What Parents Need to Know About Psychoeducational Evaluations

Your child is struggling. You feel overwhelmed, stuck, and maybe even hopeless. You've received endless advice from friends, family members, and the internet, but you are no closer to knowing where to go or who to see. Maybe even a professional (e.g., pediatrician, speech-language pathologist, teacher) has recommended a psychological or educational evaluation. I have spent years walking parents and guardians through this process, both in public schools and in a private practice setting - and I want my knowledge to also help you as you are considering your next steps. A comprehensive evaluation is an important part of understanding your child and empowering you to help your child be as successful as they can be.

Psychoeducational evaluations offer a “snapshot” of a child’s current cognitive, educational, and emotional/behavioral functioning. This type of evaluation may be helpful when a child is struggling at school, and it can determine whether this is due to a learning disorder or whether another disability is affecting the child’s performance. This type of evaluation also helps provide an idea of how the child learns best, along with the strengths and weaknesses within their learning profile.

There are several pieces of an evaluation. Depending on the child’s symptoms, some or all of these pieces may be included in the evaluation: 

Cognitive Abilities: Tests of cognitive abilities measure a child’s IQ. More important than the overall IQ are the pieces that make up the IQ, which include verbal reasoning, visual reasoning, problem-solving, working memory, long-term memory, auditory processing, and processing speed. These abilities are all involved in the learning process.

Academic Achievement: Tests of academic achievement explore a child’s skills in reading, math, and written language. These tests provide information about the child’s skill level compared to their peers and can identify specific areas of strength and weakness. 

Social, Emotional, & Behavioral: These pieces of a child’s functioning are also important, and concerns in these areas can certainly impact a child’s educational functioning. Symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity, anxiety, depression, autism etc. can certainly impact a child’s overall functioning, and it is important to piece apart the symptoms to ensure an accurate diagnosis (for example: learning disorder vs. ADHD vs. both) and overall view of the child’s functioning. 

School Functioning: While we can obtain great information from testing a child in the clinic, it is just as important to understand how that child is functioning in the school setting. We obtain this information (with permission from you) by asking the child's teachers to complete a few forms.

Home Functioning: Just like we ask teachers for their insight into a child's functioning, we also ask you, as the parents. We get so much qualitative information from that intake interview, but it is also important to get quantitative, normed data in the form of rating scales completed by you.

At our office, we recommend a psychoeducational evaluation when a child is experiencing academic difficulties, frustration, emotional, social, and/or behavioral difficulties. Our process starts with a 1-hour intake interview to ensure that the child is being tested in the correct areas. For example, some children child may benefit from a psychological evaluation without needing the academic pieces. During this intake, if we recommend moving forward with an evaluation, we will walk you through what to expect during the process.

My favorite part of the testing process is the 1-hour feedback at the end. Whether there is a "diagnosis" or not, we go over the results with the parents/guardians, giving them a data-driven picture of your child's strengths and areas of growth, and then provide ideas of next steps for them to best support their child.

---

Looking for a school psychologist? If you are located in Houston, Texas, please contact me at Brightside Psychology or (713)482-1023. I would love to join you and your child’s team.