Understand Your Child’s Struggles, Abilities, Learning Styles, and Behavior

A psycho-educational assessment is typically conducted by a clinical psychologist and can include a comprehensive evaluation of:

• Intellectual abilities (IQ)
• Cognitive skills
• Memory
• Processing speed
• Executive functioning
• Attention
• Achievement
• Fine motor skills
• Personality
• Gifts
• Strengths and interests
• Temperament
• Learning styles
• Sensory processing
• Visual-motor integration
• Behavior
• Self-perception
• Social/emotional functioning

One of the most common questions parents ask is, “Why should I have my child assessed—how could it help?” Help with problems is only one reason.  A comprehensive and well-done assessment can provide so much more than a diagnosis.

Here are 5 reasons to seek an assessment:

Get Direction: Findings and recommendations from a high-quality assessment can serve as a guide for choosing optimal learning environments, identifying areas of challenge, highlighting strengths that can be used to contend with challenge areas, developing intervention, picking electives, choosing extracurricular and recreation activities, exploring career paths, etc.

End the Guess Work: A well-done integrated assessment eliminates “guess work” when trying to understand your child’s behavior, successes, failures, pursuits, and refusals.  Children do not wake up in the morning and set out to be “difficult.”  Avoidance of activities, melt downs, fatigue, inconsistent performance, unpredictable behavior, and bad moods are all red flags that something is going on.  An assessment tells you what your child cannot communicate in words.

Uncover the “WHY”:  Why is my child behind in school? Why is homework an epic battle?  Why does my child have a tummy ache on school mornings?  Why is he disrupting the classroom?  Why does she not seem to “hear” what I say, and why do I have to repeat myself so much?  Why is my child so bored at school?  Why does school come easily for my oldest child, but my youngest struggles?  Why is he excelling in math but refusing to read?  Why does it take him so long to do chores?  Why has she lost the love of learning and the “spark” in her eye?  Why is my child not invited to birthday parties?  Why can he name, identify, and categorize the dinosaurs but cannot tie his shoes or remember his backpack for school?  Why does she “behave” so well at school, church, and soccer practice, but “lose it” at home?  Why does my child (fill in the blank), and is that normal?

Satisfy Your Curiosity: How is my child really doing? What is really going on in that head of hers? How does he learn?  What is her brain really good at?  Is she gifted?  What are his brain’s challenges?  What are her hidden desires, temperament, fears, etc.?  Essentially, what is my child’s “current,” and how can I help him keep his boat pointed down stream?  How can I monitor progress? Should I monitor progress?  Should I be concerned about or supportive of (fill in the blank)?

Unlock Full Potential: Every child is as unique as a fingerprint… with a distinctive blend of temperament, desires, preferences, abilities, learning styles, ideas, talents, vision, and emotions.  All humans are born with an innate desire to learn, expand, and experience happiness in their own special ways.  Everyone wants to be successful—but success means something different for everyone.  High-quality, comprehensive assessment helps unlock a child’s full potential by providing unmatched insights, perspectives, and direction.

-Dr. Katen

“Live the life you were meant to live!”

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