Amanda Wall, Psy.D.

What is involved in an evaluation/assessment?

A psychodiagnostic assessment, whether it be a psychoeducational or other type of evaluation, is a set of assessment measures used to obtain information about an individudual's development, cognitive ability, learning, memory, achievement level, behavior and mental health. Different assessment procedures, or combination of procedures, are used, depending upon the referral question(s), presenting problem(s), and previous tests administered with careful consideration of cultural differences and possible impairments in speech/language, hearing, vision and motor development.
 
Dr. Wall initially meets with the client or parents, if the client is a minor, to collect pertinent information regarding the client's developmental, medical, academic, psychological, and social history. For some children, a school observation may be helpful to the evaluation process. This would occur prior to the first testing session with the child. The client is then administered a series of assessment measures, depending on the referral question, over the course of several sessions (depending on client's level of attention and test fatigue as well as time constraints). Parents, teachers, or others may be asked to complete rating scales which will provide valuable collateral information regarding the client's level of functioning.
 
The client's performance on the assessment measures, along with results of the rating forms, will be scored and interpreted, and a comprehensive report provided, along with verbal feedback and recommendations for intervention.
 
Referrals to other healthcare or educational professionals for treatment or further evaluation (e.g., occupational therapist to address fine motor skills deficit), as needed, are provided at the conclusion of the assessment.