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WHAT IS A PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT?
A psychological assessment (or psychological evaluation) is a tool to help determine why your child may be struggling at home, school, or with friends. The assessment involves interviews with you and your child, testing, observation, input from teachers, and consultation with any professionals involved in your child’s care. The testing often covers many areas, including cognitive abilities, academic skills, fine motor skills, attention and concentration, behaviors, and emotions. This helps identify your child’s strengths and what is contributing to his/ her difficulties. We then can determine what recommendations or next steps will be most helpful to address your concerns.
WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO ASSESSMENT?
My approach to assessment is collaborative and strength-based. I tailor each assessment to your child to better understand the multiple factors that may be contributing to his/her challenges. I design these assessments to answer the questions you have (i.e. “How can I help my child who is having trouble focusing? Why does my child keep ‘squeaking by’ academically? Why is my child “quirky” and having trouble making friends?”) Through the assessment process, I comprehensively integrate information and discuss practical resources that will help your child. Families have told me that I am warm, supportive, and engaging, especially for those that may be new to mental health services.
WHAT TYPES OF ASSESSMENT DO YOU PROVIDE?
Based on my experience in psychological and educational evaluations, I offer several types of assessment services. These assessments include:
Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Learning Disabilities, with expertise in dyslexia and dysgraphia
Autism
Emotional difficulties, such as anxiety and depression
Disruptive behavior problems, such as anger control, oppositionality, and defiance
Adjustment problems following a stressor (i.e. move, divorce, etc.) or traumatic event
Giftedness
What is InCLUDED IN THE ASSESSMENT?
I work with you throughout the assessment process to get a deeper understanding of you and your child. Although each assessment will be tailored to your needs, these areas are usually included:
Review of medical, developmental, family, and behavioral history
Clinical interviews with parent(s) and child
Review of report cards, teacher information, results of any school testing, and results from any previous evaluations
Testing in areas such as cognitive abilities, academic skills, phonics skills, fine motor abilities, attention and focus, and emotional/behavioral functioning
A comprehensive report that includes answers to your questions, identifies your child’s strengths and areas of improvement, includes any relevant diagnoses, and provides recommendations
1.25-hour feedback session to review findings, recommendations, and answer any remaining questions
WHAT IS THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS?
This is the general process of an assessment:
I complete an in-depth clinical interview with parents to discuss your concerns and your child’s history. At the end of our meeting, I will have a better sense of the questions you would like addressed so that I can develop an assessment to meet your needs.
I ask parents and teachers to complete several forms depending on focus of the evaluation. I will ask you to bring additional information to the assessment (i.e. previous testing, report cards, or academic work samples).
I usually complete the assessment with the child in two mornings, lasting about 3 hours each. Most children find the assessment enjoyable.
I score, analyze, and integrate the data into a detailed, comprehensive report. This process takes 10-15 hours, depending on the complexity of the evaluation.
I then complete a feedback session with parents to discuss results, answer questions, and share the report. It can be helpful for older children and teenagers to have their own brief wrap-up meeting, where I briefly summarize information to them.