I obtain a complete developmental history from you. I will be asking you for your summary of your child’s developmental progress and your current concerns. I will be interested to hear what you hope to learn from the evaluation and what your goals are for your child, in the near term and in the far future.
With your help, I gather and review all of the relevant medical, educational and (if applicable) mental health records for you child.
With your written consent, I observe your child in his or her natural setting. This is generally school, but can also include camp, home, or child care settings. I also gather information about the child from the adults in these settings.
You and your child come to the office for the testing sessions. Most students require two sessions to complete all of the assessments, but some young children need only one session, and some older teens or young adults choose to complete all of their testing in one day. Additional testing sessions can be scheduled as needed. Although most children do best when their parents wait in the waiting room, some parents, particularly those of younger children, can remain in the testing room, seated behind the child on a comfortable sofa.
I consolidate all of the information we have gathered about your child into a comprehensive report. This can take as long as six weeks, but 4 weeks is more typical.
We schedule a mutually agreeable time to meet and go over the results of the assessment. These meetings typically take one to two hours and you can choose whether to use zoom or meet in person. Some parents invite others, like grandparents, tutors or advocates, to join us. Some desire to tape the sessions. All of these options are fine and I defer to your discretion.
I email you the report in pdf format at the time of the feedback. If there are typographical errors or problems in the history or parent impressions, I will edit these. Once the report is final, I will either email a signed pdf or mail a signed hard copy, or both.
During our feedback session, we discuss the results of the evaluation, what to expect or look for in the future, whether your child’s school placement is appropriate, whether there might be other options, and how to approach your school with the results of the evaluation. I may refer you to one of the therapists, counselors, social skills or executive coaches, or advocates that I have built relationships with over the years.
A follow-up meeting with you and your child’s school is included in the evaluation fee. I want to help you communicate your child’s needs.
