What is a Psychological Evaluation?
Psychological Evaluations are conducted to provide further information about a child or adolescent’s learning style, the presence of learning disabilities, developmental concerns, or their behavioral and mental health. Evaluations are like a “psychological x-ray,” as they give us insights into the way your child best learns, what they think and feel, and how they are coping with the stresses in their lives. Each evaluation is individualized based on the specific needs of the child and questions you and involved professionals wish to have answered. We will discuss the specifics of your child’s evaluation during our initial appointment.
All evaluations will include:
All evaluations are tailored to meet the individual needs of the child and family.
When is a Psychological Evaluation helpful?
Understand the Child: Psychological evaluations are one of the quickest ways to gain insight into a child’s struggles, whether they are academic, social, or emotional in nature. This insight can be used to develop appropriate educational and therapeutic recommendations.
Identify the Need for Educational Accommodations: The combination of assessment techniques used in an evaluation provides a wealth of knowledge about an individual child’s style of learning, how s/he processes information, and what may be getting in the way of academic performance. With this understanding, appropriate educational modifications can be put into place. Psychological evaluations provide the information necessary to determine if your child qualifies for special education services, or accommodations for College Board testing (PSAT, SAT, AP Exams).
Clarify Barriers to Social and Emotional Health: Psychological evaluations examine a child’s social, emotional and behavioral functioning in light of his/her expected development milestones. Using this information, a child and his family can develop effective strategies for managing stress, understanding social relationships, controlling impulses and paying attention, among other key skills.
Build on the Child’s Strengths: A psychological evaluation will provide a clear picture of a child’s strengths, and will help parents, educators, and others understand how they can use these strengths to help a child work on areas of weakness.
Parents or other involved professionals typically seek out psychological evaluations when:
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Evaluations
Contrary to popular belief, there is no single “test” for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A reliable ADHD diagnosis cannot be made using a simple checklist. Many disorders may manifest in behavioral symptoms similar to those of ADHD, and the possibility of an incorrect diagnosis is high when a thorough evaluation is not done.
An ADHD Evaluation includes the following components:
Further testing may be recommended if there is a concern about the child’s academic or emotional functioning.
For further information please call Dr. Laurie Stevens Dray at (203) 779-5490, x3, or email her at drstevensdray@shorelinepsychological.com