Psychological Testing
Comprehensive psychological testing of an individual's cognitive, personality, emotional, and behavioral functioning may be used to:
- Determine differential diagnosis
- Assess cognitive ability (giftedness or impairment)
- Assess academic strengths and weaknesses
- Determine presence of a Specific Learning Disorder
- Direct medical and behavioral treatment planning
- Assist academic/career planning
Specific to a child or adolescent, psychological testing is often recommended to provide direction for parents, educators, and other professionals working with the child. For example, some children are better at visual processing as opposed to oral processing. Some may have difficulty with short-term memory while others may have difficulties with working memory. Some children may be slower at processing information and require extra time to complete tasks. Sometimes children develop behaviors that may appear as 'a lack of motivation' but may in fact be coping mechanisms; that is, it is more tolerable to not try and fail than to try and fail. Often psychological testing assists with educational planning so the child is given the support needed to reach his/her highest academic potential.
Individualized Approach. When psychological testing is recommended, I first conduct a thorough assessment of the issues of concern. While some psychologists utilize a 'standard' test battery and computer generated reports, I offer an individualized approach with selection of the most innovative and thorough test instruments to address the questions of concern. Every individual tested is provided with a comprehensive report integrating all the test findings and recommendations specific to the individual.
Environment. It is important to provide a welcoming environment, especially when evaluating children. A positive rapport facilitates the evaluation process. While the testing environment and procedure has to be structured, we make every effort to provide a comfortable, relaxed, atmosphere. We find our friendly demeanor often works well with even the most resistant, shy, and/or anxious child, adolescent, or adult.
Turn-around. One of the most frequently asked questions when testing is recommended is "how long will it take to receive the results?" Typically, professionals take 3 months; some take as long as 6 months before reporting the final results. Once the testing is completed, we typically release a final report of the results and recommendations within one month. This allows the client, parent, teachers and other professionals to begin the recommended course of action.
Academic Learning and Behavioral Assessment. While psychological testing in an academic environment can be very beneficial to a child, the scope of the testing is limited to academic related assessment. If there are underlying neurological processing, personality, environmental, and/or emotional concerns that may be contributing to a child's functioning, academic evaluations do not encompass assessment of these facets. Psychological testing can be very beneficial in assessing academic difficulties, such as Specific Learning Disorders or processing disorders. An accurate assessment of the problems is imperative in developing an education plan that addresses the child's academic needs.
Emotional and Behavioral Assessment. Psychological testing tends to be beneficial in understanding mood and behavioral disruption. Often mood disturbance, developmental issues, and/or underlying cognitive issues impact a person's functioning; a deeper understanding of those elements is helpful in directing intervention for negative behavioral patterns.
ADHD Assessment. Often children and adults present to their primary care physicians with attention, concentration, memory, academic/work and behavior concerns. While rating scales are beneficial in obtaining a profile of concerns, rating scales are not sufficient alone in identifying ADHD. Numerous other diagnoses present with similar symptoms as ADHD; anxiety, depression, stress, learning disorders, adjustment issues. As stimulant medications are added, individuals with underlying co-morbid symptoms often experience heightened symptom presentation complicating the treatment regime. Further, often hyperactivity can be manifested in cognitive processes and not behavioral activity; these cases tend to go undetected unless a thorough assessment is conducted. In essence, I recommend a comprehensive evaluation, including multiple sources of information and assessment measures, when assessing a child or adult with suspected ADHD.
Psychological Evaluation Process. An initial interview is first scheduled with the client and/or parent to assess the issues of concern. If testing is recommended, a 4-hour session is scheduled to complete the testing, which consists of individually administered, one-to-one interaction with the examiner. A thorough evaluation may also require the addition of other testing not previously planned; for these circumstances additional sessions may be required to administer the additional tests. For children and adolescents, an hour-long clinical interview with the custodial adults is then scheduled with the examiner.
Sometimes self-report questionnaires will be needed. I ask the informant to complete these in our office. The informant may need to schedule additional time to complete these scales. When evaluating a child or adolescent, it is typically beneficial for the parent to provide the examiner with information regarding the academic and/or medical history. This may include previous assessments, standardized testing, written interventions, academic records, medical records, etc.
Once the testing is completed, the examiner schedules an appointment with Dr. Baus to review the final test report, usually one month from the completion of the testing.
The final report includes an integration of the history, purpose of the testing, test data, a summary of any diagnostic impressions, and exhaustive recommendations. The client is given a copy of the report to distribute at their discretion.
Further consultation is available to assist in implementing the recommendations. When academic recommendations are given, consult may be beneficial assisting with the educational planning meeting and with further collaboration with teachers and administrators. This support service is not included in the testing process but available upon request; our attendance at educational planning meetings allows for direct advocacy of the recommendations with further explanation of the resulting recommendations.