Psychological Evaluations

Comprehensive Psychological Testing

Goals

The first goal of comprehensive psychological testing is to come to clinically valid and reliable conclusions about a person’s functioning – including detailing a person’s strengths, weaknesses, and diagnoses.  Once this is known, you can move forward with the second goal: obtaining appropriate treatment.   It is certainly common sense that you shouldn’t treat something until you know what you are going to treat.  If you went to your doctor and he told you he didn’t know what was causing your symptoms, but wanted you to try a medicine based on a hunch, you certainly wouldn’t take it.  Psychological treatment is the same.  You don’t want to waste time and resources by trial and error – you want to know what the cause of the problem is, so that the first treatment you try is the correct one.

Comprehensive evaluation looks at many different possible causes of difficulties and includes depression assessment, anxiety assessment, ADHD assessment, anxiety assessment, learning disabilities assessment, autism spectrum disorders screening, addiction screening, trauma assessment, personality traits screening, and environmental factors screening (e.g., home or school environment).  Through this method we can not only make accurate diagnoses, we can also “rule out” other problems.  This is important because people can have more than one problem at a time.  For example, people diagnosed with depression have a much higher chance than others of also having another disorder such as an anxiety or behavior disorder.  Knowing all the conditions that exist allows you to seek the appropriate combination of treatments.  Knowing both what is going on and what isn’t going on allows us to make very specific recommendations that are the most likely to be effective and efficient.

Only comprehensive testing can provide the above information.  As opposed to this, a screening looks at one particular diagnosis and determines whether or not it appears to be present.  There are certain situations in which a screening might be desirable and sufficient.  For example, if a person was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but now that they are an adult their insurance company wants confirmation of the diagnosis, a screening looking only at ADHD symptoms may be sufficient for that purpose.   The down side is that a screening cannot be definitive because it can’t rule out other possible causes of the symptoms.  Only a comprehensive evaluation can do that, although it takes longer and is more expensive. Your psychologist will discuss this with you as it relates to you or to your child so that you can make the right choice for your circumstances.

The Process

The first step is to come to a mutual understanding about what questions need answering through testing.  For example, questions might include “Why is Jane doing so poorly in school,” “Why is John always getting in trouble?” “Do I have Bipolar Disorder?”  or “Does my child have ADHD?” Once we know the questions, we can start gathering the information needed to answer them.

The second step is to gather data and information. This involves giving standardized psychological tests and questionnaires, neuropsychological testing, getting information about a person’s physical and intellectual development, getting the perspectives of several different people about what strengths and what difficulties a person is having,  and reviewing any records of any past psychological testing or treatment.  Documents such as report cards, workplace evaluations, and others will also be reviewed (if available).  The psychologist will also observe the person during the course of the evaluation to find clues regarding their strengths and weaknesses.

Once all the information is gathered, the psychologist will score and interpret the data, and come to conclusions about the diagnoses.  They will write a report that details the results of each test and a conclusion about diagnosis.  The psychologist will then set up a time to go over the report and answer any questions you have about the findings.   Individualized treatment recommendations will be a part of the report, and during the feedback session these can also be discussed.  The psychologist wants you to understand how they came to the conclusions they did, and will gladly address any questions or concerns.

How Much Will Testing Cost?

Most of the time your insurance will pay the majority of the fee for testing. But some families’ insurance doesn’t pay the entire cost, leaving the family with a significant amount to pay themselves.  Our office staff can provide an estimate of how much your insurance will pay for testing and how much you might need to pay yourself. Given that an accurate diagnosis generally optimizes the treatment process and might even reduce the length of treatment, we believe an investment in testing pays for itself.

Autism Spectrum Disorders Evaluation

Our comprehensive evaluation includes screening and/or evaluation for ASD. Stand-alone Autism testings are also available and may be a good fit for…

• A child between 12 months and 5 years of age who shows signs and symptoms of Autism including…
  • Language delays
  • Sensory interests
  • Poor eye contact
  • Little interest in peers or caregivers
  • Trouble with minor changes in routines
  • Other signs that can be found here.
• A child or adult who already has an Autism diagnosis and needs re-certification
• A child or adult who has already done Comprehensive Testing and screened positive for Autism
• A child or adult who has screened positive for Autism upon evaluation by another qualified professional (physician, occupational therapist, etc.)
• Any adult who believes they have symptoms of ASD
  • These symptoms might look different from symptoms common in children.
  • Click here to learn more about symptoms common in adults with ASD.

What are the benefits of testing?

Autism Spectrum Testing can provide detailed information about what to expect from your child’s development, a deeper understanding about how to support your child and promote development, and access to community and school-based services that can assist you and your child. Testing can also help your provider/s coordinate personalized services based on your needs.