child learns and why school is hard, with practical recommendations for home and school. Reports are written for parents first, and for the school teams that will use them.

Testing typically scheduled within 2 to 3 weeks. Feedback session and complete written report within 4 to 6 weeks of intake.

· Learning disabilities including dyslexia and dyscalculia
· Attention, ADHD and executive functioning
· Autism and social communication challenges
· Emotional and behavioral regulation, anxiety, school avoidance
· Independent educational evaluations (IEEs) and second opinions
· Optional IEP / 504 meeting attendance

Start an Evaluation

For skill building and strategies

Counseling for Children

Counseling built on connection. I take time to learn what each child cares about, recognize their strengths, and make sessions somewhere they want to return. Therapy works better when a child wants to come back.

Parents are included. Regular parent meetings are a part of counseling, so you are never left guessing what happens in the room.

· Counseling for children with autism
· Anxiety, school avoidance and perfectionism
· Understanding big reactions: the "thinking brain vs. survival brain"
· Social skills instruction
· Social problem solving, friendship skills, and navigating peer conflict
· Teacher and school team consultation, as appropriate

Start Counseling

For parents

Parent Consultation

Parent consultation can be a standalone service: you can meet with me without your child becoming a client, whether you are trying to make sense of a report someone else wrote, preparing for a school meeting, or working out what to do about something that keeps happening at home. Some parents come once for a specific question; others meet regularly while a plan is put in place.

Already have a child in counseling with me? Regular parent meetings are a part of your child’s counseling. Some parents want more than that — sustained work on strategies at home while their child does their own work in session — and consultation can run alongside counseling for that. With older children, we agree in advance on what is shared from their sessions and what stays private, so your child can trust the room.

Parents come to me to

· Understand an evaluation, IEP, or 504 plan they already have
· Understand what to expect at an IEP or 504 team meeting, and what the team is likely to consider
· Work through homework battles, morning refusal, meltdowns, and screen conflict
· Build consistent behavior strategies that hold up across both homes and caregivers
· Support a child with autism, ADHD, or anxiety at home, and talk with siblings about it
· Decide whether an evaluation is the right next step

Book a Parent Consultation

Not sure where to start? That's exactly what the free 15-minute consultation is for: we'll figure out together what makes the most sense for your child.

The evaluation timeline

The evaluation process, week by week

Families receive a clear schedule at intake.

Week 0

Free phone consultation

15 minutes to hear your concerns and confirm I'm the right fit. A written fee estimate follows.

Weeks 1 to 2

Intake and records review

Parent meeting, rating scales, and review of school records so testing targets the right questions.

Weeks 2 to 3

Testing sessions

Typically two or three in-person sessions, paced for your child's age and attention.

Weeks 4 to 6

Feedback and full report

A feedback meeting to walk through the findings, then the complete written report with prioritized, realistic recommendations.

Typical timeline for most families; complex referral questions can extend it. You'll receive your specific dates at intake.

My approach

How I work

Grounded in public school experience

More than 20 years as a school psychologist means extensive knowledge of the IEP and 504 processes, curriculum, and how schools support students, so evaluations ask the right questions and recommendations fit real classrooms.

Collaborative by design

Understanding a child means connecting with everyone who works with them. With your consent, I collaborate with teachers, specialists, pediatricians, therapists, and BCBAs before, during, and after an evaluation.

Autism and behavior expertise

15 years in a specialized program for students with autism with wraparound ABA supports: developing behavior support plans, providing social skills instruction, and counseling students with autism, in partnership with families and school teams.

Connection with children

Children can tell when an adult is genuinely interested in them. I pay attention to what each child cares about and notice what they do well. Children engage in testing and in counseling when they feel understood.

Timely and clear

Evaluations are scheduled and completed on a timeline that works for your family, with recommendations that are designed to be realistic and effective.

About

Rebecca Hoitash, PsyD, LEP

I have worked for more than 20 years as a school psychologist in Massachusetts public schools, conducting evaluations, participating in IEP and 504 teams, and consulting with teachers and administrators. I understand the IEP process well: how teams gather information, make eligibility decisions, and build services. I know how to work productively with the educators who see your child every day.

For 15 of those years, I worked in a specialized program for students with autism requiring wraparound ABA supports, developing behavior support plans, providing social skills instruction individually and in groups, counseling students with autism, and partnering daily with families, teachers, and BCBAs. Families often find it difficult to locate a therapist experienced in addressing the emotional needs of children with autism; this has been a central part of my work. That experience shapes how I evaluate and support children with autism, ADHD, and emotional and behavioral regulation challenges: practically and collaboratively.

My evaluations have supported educational diagnoses and eligibility determinations involving specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia and dyscalculia, health impairments such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, emotional challenges such as anxiety, and other areas of learning and development, described in the educational and functional terms school teams use in planning.

In counseling, I help children understand their own reactions, what I call the "thinking brain vs. survival brain": why big feelings interrupt thinking, how their responses affect others, and what helps. Children leave understanding themselves better; parents leave with language and strategies that work at home and at school.

