If someone has suggested that your child might benefit from a psychological assessment, you may be confused about the need for one and wonder what takes place during a meeting or evaluation with our child psychologists.
Children may be referred for a psychological assessment for a variety of reasons. Among other things, they may be depressed or anxious, have attention or behavior problems at home or in school, be subjected to bullying, or have a learning disorder. Often when kids are struggling in school or seem to be behind their peers developmentally, a counselor or teacher will suggest the child undergo a psychological assessment.
The results of this type of evaluation will reveal which areas the child is doing well in and which are the ones he or she might need to address (for example: an undiagnosed learning disability). Dr. Ryan Seidman, the Clinical Director here at the Children’s Center notes that, “Having your child evaluated can promote improvement in academic and emotional functioning.”
Who Performs a Psychological Assessment?
Assessments are done by specially trained child psychologists who are experts at what they do. These mental health professionals evaluate the child’s strengths and weaknesses, then work with parents and teachers to formulate an approach to help the child progress.
What Happens During a Child’s Psychology Test?
These evaluations aren’t intimidating the way an “actual” test can be. It is best if the child is relaxed during the assessment, so the evaluation isn’t a pass or fail test like the kind you would normally study for.
During a psychological assessment, the child psychologist will:
- Interview (talk with) the child and their parents to learn more about their emotional and behavioral skills, in addition to their neurological functioning in areas such as spatial processing. In some cases, they may also talk to the child’s teachers or others who know the child well.
- Will observe the child during the evaluation. Depending on the reason for the test, the child psychologist may also visit the child at home or at school to further evaluate their interactions with others.
- Will have the child complete a standardized test. These tests have been taken by many people and allow the child psychologist to compare your child’s results with those of others in order to assess a range of abilities. They want to know how the child functions in areas such as behavior or movement (dexterity) and in subjects like reading, writing and math.
- May evaluate medical records, school records, or interview or test the child’s parents or teachers to learn more about the child.
Psychological testing isn’t a quick evaluation. The assessment often takes several hours to complete and likely will involve more than one session to be certain the psychologist has all the details about a child. By putting all the information together, the child psychologist comes to an understanding of where a child needs assistance and can develop strategies to help the child reach their full potential.
What Happens When We Get the Results of a Psychological Assessment?
When the testing is complete, the child psychologist will go over the results with the child’s parents. Keep in mind that the outcomes do not reveal 100% of a child’s potential, abilities or skills. Rather, the evaluation is used as a way to learn about the child’s “present functioning level” emotionally, in their school and home environments, how they learn, and their strengths and weaknesses.
The child psychologist will discuss areas in which the child does well and offer suggestions to help them improve in areas that need to be addressed. If the child is diagnosed with a learning disability, or a behavioral or emotional issue, recommendations will be made for ways to help the child manage that specific concern or problem.
By evaluating and understanding where the child has issues, child psychologists can provide positive coping strategies, reduce the child’s stress and enrich their competence and well being.
Learn More about Children’s Psychological Assessment
For more information about how our child psychologists can evaluate your child through psychological assessment, contact the Children’s Center for Psychiatry Psychology and Related Services in Delray Beach, Florida or call us today at (561) 223-6568.
I really like that you mentioned that a psychological evaluation can promote improvement in academic and emotional functioning. My son has been having trouble in school and has started closing himself off from us recently. He won’t tell us what’s been going on, so I think having a psychological test would be a good way to help us understand what he’s going through. Thanks for the information!
I am glad you said that after a psychological assessment the psychologist should have an understanding of the child’s issues and what coping strategies may help. My brother just went to a psychologist for the first time. Thanks for the information on the benefits if this type of assessment.
I do like it when you mentioned that psychological testing is not an easy process and that it usually takes a few hours and requires multi[ple sessions to complete. This is the reason why I am thinking about whether or not there are online tools for psychologists to use. The testing will be a lot easier if the person is allowed to take the exams in their homes or something like that. Anyway, I will just do my research since I am very much interested in psychology. Thank you.
I thought it was interesting that they might feel the need to observe the child at home or at school. My friend has been talking about taking her son to see a psychologist, since he seems to be having some problems that she doesn’t really know how to deal with. I think that it would really help the psychologist to really understand him if he were to observe him in different environments to really pinpoint his problems.
Thanks for the wonderful article
I’d like to thank you for your explanation about this kind of assessment for our children. I am afraid my brother’s son needs to be assessed psychologically. He became quiet and timid since his parents got separated. I am sure he’s been struggling and should be taken care of.
Thanks for the excellent manual
It is helpful to know that child psychological services will be able to offer suggestions to improve. This makes it a lot simpler for the child to continue to grow. My cousin might like knowing this as she works with her son on some difficult issues.
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That’s good to know that these psychiatric tests show the present level of emotion the children are able to function at. My son has trouble focusing in school and I know he’s smart so I’m looking for how to help him. I’ll have to find a child psychiatric service near me I can take him to see what his emotional level is to see if there’s something I can do to help him in school.
That is really nice to know that the psychologist will go over the psychological assessment with the parents. It would be good for someone to know if their child had any psychological issues. That way they could prepare and tailor learning to the child’s need.
Is 4 years old to young for testing?
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I find it interesting when you said that parents that let their children take a psychological assessment would help them learn about how they are doing emotionally and identify their strengths. If my son took the exam and they found out that he is struggling to move his fingers properly, I would enroll him at a sandplay therapist service starting this weekend. That way, he can learn how to use his fingers to help him excel in school.
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