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Psychological tests can offer valuable information for
children struggling with school, social, and/or behavioral
problems.
Psychological tests are standardized measures of mental
functioning used to assess various abilities and attributes,
such as cognitive ability, academic achievement,
personality, and neuropsychological functioning.
For many children, psychological tests may be used as a tool
in tracking cognitive/intellectual development, and in
identifying possible learning disability, developmental
delay, or giftedness. Psychological
testing helps identify the child’s strengths and weaknesses
and can serve as a road map of how to best assist the child
in improving his/her academic work and social/emotional
functioning.
Purpose of psychological testing
·
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Diagnosis
and Screening
·
Learning Disability (LD) Screening
·
Giftedness Screening
·
Identify possibilities of other psychological issues that
can mimic as, or can be associated with ADHD and/or LD
o
Depression
o
Anxiety
o
Oppositional Defiant Disorder /Conduct disorder
o
Developmental delay and/or pervasive developmental disorders
·
Provide guidance and directions to best help the child
Types of Tests Offered
Please note that all areas must be included in the testing
for results to be meaningful.
Intelligence
(Cognitive abilities) Test
The
Wide Range Intelligence Test (WRIT) is a test of cognitive
functioning. It
consists of two components and four subscales:
Academic Achievement Test
The Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-4) is a standard
achievement test.
Word Reading
measures letter and word decoding through letter
identification and word recognition.
-
Sentence Comprehension
measures an individual's ability to gain meaning from
words and to comprehend ideas and information contained
in sentences through the use of a modified cloze
technique.
-
Spelling
measures an individual's ability to encode sounds into
written form through the use of a dictated spelling
format containing both letters and words.
-
Math Computation
measures an individual's ability to perform basic
mathematics computations through counting, identifying
numbers, solving simple oral problems, and calculating
written mathematics problems.
-
Reading Composite is obtained by combining the Word
Reading and Sentence Comprehension standard scores.
It is used as a comprehensive measure of reading
achievement.
Behavioral Rating Scales
The Conners’ Rating Scale is a behavioral questionnaire
completed by the parent, teacher, and the child (ages 11 and
up). It assists
in the assessment of cognitive difficulties, conduct, and
emotional problems, attention deficit disorder, and
hyperactivity.
Projective Tests
The Draw-A-Person test (DAP) uses figure drawings in a
projective way, focusing on how the drawings reflect the
anxieties, impulses, self-esteem, and personality of the
child. The DAP
is the most frequently used figure drawing test today.
The Kinetic Family Drawing technique (KFD) requires the
child to draw a picture of his/her family, including
him/herself, "doing something."
The drawing is meant to elicit the child's attitudes
toward his or her family and the overall family dynamics.
Diagnostic
Interview with parents and child
Both the parent and the child are interviewed.
In most cases, both the parent and the child are
interviewed together to gather pertinent information, such
as developmental history, medical history, and background
family information.
This is done during the initial intake.
During the testing session, the child is interviewed
individually.
Parents are also asked to complete developmental
questionnaire.
Process of Psychological Testing
1.
Intake Interview
The
purpose of intake interview is to get a history, to obtain
and review available records, and to answer any questions
and concerns from parents.
2.
Psychological Testing Session
Because of the comprehensive nature of the psychological
assessment, the testing session can take 3 to 4 hours.
3.
Feedback Session
A copy of the report will be provided to the parents.
The purpose of the feedback session is to assist
parents in thoroughly understanding the test results,
interpretation, the child’s strengths and weaknesses, and
most importantly, the recommendations.
Please remember that
psychological test results are a “snapshot” of the child’s
functioning and performance at the moment.
Mental abilities can be affected by transient factors
such as anxiety, fatigue, and oppositionality.
Although test scores provide clues as to the child’s
current functioning, scores often change with
appropriate intervention
4.
Test Report
Test reports are typically 6 to 10 pages in length,
depending on the complexity of the child’s problems.
Parents are highly encouraged to double-check for
misinformation in the history.
All reports are written in English.
A Japanese translation of the test report may be
requested for a fee.
Costs and Insurance
Psychological assessment fee is billed hourly at
$150.00/hour.
Typical psychological assessment, from start finish, takes
about 12 hours, costing approximately $1800.00.
This includes initial intake session, testing
sessions, test interpretation, report write-up and
preparation, and feedback session.
The fee for the first hour ($150.00) is due on the
day of the initial intake.
On the day of the first testing session, 50% of the
expected testing fee ($900.00) is due.
On the day of the feedback session, the remainder of
the fee is due.
Although psychological assessment is often not covered by
health insurance, some insurance companies offer limited
hours of psychological testing.
Hours covered by the insurance will be billed to the
insurance company, but you will be responsible for
co-payment per session if it is applicable.
For instance, if your insurance covers 4 hours of
psychological testing, and assessment takes 12 hours, you
will be expected cover 8 hours of services, plus the
co-payment for those 4 hours of session (if your copayment
is $20/session, you need to pay $80 of co-payment).
If the insurance company denies the claim, you will
be billed for the balance.
Initial intake session and feedback session can be
considered regular office visits and insurance may be
applied.
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