Evaluations For All Ages

Preschool

Preschool represents the start of a child’s academic career. Programs typically focus on exploration, development of social skills, and play, while starting to introduce basic school-readiness concepts. As they mature, children are expected to participate in circle time, work collaboratively on projects, transition between activities, and follow the general flow of the school day.

Some parents, whose children received services through Early Intervention, find that their children’s needs are not currently being met by their learning plan, yet are unclear as to which services need to be added or modified. For other families, preschool is the first time their child is identified as having a developmental area that might need support, such as social development, language development, attention, pre-academic abilities, or behavioral regulation.

Neuropsychological evaluations can paint a comprehensive picture of a child’s developmental profile, noting areas of strengths and weaknesses, and provide recommendations for services and strategies for both school and home. As social and school contexts are such essential pieces of understanding a preschool-age child, our evaluations often include a school observation.

Elementary School

Elementary school presents an exciting time in which, for the first time, children are immersed in academics. They are expected to learn and master the foundations of reading, writing, and mathematics, and then to apply this information in order to comprehend higher level texts and to problem solve.

Neuropsychological evaluations are able to determine if a child has underlying learning difficulties, such as reading disorder or learning disorder in mathematics, that are hindering their ability to achieve their potential. Additionally, evaluations assess other skills essential for classroom learning, such as reasoning, language, attention, visual-motor integration, and working memory.

Finally, we know a child’s learning is deeply affected by their social-emotional experiences. We consider all of these variables when describing a child’s current level of functioning. Recommendations often focus on classroom placement and modifications, how the material can be taught in a manner consistent with a child’s learning profile, and any other services that might be helpful, as well as strategies for parents to use at home.

Middle School and High School

The focus of our evaluations often shifts when working with pre-teens and adolescents. Although we continue to assess academic fundamentals, executive function skills become a critical focus of the evaluation process. Executive functions are essential self-regulation skills that help students accomplish daily tasks, such as planning, organizing, time management, thinking flexibly, using working memory, controlling impulses, and focusing on tasks through completion. These skills are the bridge between a student’s potential and what they are able to achieve.

As students are expected to engage in an increasing amount of independent work while balancing extra-curricular activities, at times, previously successful students find they are missing assignments, feeling a great deal of stress about completing their work, and struggling with procrastination.

When evaluating adolescents, we always consider the social-emotional context in order to tease apart cognitive-based learning difficulties from anxiety and social stress. Recommendations focus on how students best take in and learn information, outside supports that might be helpful, and if warranted, accommodations for school and standardized tests.

College through Adulthood

Many of the young adults who receive a first evaluation while in college find that they are struggling to demonstrate the same level of academic performance they achieved in high school. Oftentimes, they are having difficulty keeping track of their classes and assignments and managing their time in the context of living independently.

Other students, with longstanding histories of learning challenges, require updated evaluations to ensure that they continue to receive the appropriate accommodations and supports necessary to support their academic and socioemotional success. A neuropsychological evaluation at this critical time in adulthood focuses on how students best take in and learn information, outside supports that might be helpful, and, if warranted, accommodations and learning support for schools. Additionally, strength-based vocational assessments can also be used to help students learn more about their skills, talents, interests, and potential, as well as how these characteristics can inform early career decision-making and success.

Adults who are not in college may seek an evaluation to clarify why school has been challenging for them in the past and why they are experiencing similar difficulties in the workplace. Recommendations include personalized strategies based on how the individual takes in information, as well as accommodations and other supports if necessary. Further, strength-based vocational assessments, as well as brief vocational counseling, can help individuals considering a change of career to learn more about their skills, talents, interests, and potential.