Psychological Testing is an evaluation that may be useful to clarify or provide additional information to diagnoses. Psychological Testing may be sought for a number of reasons.

Testing services include:

• Giftedness / IQ / Cognitive Ability
• Psychoeducational Testing
• Attention-Deficit Disorder / ADHD
• Pervasive Development Disorders / Autism Spectrum
• Social & Emotional Well-being
• Personality Testing
• Ability to Parent
• Career Readiness/Fit

Giftedness testing, or IQ testing, consists of a test of cognitive ability such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) or the Standford Binet Intelligence Test, Fifth Edition (SB-5). This type of testing may be used to determine if your child is eligible to receive advanced or gifted programing. Tests of cognitive ability reveal an individual’s specific learning strengths and weaknesses, which may be useful in creating a learning program.

Psychoeducational testing is often recommended when a child is struggling to keep up with academic demands, has been retained, or appears to have unusual difficulty with a specific subject. Psychoeducational testing is used to diagnose learning disabilities and provide recommendations for educational planning and special testing accommodations. Psychoeducational testing generally consists of a test of cognitive ability, an achievement test, and an evaluation of emotional and behavioral functioning.

ADHD testing is useful when determining if a student’s academic difficulties are the result of an attention problem, behavioral problem or underlying emotional issue. ADHD testing may include parent and teacher questionnaires, self-report measures, tests of attention, and personality inventories. This type of testing is often conducted in conjunction with some psychoeducational testing so that a more thorough and individually tailored academic plan can be recommended.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), also known as Autism Spectrum Disorders, are generally present from an early age and affect one’s ability to relate to others and/or their environment normally. Testing for these disorders generally includes an in-depth interview with parents and teachers, a measure of adaptive functioning, standardized parent and teacher questionnaires, and often portions of the psychoeducational battery. Research demonstrates that early diagnosis and intervention with PDD results in better long term prognosis.

Social and emotional testing, as well as personality testing can be useful when making diagnoses, understanding underlying factors contributing to problems, and making appropriate treatment recommendations. Personality testing is also used by employers to determine appropriateness for certain type of jobs, and by courts when determining ability to parent and competency issues.

Have confidence that you will receive accurate test results conveyed in a meaningful fashion with appropriate recommendations. All testing is conducted with the most recent versions of tests available. Each test used meets the local school board requirements of an outside evaluator. Individuals may wish to have the evaluator discuss testing results with outside parties (e.g., schools, teachers, etc) in order to assist with academic planning. Confidentiality is maintained except where provided by law and results will not be disseminated to outside parties without your express written permission or as required by law.

There are occasions when psychological testing may be court ordered or requested of you by a third party (e.g., school, employer, etc.).