With the academic year in full swing, you might find your student or child is struggling to keep up in school. Several factors can influence a child’s success academically: social, emotional, intellectual, developmental, and medical. A child struggling in class could have an undiagnosed learning difference or ADHD, or might be sleeping poorly, experiencing conflict at home, have food insecurity, be a victim of bullying, may need eyeglasses, or have executive functioning challenges. Getting to the right diagnosis is the only way to forge a path forward with a tailored plan to fit each child’s needs. There are three major types of psychological assessments that help to identify trouble spots for kids who aren’t performing as well as expected in school.
Diagnostic Evaluation – This test is designed to recognize mental health conditions and help formulate a treatment plan based on those results. Disorders like anxiety, depression, ADHD, or autism can be diagnosed with this type of testing. It’s usually conducted by a clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, or qualified mental health professional, includes data from parents, teachers, interventionists, and direct observation of the student, and takes about 4 hours (1-2 hours of parent interview, 1 hour session with the child, and 1 hour feedback with the family). A Diagnostic Evaluation results in a written report that includes a diagnosis along with treatment recommendations. Costs range from several hundred dollars to thousands when done privately.
Psychoeducational Testing – This assessment can be done through a school’s Committee on Special Education (CSE) to help guide the institution regarding any necessary academic accommodations. This test usually analyzes cognitive and academic ability as compared to peers, and also includes social-emotional rating scales. Schools need to demonstrate significant impairment in order to design a 504 Plan or Individual Education Plan (IEP) for students, and Psychoeducational Testing performed by a psychologist can help illustrate this need. Testing can take 4-6 hours, which can be broken up into shorter, better tolerated segments. Verbal and visual tests will assess reasoning, memory, processing speed, and problem-solving. General academic skills (reading, writing, spelling, math), fluency, and efficiency are measured against standards to see if one area lags behind any others. This testing is conducted by a state-licensed expert and generates a report that can detail the kinds of accommodations that a student could qualify for and outlines the interventions needed. It’s typically free if conducted through the school but can run up to several thousand dollars if done privately. In some cases, insurance will cover the cost.
Neuropsychological Assessment – This is the most comprehensive evaluation of a child’s overall cognitive, academic, social-emotional, and neurocognitive functioning. It evaluates language, visual-motor, attention, learning, memory, and executive functioning skills. This testing is particularly useful for children with specific learning challenges or overlapping symptoms. This type of assessment takes several sessions and is performed by a team of clinical psychologists including at least one neuropsychologist. As thorough as this testing is, it can detect the presence and severity of learning differences, parse out complex or overlapping conditions like ADHD and anxiety, evaluate the success of current interventions, and assess cognitive and intellectual testing, short- and long-term memory and learning skills, executive functioning, speed and efficiency processing, attention, concentration, language functioning, gross and fine motor skills, emotional functioning, visual-spatial skills, social skills, and academic functioning. Start to finish, this evaluation may span 6-9 hours in total, including a feedback session for parents. Results are provided in a detailed report that can be used to construct a 504 plan or IEP and provide guidance for accommodations in the classroom. The most thorough evaluation, Neuropsychological Assessments are also the most expensive, ranging from $2,000-10,000.
Getting the right kind of testing can provide the most accurate diagnostic rendering of a student’s condition and will help achieve the best academic outcome by guiding appropriate interventions and supports. If you’re concerned that your child may be suffering from an academic impediment, start by talking to your primary care practitioner to address any medical or psycho-social issues, and to decide next steps. Looping in the school psychologist can help the process along as well. There may be long wait times for these kinds of evaluations, so don’t delay reaching out for help if you feel it’s needed.
