Signs may include persistent emotional, behavioral, or cognitive challenges that interfere with daily life. Here are some key indicators:
- Sudden Changes in Behavior – If a once lively child becomes withdrawn, excessively hostile, or indifferent to activities they once enjoyed, it could signal emotional distress.
- Difficulty Managing Emotions – Intense aggression, sadness, or anxiety that seems out of proportion to situations may indicate challenges in emotional regulation.
- Social Withdrawal – Avoiding social interactions, school, or friendships could be an early sign of depression, anxiety, or bullying.
- Struggles in School – Persistent academic difficulties despite the school making changes in the child’s educational plan or within the classroom. These difficulties may suggest learning disabilities or cognitive delays.
- Disruptive Behavior – Frequent impulsivity, aggression, or defiance beyond typical childhood behavior may indicate underlying psychological concerns.
- Changes in Sleep or Eating Patterns – Trouble sleeping, nightmares, excessive sleep, or noticeable appetite changes can be linked to emotional distress.
Why do child psychologists conduct psychological testing?
To assess a child’s cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral development in a quick but comprehensive way. These tests help identify learning disabilities, mental health conditions, and developmental delays, allowing for tailored interventions.
Here’s why psychological testing is important:
- Diagnosing Learning Disabilities – Tests can pinpoint challenges like dyslexia or ADHD, helping educators and parents provide the right support.
- Evaluating Emotional and Behavioral Health – Psychological assessments can detect anxiety, depression, or behavioral disorders, guiding treatment plans.
- Understanding Cognitive Strengths and Weaknesses – Intelligence and memory tests help determine a child’s learning style and areas needing improvement.
- Developing Personalized Interventions – Results from testing inform therapy, educational accommodations, and behavioral strategies to support the child’s growth.
Psychologists use structured interviews, standardized tests, and observations to create a comprehensive picture of a child’s mental and emotional well-being. Psychological testing can help identify underlying issues and provide tailored interventions to support a child’s well-being. If you’re considering an evaluation, I can guide you on how to prepare for the process. Let me know how I can help!
What steps would be involved if I were to seek services with you?
I would start by having a conversation with a parent/caregiver and listen to what your specific concerns are and learn what you have tried to address the problem. This could lead to an initial clinical interview and initial screening and could be followed with conducting a comprehensive Psychological Evaluation (involving cognitive, academic and social/emotional/behavioral assessment of your child’s current level of functioning).
What are common Psychological Tests used in the assessment of children?
Child psychologists use a variety of psychological tests to assess cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development in children. Here are some common types:
- Cognitive/Intelligence Tests – These measure a child’s intellectual abilities and problem-solving skills.
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children 5th Edition (WISC-V)
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 5th Edition (WAIS-V)
- Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children 2nd Edition
- Achievement Tests – Used to evaluate academic skills in reading, writing, and math.
- Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement 4th Edition (WJ-IV)
- Wechsler Individual Achievement Test 4th Edition (WIAT-4)
- Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement 3rd Edition (K-TEA-3)
- Indirect measures of executive functioning
- Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning 2nd Edition (BRIEF-2) parent, teacher and self-report versions
- Behavioral and Emotional Assessments – Identify emotional regulation issues, anxiety, depression, behavioral and autism spectrum disorders. Each are normed based measures with cut-off scores to distinguish from functioning with the normal range to clinical levels. Some are broad-based assessment measures, whereas others are focused assessment designed to evaluate a narrow range of symptoms—AD/HD, depression, anxiety, etc.
- Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) – broad assessment of symptoms
- Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) broad assessment of symptoms
- Conners 4th Edition Short Form (C-4) ADHD – parent, self-report and teacher forms
- The Adaptive Behavior Assessment System 2nd Edition (ABAS-2)
- Children’s Depression Inventory 2nd Edition (CDI-2) self-report & parent
- Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children 2nd Edition (MASC-2) parent & self-report
- The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Third Edition (GARS-3) parent/caregiver
These tests help psychologists create tailored interventions to support a child’s development. If you’re interested in a specific type of assessment, I can provide more details!
Are there types of assessment you do not provide?
Yes, I am not a neuropsychologist or rehabilitation specialist. So, I do not provide assessments for individuals who have a possible neurological disorder, e.g., traumatic brain injury, closed head injury, post-stroke, etc. I would refer the individual for a neurological evaluation.
I do not provide forensic evaluations – those are specialized evaluations ordered by the courts to be used in legal proceedings. People asking for a courted-ordered or forensic might want a custodial evaluation, in which the entire family may undergo a forensic evaluation during a contested divorce. These include personal injury cases, disability evaluations, competency to stand trail evaluations, etc.
I do not provide autism evaluations, which require specialized evaluations. Examples of those specialized tests that would include: the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) or Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). I can provide referrals to colleagues who have specialized training to perform such evaluations.
Besides comprehensive psychological evaluations, and AD/HD evaluations, are there other specialized evaluations that you conduct?
Yes, I do provide “risk assessments” for children that made a threat at school and who may be suspended until they undergo a risk assessment. Those assessments often involve gathering information from several sources, the school, the parent, even peers or other individuals who know the person involved, the child him/her-selfand perhaps others. Depending on the circumstances, this might involve some phone calls and a clinical interview, but more detailed assessment might be needed, in addition. The evaluation seeks to determine whether the threat was made due to a misunderstanding, the child might have been emotional and used words to magnify their anger or frustration in order to be heard, rather than actually mean what he or she said, the treat might be made in reference to a specific event, or involve a transient stressor or it can be serious and substantive threat with the intent to harm one or more person(s). While no risk assessment can predict the future, the goal is to more clearly understand the threat, the factors surrounding the threat, and to develop risk management strategies that reduce the student’s risk of violence (rather than attempting to make a prediction of violence).