Psychological Testing

Types of Assessments

Psychological assessments provide an in-depth look at cognitive functioning, learning style/ability, and/or whether or not a child/adolescent is struggling with a specific diagnosis (e.g., ADHD).

I offer psychological assessments for children and adolescents. Common referrals are for the following:

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Learning disorders
Intelligence/cognitive testing
Mental health concerns, such as mood disorders and anxiety

Depending on the referral question, the assessment may be brief or more involved. For example, a child may be referred for an assessment of intellectual abilities (IQ) as part of a school’s admissions process. In this case, the child may only need a stand-alone IQ test. However, if a child is referred to assess for learning and emotional difficulties, the testing battery would include several tests to get a more comprehensive picture of the child’s cognitive abilities, academic achievement, and social-emotional functioning. I will tailor the assessment to the individual child based on the information discussed in the initial evaluation.

Assessment Process

The psychological assessment process involves an initial evaluation, testing, feedback, and a written report with recommendations. More specific information regarding each of these aspects is outlined below:

Initial evaluation: This step consists of a structured interview with parents and the child. The initial evaluation will allow me to get a complete history of the presenting concerns and purpose of testing in order to choose the tests that I need to administer.

Testing: This step includes the actual administration of the tests. The length of testing varies widely depending on the nature of the assessment. For brief assessments, such as the administration of an IQ test, testing may only last 60-90 minutes. However, for more comprehensive assessments, testing may last several hours and may be spread out over a couple of days.

Feedback: During the feedback session I will thoroughly review the testing results and implications with parents and will provide an age-appropriate explanation for children/adolescents. I will answer all of your questions about the results and address any concerns you may have.

Formal report with recommendations: During the feedback session parents will be provided with a formal psychological assessment report. The written report will provide an explanation of the test results, a formal diagnosis (if applicable), and treatment/academic recommendations based on the integration of information from the initial evaluation and test results.