Assessment
Why Get A Psychological Assessment?
There are various uses for a psychological assessment, which often includes psychological testing (administration of tests and questionnaires). The evaluation may be requested by an authority such as the court or required by an organization in order to answer a question (e.g., competency, custody evaluations) or eligibility for services or special accommodations (e.g., special education, regional center, college exam boards, college accommodations).
Functions of a Good Psychological Assessment
A good psychological assessment can serve many functions that can be critical in treatment planning. For example, when a child or teenager is struggling with behavioral problems and academic difficulties, this could be due to a wide variety of factors (e.g., mental health problems, social skills deficits, an undiagnosed learning disability, memory problems, sensory differences, Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder, intellectual giftedness- to name a few). A comprehensive psychological evaluation could help providers and educators better understand the strengths and barriers of the individual child and clarify the support that the person needs.
Psychological assessment can also serve as a brief therapeutic intervention. I incorporate a collaborative therapeutic assessment approach when clients are looking for this type of evaluation.
When is a Psychological Assessment Needed?
- Cognitive Rehabilitation: Following a traumatic brain injury or stroke.
- Medical Treatment: Prior to starting treatments such as chemotherapy or medication for Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Assessments establish a baseline to help providers track the progress of the illness and/or treatment.
- Diagnostic Clarification: This is the most common need for psychological assessment, which helps guide treatment or other supports needed to maximize a person’s ability to function at their best in their environment.
Assessment psychologists vary in their specialty areas and types of evaluations they are qualified to complete.
Specialization & Expertise
I specialize in the assessment of autism (children and adults), learning differences, and mental health conditions. I also have training in and enjoy working with diverse populations, including people from diverse cultural backgrounds, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, medically fragile children, and children with severe behavioral difficulties. This population can be difficult to assess because of the special considerations that impact their history and presenting needs. Assessment data is only as good as the fit of the appropriate expertise, testing procedures, and the comfort level of the person being tested.
Often times, children who are actually quite bright get misdiagnosed as being impaired due to inappropriate testing measures or the evaluator not having the experience to accommodate issues that children with special needs present with. Similarly, people from non-majority cultures are often misdiagnosed due to lack of understanding of the socio-cultural origins of their difficulties. I use a variety of tests and diagnostic methods to capture each individual’s profile of strengths and weaknesses.
I conduct psychological assessments, neuropsychological assessments, and psychoeducational assessments.
Some questions/areas I could assess include:
- Autism
- Learning Disabilities and Academic Underachievement (e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, reading disabilities, math learning disability, disorder of written expression)
- Intellectual Giftedness in Twice Exceptional (2e) students
- Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD / NVLD)
- Intellectual Disability
- Diagnostic clarification for psychiatric problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, behavioral disorders, bipolar disorder)
The Assessment Process
Initial Consultation and Assessment Planning
If you are wondering if an assessment is appropriate or are interested in obtaining assessment services from me, please contact me. We will begin with a free initial phone consultation where we discuss the presenting problems and whether or not an assessment at this time would be appropriate. I may also want to review previous testing and educational records. If an assessment is indicated, I may schedule an initial interview to gather additional information to inform an assessment plan. For children, I may ask for your permission to observe your child in his / her early intervention or school program. The testing phase where I administer standardized tests or other assessment procedures can involve just one or several appointments, depending on how much testing is needed to answer the questions you have and how well your child can engage during the testing sessions.
Feedback & Reporting
After testing, we will schedule a feedback meeting where we discuss the results, diagnostic impressions, and recommendations. I can provide you with a detailed psychological assessment report that can be shared with others on your care team (e.g., schools, primary care provider, psychiatrist). Sometimes a full report is not needed, in which case I will provide you with a letter or summary of the assessment findings and recommendations.
I am available for ongoing support after an assessment, including explaining the assessment results to schools, working with your child’s school or your child’s treatment team to develop intervention plans, completing documentation, and continued consultation or re-assessment as your child develops. I attend school IEP meetings and regional center IFSP and IPP meetings. I can also consult and support young adults learning to work with their college accessibility department.
For information about my assessment fees, please look at the Fees and Insurance section of this website. I also conduct Independent Educational Evaluations (IEE) when requested by parents and approved for reimbursement by school districts.
Tests Given
The selection of assessment instruments is a decision that depends on various factors, including the clinical questions at hand, intellectual profile of the individual, language functioning, behavioral characteristics, and cultural background. I draw from an extensive battery of empirically supported testing instruments.
The following are examples of some of the tests that I use:
Intellectual
I use a variety of intelligence tests for toddlers, children, and adults including the Wechsler scales, the Stanford-Binet, Woodcock-Johnson, and nonverbal tests designed to capture an individual’s abilities.
Neuropsychological
Achievement & Learning Process
Personality
I use a variety of objective and projective tests to evaluate emotional coping style, interpersonal process, and how an individual might perceive the world or particular situations. These tests can offer insights into why someone expereiences repeated difficulties in certain areas of life as well as offer important information to support treatment. Some examples of tests here are the Rorschach Inkblot Test, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, 3rd Edition (MMPI-3) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI+).
Autism
I have worked with autistic adults and children with varying intellectual and communication abilities for over 20 years. In this time, we as a society and professionally in the field of psychology have learned a great deal about how autism presents across the lifespan and how autism is part of a continuum of human diversity. I use a variety of research-supported tests and procedures to evaluate whether someone meets the medical criteria for autism as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). This includes, but is not limited to, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2), the Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing Autism Spectrum, 2nd Edition (MIGDAS-2), measures of adaptive functioning, measures of social thinking, and measures of personality.
For older children and adults, I also evaluate the presence of a broader autism phenotype in thinking style, sensory profile, and social and behavioral preferences. I believe that a good assessment of a person’s development not only provides a clear picture of how the autistic neurotype can be challenging, but also how this neurotype intersects with personal characteristics to contribute to vitality and strength. Assessment must provide information beyond medical diagnosis to inform recommendations and resources for the individual, their caregivers, other providers, and schools to help maximize that person’s potential. Whether for children or adults, I strive for the assessment process to affirm and celebrate the individual.