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, defenses, 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) 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 MDs 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 in three or four general categories. Many
schools will provide special accommodations for 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 disability.
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 neurologist 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, attention, 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 in-depth and can take several testing
sessions to complete. |
