Psychological Evaluation and Testing

A. What kinds of psychological testing do you perform?

A. I test children, adolescents and adults for any of the following conditions:

ADHD/ADD
Learning Disabilities
Other Cognitive Problems due to either psychiatric illness or mild brain injury
Depression
Personality Evaluation (e.g. coping skills, defences, psychological strengths and weaknesses)
Vocational Testing

Q. Why should I have my child evaluated for ADHD?

A. There are several reasons to have children (and adults) evaluated for ADHD.

1. When there is repeated academic failure or significant academic dysfunction not due to intellectual ability

2. When social and professional abilities are compromised by dysfunctional patterns of behavior and or thinking.

3. When you are referred by a physician or pediatrician.

Q. What will my child (or myself) gain from being evaluated for ADHD?

A. You will learn more about what gets in the way of your child's or your own, academic and social success. If warranted, I will refer you to a medical doctor for medication and will provide you with a list of specific recommendations that are designed to help you (or your child) to more effectively cope with social, cognitive, academic and emotional problems that prevent you from being successful.

Q. Why would someone need personality testing?

A. People are often referred for personality testing by other therapists or MD's when the reasons for their difficulties are unclear and difficult to comprehend. When I perform this type of evaluation, I typically use a variety of self-report, cognitive and projective tests to help me to get a thorough picture of the way a person copes with the challenges that life throws at them. I will be able to help you and those that are working with you in therapy to better understand some of the reasons for your current difficulties, and possible means of working to overcome them.

Q. What is a learning disability?

A. A learning disability is any cognitive or neurological condition that significantly impairs a person's ability to learn in an academic setting. There are hundreds of specific types of learning disabilities, however, psychologists generally classify them into three or four general categories. Many schools will provide special accomodations to students who are diagnosed by a psychologist as having a learning disability. Without this diagnosis, the schools are not allowed to provide these services. While public schools are required by law to provide testing for learning disabilities, many factors interfere with children being able to be tested in a timely manner. Therefore, many parents choose to have an outside psychologist provide this service. Psychological testing for learning disabilities is not covered by most insurance plans, unless the person also has a psychiatric disabilities. Unfortunately, when left undiagnosed and untreated, many children with learning disabilities develop psychological problems. This is why it is very important to have your child tested if they are displaying chronic academic problems despite adequate intelligence and strong motivation to succeed.

Q. What is neurocognitive testing?

A. This is a term that means the same thing as neuropsychological testing (but is somewhat easier on the tongue!). This means that you will be given a battery of tests designed to better understand the way your brain is affecting your behavior. Some of the functions tested are; memory, atttention, sequencing ability, distractibility, hand-eye coordination, motor planning and motor speed. We use a variety of tests, some of which are administered by hand and others on a computer. This kind of testing is very in-depth and can take several testing sessions to complete.