Evaluations and Testing
School-age children face major challenges.
Do you know what parents worry most about besides the physical health of their child?
If you guessed academic progress or social-emotional functioning, you would be right, at least from what we see here at Growth Works.
Academic struggles overwhelm both parents and their child.
Parents often call us worried about their child’s school struggles.
Their child seems frustrated or overwhelmed with school, may even be refusing to go to school, or is saying that they “hate” school.
Parents are concerned because they don’t know why their child is struggling, and they are worried that something is wrong.
For example, maybe they notice that their child’s basic early reading skills are weak, and their child is really upset when they try to get them to read. Nothing seems to be helping with the problem!
For some, when their child hits fourth grade, reading suddenly seems to be more challenging. Unfortunately, this is when solid reading comprehension skills become critical.
Perhaps parents notice other learning struggles, including math, writing, or even in more than one area.
At some point, parents realize that outside help is needed, and they call for help.
Some parents worry that their child is behind developmentally.
Parents often call us when they are confused about the differences in their child from an early age.
Their child does not seem to be developing in an age-appropriate way; is not communicating like they should be; and is hypersensitive to lights, sounds, or clothing.
Their child is not interested in interacting like others their age might be.
Hyperactivity can be a frustrating behavior for parents.
Parents often call us feeling frustrated because their child is hyperactive, way too impulsive or too emotionally intense.
Sometimes they even think it is them, like they are “bad” parents because disciplining their child is not working.
Or they are worried when their child can’t pay attention, follow simple directions, or is forgetful.
Some parents notice that their child thinks more creatively than other same-aged children – they wonder if their child is gifted and talented.
Parents often call us when their child seems ‘outside of the box’ smart.
You know, they embarrassingly admit that they have trouble keeping up with their child’s creativity and interests!
They are constantly astounded by what their child says, how deeply their child thinks about things, or the questions they ask.
Evaluations are an important step in addressing your child’s strengths and needs to determine next steps educationally or therapeutically.
If your child is struggling in school performance and academic growth, perhaps it is time to schedule a diagnostic evaluation.
We can test for cognitive, memory, and attention, as well as social/emotional functioning.
This is also a good time to formally identify neurocognitive, developmental, learning, and emotional disorders to advocate for school resources and support.
An evaluation will pinpoint exactly the types of support and accommodations that your child needs at home and at school to achieve success.
We can help address the major challenges in your child’s life.
You can trust that we use gold standard, up-to-date assessment instruments.
If someone has said to you that you need an ADOS-II to assess for autism, we have it here at Growth Works, along with other neuro-psychological assessment instruments to assess for executive functioning and attention disorders.
Accomplishing goals can sometimes be a struggle for young adults and adults.
We are aware that even young adults and adults face challenges that require outside help.
Young adults and adults call us when they need accommodations for high stakes examinations, such as the SAT, ACT, LSAT, MCAT, and professional board examinations.
Based on data/diagnosis, we can determine what accommodations you need and complete the required documentation you must have to access those accommodations at school or on examinations.
Your child or young adult can love to learn again and can live a less frustrating life – and so can you.
Now is the time to get the answers you need. Our school psychologists would love the chance to help you find those answers. Click this button now.