Neuropsychological, Cognitive, Educational, and Psychological Testing
1. What is a Comprehensive Individualized Assessment?
The Comprehensive Individualized Assessment provides information that will help guide you and the professionals (teachers, therapists, etc.) working with you or your child/teen. Our Comprehensive Individualized Assessment can include neuropsychological, cognitive, educational, and/or psychological testing, depending on what is needed. The assessment provides information about how you or your child/teen can maximize strengths as well as recommendations about the most effective learning environment, communication styles and/or the best remedies or treatment for any challenges faced. We individualize each assessment protocol to address the questions to be answered about you or your child/teen. We will discuss with you the types of test instruments we will be using to learn more about you or your child/teen, as well as the kinds of recommendations you can expect.
2. When is a Comprehensive Individualized Assessment most useful?
It is sometimes said that psychological assessment cannot find out anything that a good clinician could not find out by talking to someone. This may sometimes be true. However, there are times when assessment can provide information that a clinical interview simply cannot. It is very useful in these situations:
- When there is not a lot of time.
A good clinician can find out a lot about a person, but it generally takes quite a bit of time to glean the same amount of information that a psychological assessment can obtain in a few sessions. This can be important for many reasons. For example, you may have a child who is not doing well in school, and you want to rectify that as soon as possible, or your child may be acting in ways that are potentially harmful and there is a need to answer some questions quickly to improve the situation.
- When it is not possible or easy for your child to express themselves.
This is the case especially with children who struggle with identifying their feelings or expressing themselves. The younger the child, the more difficult these tasks are. In addition, some older children (and adults) are not comfortable or skilled at assessing their problems or describing their inner worlds verbally. Assessment can provide insight into a person’s psychological state and personality structure without the need for that person to be aware of or able to describe their inner world.
- When there is really no other good way to get the information needed.
This is especially true with areas such as learning style, learning disabilities, and neuropsychological functioning or situations in which your child/teen may be facing multiple challenges. Sorting these things out is the job of this type of assessment.
- When accommodations are needed for school or standardized tests.
Often, children and young adults with learning differences or difficulty focusing their attention need accommodations in school and on standardized tests to do their best or demonstrate their full potential. In these cases, assessment with education, psychological and/or neuropsychological assessment tools is generally required by the organizations that publish and administer these standardized tests. Examples of standardized tests include the SAT, GRE, MCAT or LSAT. A comprehensive test report is generally required for students to be eligible for needed accommodations.
3. What if my child/teen doesn’t do well on the tests?
The word “test” brings up thoughts of schools and grades and doing well or poorly. That is not how these “tests” work. Sometimes there are no right or wrong answers. The tests (which psychologists prefer to call “assessment instruments”) are designed to find out about how you or your child functions. For example, they might provide information about how your child/teen is best able to learn, whether they have sufficient coping resources, or how they respond to stress.
4. What are Comprehensive Individualized Assessment sessions like?
There are a vast number of assessment instruments or tests, each designed to look at a different aspect of a person’s functioning or to answer a different type of question. When you or your child comes in for a comprehensive individualized assessment it is often because you; your child’s teacher; or your child’s physician, psychologist, or other health-care provider has questions or concerns which need to be addressed. The assessment specialist will try to determine what the specific concerns are and will select an appropriate group of instruments (called a test battery) based on that information. These instruments come in a variety of forms. Some are pencil and paper tests in which your child/teen will answer lots of True/False questions about themselves. Others are more “hands-on” and ask that they organize pictures or work with puzzles. In some, the assessment specialist will ask lots of questions, or the child might be asked to respond to cues on a computer screen or make up stories to go along with pictures they are shown.
5. What are some reasons to have my child/teen tested?
There are many reasons for a comprehensive individualized assessment. Some possible reasons are listed below. If you have a question about whether you or your child should have an assessment completed, don’t hesitate to call and discuss your concerns further.
- Academic struggles, poor grades despite significant effort
- Difficulties with paying attention, following directions or completing tasks
- Difficulty keeping track of assignments, turning in assignments or getting started on activities
- Disorganization and/or trouble with time management
- Concerns about a learning disability or ADHD
- Wanting more information about learning style
- Clarification of the psychological diagnosis
- Emotional distress, including depression, anxiety and trauma
- Clarification of treatment methods and goals
- Accommodations for the classroom and for standardized tests including the SAT, LSAT, MCAT and GRE
- Social struggles and difficulty initiating or maintaining friendships
6. Should I begin or continue my child/teen’s therapy while the testing process is going on?
Yes. You, your child, and their therapist should determine the initial goals of therapy and begin or continue. Your child can benefit from their therapy sessions even before the assessment results are available. The process is like being treated by a physician: The doctor will begin treating the symptoms and stabilizing the situation before all the diagnostic information is collected. The diagnostic test results, when available, assist with the fine tuning of the work. This is true in a comprehensive individualized assessment as well.
7. How much does a Comprehensive Individualized Assessment cost?
A comprehensive individualized assessment costs between $6500 – $8000. There is a considerable range of charges for assessment which depends on the purpose of the tests and whether they involve individual or group administration or administration by computer. Assessments done here are individually administered, and the assessment instruments making up the battery are individually selected for the client and situation. Such an assessment provides a comprehensive profile of neurological and cognitive functioning, personality structure, learning style and emotional functioning. The entire process includes:
- A preliminary interview with the client and/or their parents as well as brief conversations with other adults and medical providers who are involved in the client’s education and healthcare
- Two or three sessions of 2 to 4 hours each during which the testing is completed
- Scoring and interpretation of the test information
- Comprehensive written report with recommendations for school, home, therapy, and other services if applicable
- A 1.5-hour session explaining results and recommendations. Recommendations provide guidance about what can be done to support you and/or your child/teen to thrive more at home and at school or work. If you or your child/teen are also in therapy, there will be information helpful to the therapist as well.
- (Optional) A feedback session with the child’s educational team and/or therapist to aid in academic planning or therapeutic treatment planning.
Additional charges may apply if significant time is allocated to the review of previous assessment documents or history or to consultation with parents, teachers, or other practitioners involved in the client’s care. So, the best plan is to speak to our assessment team regarding the goals of the testing and the best plan to reach those goals. Once we have collaborated on this, we will then be able to discuss the specific costs.
8. Will insurance pay for a Comprehensive Individualized Assessment?
Some insurance will pay for at least a part of the assessment costs. You should contact your insurance company and see what your policy offers. Often insurance companies will not pay unless they have approved the testing prior to it beginning. You should check with them about this. Our policy is to charge you for the assessment and give you a receipt that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. A holding fee of $200 is paid when the initial testing dates are chosen. The first half of the payment is expected on the first day of testing, and the second half is paid at the feedback session. Credit cards can be used.
Available Follow-Up Services
- 3 months or one year follow-up
- School advocacy
- IEP meeting
- Documentation for additional access to accommodations or needed support
Dr. Grace Goodman’s qualifications
Dr. Goodman graduated from the Clinical Psychology program at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology in 2015. She trained in the areas of personality, cognitive and neuropsychological testing including an assessment clerkship at the LA County Department of Mental Health and an internship at San Bernardino County’s Department of Behavioral Health Outpatient clinic. In addition, she was a member of a research team at the UCLA Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior that studied the neurocognitive and neuropsychological effects of HIV/AIDS. Her doctoral dissertation was on scale 8 of the MMPI-2, and she continues to participate in trainings to stay up to date on the latest research on assessment instruments. She is passionate about equity and justice in mental health and strives to eliminate socioeconomic barriers to testing and provide better access to needed supports and accommodations in academic and work settings.
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