| Psycho-educational Evaluations
We have provided answers to some of the most frequently asked questions
What is a psycho-educational evaluation?
A psycho-educational evaluation is a set of tests given by a School
Psychologist. The purpose of our special evaluation is to gain a
comprehensive understanding about the way a person learns.
This evaluation may show whether or not a person will probably be successful
in an academic setting, if they have learning problems, or if they are
an extraordinary "super" learner.
These types of evaluations include:
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IQ Tests
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Mental Processing & Achievement Tests
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Learning Disability Tests
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A complete social and medical history
What can an evaluation show us?
If an evaluation is done and interpreted by an experienced professional,
it can answer many questions:
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What is a person's present ability to learn?
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What is a person's probable potential?
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Is a person achieving at appropriate levels?
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Is a person working too hard for their grades?
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Can a person's ability to learn and their success improve with specialized
treatment?
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Does a person have a "true" attentional problem or is there a different
problem which makes it look like they are not able to pay attention?
Aren't these the same things for which my child
was evaluated in school?
It depends. The intent of an evaluation within a school is usually
to determine whether or not a child is eligible to receive special services
within the school system.
Our intent is to find out why there is a problem. Once
we determine
why a problem exists, we are able to create treatment
plans tailored to the exact and specific needs.
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NOT all children with learning problems are qualified to receive special
services within a school.
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A school system usually decides which tests their School Psychologist will
use.
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Tests at school may tell you two or three important things:
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Can I expect my child to be successful in school?
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In what academic areas is my child doing well or poorly?
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Do they qualify for special services?
If my child has been identified with a
learning problem, why do you need to do more testing?
Because there are specific subtypes of reading difficulties for which
we remediate.
Testing must be specific and recent.
With exact diagnosis, an exact and successful individualized
treatment plan can be developed.
We are happy to review the child's history and files, and if necessary
tests have been given in the recent past, there is no need for additional
testing in those areas. The old testing information, however, is
often not explicit enough for us to identify specific problems.
| "Our Standard Battery is composed of the checklists, questionnaires,
and many tests infrequently used in determining LD through a "discrepancy
formula method".
~Denton M. Kurtz, M. Ed., LSP, N.C.S.P., LMHC, N.C.C.
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Why might a person need both an evaluation
and counseling for learning problems?
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Undiagnosed or untreated learning problems can lead
to low self-esteem, inefficient interpersonal and relationship skills,
as well as avoidance behaviors and depression.
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Many individuals with learning problems have been
traumatized
as a child, usually in school and sometimes at home. They carry
these hidden emotional wounds with them everywhere they go.
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Many individuals have acquired many coping strategies
throughout their lives to compensate for or hide their learning problems.
As successful remediation occurs, many people have to learn new strategies
geared
toward independence and inter-dependence, not dependence, co-dependence
or avoidance.
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Often times, when a person becomes independent in
their learning within a very short amount of time, all of their relationships
also change rapidly. Often, we find that some family members
and other support systems have not had time to emotionally adjust to the
rapid changes in the successful independent learner and that they
need
support during the transition.
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To learn more about our Psychotherapy and Counseling
Services
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Preparing for the Assessment
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| Learning Issues |
Gifted Assessment |
| You may be wondering what to expect in the first session, and how to
prepare. The best thing that you can do is relax! Assessment
and testing are friendly and painless!
Our School Psychologists and each client work as a team of detectives,
looking for clues together that will point to:
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What's happening to interfere with learning.
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Why it is happening
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What to do to correct it.
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We suggest that you not tell your child that he or she
is going to visit us for "gifted testing".
It is better to explain that there are some tests that will show what
your child has learned and what they haven't learned yet, and that these
tests will help determine the best learning program for your child in the
coming months and years. |
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