I am also the mother of three young adult sons.

Credentials & Memberships

·PsyD, Doctor of Psychology, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
·BA, Brandeis University, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
·Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP), Massachusetts Board of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions
·More than 20 years as a certified school psychologist in Massachusetts public schools
·15 years in a specialized program for students with autism with wraparound ABA supports
·Member, National Association of School Psychologists
·Member, Massachusetts School Psychologists Association

Fees and logistics

Straightforward, private-pay care

An evaluation is a real investment for a family, and I try to keep the financial side simple and predictable. My practice is private pay; I do not bill insurance. You will receive a written estimate before any service begins, and payment plans are available for evaluations.

1 What to expect

Evaluations are billed as a flat fee covering testing, scoring, the written report, and your feedback session. Counseling and consultation are billed per session.

Before any service begins, you'll receive a written Good Faith Estimate of expected charges, as required by federal law.

2 Insurance

My practice is private pay and I am not in network with any insurance plan. Health insurance frequently excludes psychoeducational evaluations, treating them as educational rather than medical, so families should plan for all services to be an out-of-pocket expense.

After each service, you'll receive an itemized receipt showing the date, the service provided, and the fee.

Common questions

Questions parents ask

How fast can we really get an evaluation? +

For most families, testing is scheduled within 2 to 3 weeks of your consultation call, and the complete report follows within 4 to 6 weeks of intake. If you are working toward a specific date, such as an upcoming school meeting, tell me at the first call and I will do my best to plan around it.

I was told to get a "neuropsych." Is this the same thing? +

"Neuropsychological evaluation" has become the catch-all term parents hear, but what a pediatrician or school is usually asking for is a comprehensive understanding of how your child learns, attends, and functions: cognitive abilities, memory, executive functioning, academic skills, and social and emotional functioning. That is exactly what my comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation covers, using the same standardized instruments. The situations that truly call for a neuropsychologist are those involving a medical or neurological condition, such as a brain injury, epilepsy, or a genetic or medical syndrome, where the question is about brain functioning in a medical context. If that describes your child, I'll tell you at our first phone call and help you find the right provider.

How is a private evaluation different from testing the school offers? +

School evaluations are designed to answer eligibility questions within the special education process. A private evaluation can take a broader look, with additional instruments, more time, and recommendations that are not limited to school-based services, including supports outside of school and strategies for home. The two are complementary: I review school records as part of every evaluation and, with your consent, communicate with the school team so the findings are useful in their planning.

Do you provide counseling for children with autism? +

Yes. For 15 years I counseled students with autism in a specialized public school program, collaborating on the development of their behavior support plans and providing social skills instruction. Counseling for children with autism can look different than standard talk therapy: each child's communication style, sensory profile, and regulation needs have to be carefully considered, and it involves close coordination with parents, teachers, and other providers such as BCBAs. Addressing the emotional lives of children with autism, including anxiety, frustration, friendships, and understanding themselves, is a central part of my practice.

My child has big reactions. Can you help us understand why? +

This is the heart of my work. I help children (and their parents and teachers) understand the difference between the "thinking brain" and the "survival brain": why certain triggers flip a child into automatic fight, flight, or freeze responses, how those responses affect the people around them, and what actually helps. For more than 20 years I have developed behavior support plans for students with autism, ADHD, and emotional and behavioral regulation challenges; that lens informs both my evaluations and my counseling.

Will you talk to my child's school? +

With your written consent, yes. I can share the report, consult with teachers and the team, and attend IEP or 504 meetings.

Do you make medical diagnoses or prescribe medication? +

As a licensed educational psychologist, I describe your child's learning, attention, and social and emotional profile in educational and functional terms, the language schools use in planning. I do not make medical diagnoses and I do not prescribe or manage medication. If your child needs either, that is a conversation for your pediatrician or a psychiatrist, and my report is written to give them something useful to work from.

Do you take insurance? +

No. My practice is private pay, and families should plan for all services to be an out-of-pocket expense. You'll receive a written Good Faith Estimate before we begin, and an itemized receipt after each service.

Get started

Request a free 15-minute consultation

Whether you need an evaluation, counseling, parent consultation, or aren't sure yet, this call is where we figure it out.

Send a Message

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This form is not for emergencies. If your child is at immediate risk of harming themselves or someone else, call 911 or the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. If your child needs an urgent mental health assessment, call or text the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line at 833-773-2445, which can send a mobile crisis team. Submitting this form does not establish a professional relationship.

Practice details

Office

148 Linden Street, Suite 104B
Wellesley, MA 02482

Serving

Wellesley · Newton · Needham · Natick · Weston · Dover · Sherborn · Wayland · Sudbury · Framingham · Brookline and surrounding MetroWest communities.

Contact

Phone: (617) 299-9090
Email: rebecca@drhoitash.com
Web: drhoitash.com

Understand how your child learns, and what will help