Psychoeducational Assessment
Complete psychoeducational assessment explores the whole child through an individualized evaluation. Instruments are selected based on the child's needs and the questions that the family or school would like to have answered. This is most commonly used in cases where a child is experiencing difficulty academically, socially, emotionally, or behaviorally and the school and/or parent are unsure of why or of what to do to help. Please click here for examples of reasons to pursue this type of evaluation, such as suspicions of Dyslexia, Autism, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This type of assessment generally includes cognitive, academic, and social/emotional assessment, but will be tailored to the child's specific needs.
Educational Assessment
For some children, the full psychoeducational evaluation is not necessary, but they would benefit from a full educational assessment to identify their academic skills, strengths and weaknesses, and specific areas of need. This assessment generally includes full evaluation of reading, writing, and math skills, and can help identify where the child is having the most difficulty and what underlying skills and cognitive processes may be contributing to their difficulties or successes.
Cognitive Assessment
Basic cognitive assessment is often chosen by parents who are interested in knowing more about their child's cognitive functioning (IQ) for the purposes of gifted education placement, social services documentation of cognitive disability, or simply for their own knowledge. Additionally, more in-depth cognitive assessment can help identify cognitive processes (memory, processing speed, perception, sequencing, etc.) that may be impacting learning. This could be a first step toward investigating underlying causes of academic difficulty, but does not include assessment of academic skills or social/emotional development.
Consultation and Screening
Are you unsure of whether your child needs a full evaluation in any of these areas but would like to get more information? Consultation and screening assessment may be your first step. This is a shorter, less in-depth process that looks at the very basics of the child's skills in order to help identify whether additional assessment is warranted. It generally will include an intake interview with parents, review of the child's academic progress and information from the school and teachers, and a brief standardized assessment that can flag any significant areas of concern that may warrant a full evaluation.