Frequently Asked Questions
When should I be concerned about a learning problem?
Many parents become concerned about the presence of a problem such as a learning disorder or attention disorder when they or someone else such as a teacher, friend, or relative suspects that a child is exhibiting disruptive behavior and/or not performing at expected levels academically. In some cases, a child appears unwilling or unable to concentrate, complete work efficiently, or provide sustained effort. In other cases, a child may show unexpected weaknesses in one or more specific academic areas.
These symptoms, which may be obvious to outside observers, often provide little useful information about the underlying problems (much less the best way to address them). In order to clarify the source of a student’s difficulties and, more importantly, to determine how best to address them, it is often useful to consult a clinical psychologist, someone uniquely qualified to perform a formal psychoeducational evaluation.
What should I expect from consulting a psychologist?
A psychologist should personally conduct a thorough clinical interview to obtain information regarding your child’s current difficulties, as well as family, developmental, medical, social, and educational history. You may be asked to complete behavioral checklists about your child as a way to add to the information you report during interview. Above all, you should be provided ample opportunity to voice your particular concerns about your child and specify the questions you would like the psychologist to help answer. Psychologists should carefully select and interpret tests based on the most current research.
What questions should I ask the psychologist?
You should not hesitate to ask the psychologist questions about his/her training and background in performing psychological evaluations, the method he/she uses to arrive at diagnoses, and whether his/her perspective is based on current research. You may also wish to ask what types of data will be collected, how data will be gathered, and to whom and by what method results will be communicated. You should also consider asking about the availability of the psychologist to provide follow-up consultation services to you, teachers, and others, whether formal recommendations will be offered, and the evaluation’s duration and cost.
Just what does a psychoeducational evaluation include?
After obtaining history and asking you about your specific concerns, the psychologist may recommend formal, psychological testing, which may be conducted over the course of one or more testing sessions. Results of these tests may provide valuable information about general cognitive ability, used to inform expectations for academic achievement. It should also provide formal measures of his/her academic skill development in areas such as reading fluency and comprehension, spelling and written expression, and computational and applied mathematics. Measures designed to test language skills, memory, attention, visual-motor skills, and higher-order thinking are also often administered. Data from these tests may be supplemented by standardized measures of behavior completed by parents, teachers, and others involved in the child’s life.
How is this information used to diagnose problems?
The psychologist should integrate and interpret the test data to identify the sources of a child’s difficulties. Specific patterns of results may indicate the presence of specific disorders such as Reading Disorder (“dyslexia”), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), language disorders, motor coordination disorders, or more pervasive disorders of development such as Autistic Disorder and Asperger’s Disorder. In some cases, emotional difficulties such as anxiety and depression may add to learning or performance problems. In some cases, a combination of mild weaknesses may be responsible for the child’s difficulties.
How will I get the results?
The psychologist should meet with you to discuss test results. During this meeting, the psychologist should fully explain diagnoses that have been given or withheld, provide specific recommendations for improving the child’s functioning, and answer any and all questions you may have. Data should be interpreted based on current, published research literature. Most importantly, results should be summarized for you in simple, concise terms so can clearly understand the nature of your child’s problem(s) and what you can do to help. A written evaluation report should also be provided, which summarizes personal history, describes test data, presents diagnoses, and discusses recommendations. This will serve as a valuable tool in helping you communicate results of the evaluation to others, although the psychologist should also be willing to discuss the evaluation directly with your child’s teacher(s) and physician should you so desire.
What does an evaluation like this cost?
Fees for psycho-educational evaluations typically range from approximately $900 to $1,800, depending upon the scope of the evaluation and the applicability of health insurance benefits (see below).
Will insurance help pay for it?
Because of the wide variability among different insurance policies, this question is impossible to answer simply. Insurance policies seldom offer coverage for testing considered educational in nature (out-of-pocket expenses for these services often range from $700 to $1,000). Some psychologists offer discounted rates for individuals paying cash for services given the reduced administrative costs (e.g., insurance authorization, etc.) incurred in these cases.
Many parents become concerned about the presence of a problem such as a learning disorder or attention disorder when they or someone else such as a teacher, friend, or relative suspects that a child is exhibiting disruptive behavior and/or not performing at expected levels academically. In some cases, a child appears unwilling or unable to concentrate, complete work efficiently, or provide sustained effort. In other cases, a child may show unexpected weaknesses in one or more specific academic areas.
These symptoms, which may be obvious to outside observers, often provide little useful information about the underlying problems (much less the best way to address them). In order to clarify the source of a student’s difficulties and, more importantly, to determine how best to address them, it is often useful to consult a clinical psychologist, someone uniquely qualified to perform a formal psychoeducational evaluation.
What should I expect from consulting a psychologist?
A psychologist should personally conduct a thorough clinical interview to obtain information regarding your child’s current difficulties, as well as family, developmental, medical, social, and educational history. You may be asked to complete behavioral checklists about your child as a way to add to the information you report during interview. Above all, you should be provided ample opportunity to voice your particular concerns about your child and specify the questions you would like the psychologist to help answer. Psychologists should carefully select and interpret tests based on the most current research.
What questions should I ask the psychologist?
You should not hesitate to ask the psychologist questions about his/her training and background in performing psychological evaluations, the method he/she uses to arrive at diagnoses, and whether his/her perspective is based on current research. You may also wish to ask what types of data will be collected, how data will be gathered, and to whom and by what method results will be communicated. You should also consider asking about the availability of the psychologist to provide follow-up consultation services to you, teachers, and others, whether formal recommendations will be offered, and the evaluation’s duration and cost.
Just what does a psychoeducational evaluation include?
After obtaining history and asking you about your specific concerns, the psychologist may recommend formal, psychological testing, which may be conducted over the course of one or more testing sessions. Results of these tests may provide valuable information about general cognitive ability, used to inform expectations for academic achievement. It should also provide formal measures of his/her academic skill development in areas such as reading fluency and comprehension, spelling and written expression, and computational and applied mathematics. Measures designed to test language skills, memory, attention, visual-motor skills, and higher-order thinking are also often administered. Data from these tests may be supplemented by standardized measures of behavior completed by parents, teachers, and others involved in the child’s life.
How is this information used to diagnose problems?
The psychologist should integrate and interpret the test data to identify the sources of a child’s difficulties. Specific patterns of results may indicate the presence of specific disorders such as Reading Disorder (“dyslexia”), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), language disorders, motor coordination disorders, or more pervasive disorders of development such as Autistic Disorder and Asperger’s Disorder. In some cases, emotional difficulties such as anxiety and depression may add to learning or performance problems. In some cases, a combination of mild weaknesses may be responsible for the child’s difficulties.
How will I get the results?
The psychologist should meet with you to discuss test results. During this meeting, the psychologist should fully explain diagnoses that have been given or withheld, provide specific recommendations for improving the child’s functioning, and answer any and all questions you may have. Data should be interpreted based on current, published research literature. Most importantly, results should be summarized for you in simple, concise terms so can clearly understand the nature of your child’s problem(s) and what you can do to help. A written evaluation report should also be provided, which summarizes personal history, describes test data, presents diagnoses, and discusses recommendations. This will serve as a valuable tool in helping you communicate results of the evaluation to others, although the psychologist should also be willing to discuss the evaluation directly with your child’s teacher(s) and physician should you so desire.
What does an evaluation like this cost?
Fees for psycho-educational evaluations typically range from approximately $900 to $1,800, depending upon the scope of the evaluation and the applicability of health insurance benefits (see below).
Will insurance help pay for it?
Because of the wide variability among different insurance policies, this question is impossible to answer simply. Insurance policies seldom offer coverage for testing considered educational in nature (out-of-pocket expenses for these services often range from $700 to $1,000). Some psychologists offer discounted rates for individuals paying cash for services given the reduced administrative costs (e.g., insurance authorization, etc.) incurred in these cases.
