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04 May 2023

Psychological Assessment

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Psychological Assessment

WeShine CDC provides a range of developmental and diagnostic assessments for children. Our Clinical Psychologists are known for their expertise in conducting psychological assessment for children.

A developmental assessment offers insights into a child’s learning, social, behavioral and personality development, with the objective of tailoring recommendations to plan a child’s individualized education plan. This assessment is usually conducted to find out a child’s development level, which is the current child’s abilities in communication, socializing, taking care of self, and motor skills.

A diagnostic assessment is conducted to confirm or rule out a condition or diagnosis. Therefore,a diagnostic assessment is usually conducted for a child who is suspected to have a neurodevelopmental disorder such as Autism, ADHD, Global Developmental delay and much more. The goal of this type of assessment is to confirm the presence of a diagnosis or to find out what possible diagnosis a child has.

Both assessments begin with a clinical parent interview that forms a critical part of the assessment, taking into consideration a child’s developmental history and other important factors (e.g., Cultural background). A conclusion is provided to parents, whether it be a diagnosis or the summary of the child’s strengths and weaknesses, together with a therapy plan.

Other processes that are involved during psychological assessments are as follows.

  • Interviews with parents
  • Discussion with teachers
  • Interviews with previous and present professionals working with the child
  • Observation of the child
  • Objective assessment with psychological assessment tools

We treat the following childhood difficulties:

  • Problems with attention and concentration
  • Depression or mood difficulties
  • Low self-esteem / low self-confidence
  • Bullying
  • Behavioral problems including oppositionality
  • Anxiety (including separation anxiety and OCD)
  • Coping with divorce or other family problems including loss

We offer assessments for problems related to:

  • Autism
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD)
  • Slow learner
  • Preschool difficulties (Eating, Sleeping, Toilet training, tantrums)
  • Learning difficulties
  • Anger and Aggression
  • Eating Disorders
  • Emotional problems (problem handling emotions)
  • Learning disorders such as dyslexia
  • IQ testing to assess intellectual and academic achievement
  • School Readiness
  • Giftedness
  • School bullying
  • Social Skills Problems
  • Anxiety/Depression
  • Self-Harm
  • Self Esteem Problems
  • Parent-child relationship

Types of assessment we offer:

A Developmental Assessment is a structured evaluation of the child’s development level in all areas of development which are communication, daily living skills, social skills and motor skills. This assessment is usually conducted to find out whether a child’s development is similar to his/her peers or if the child has delays in any of the mentioned areas. At the end of the assessment session, the clinical psychologist will let parents know whether their child is developing normally or if the child needs to go for therapy.

An autism assessment is a formal assessment to find out whether a child has Autism Spectrum Disorder. Aside from getting a diagnosis, this is also important to find out the level of severity of the disorder and to find out the child’s unique difficulties faced to design a personalized and effective therapy plan.
An ADHD assessment is a formal assessment to find out whether a child has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Aside from getting a formal diagnosis, this assessment also provides the level of severity of the disorder, the specific subtype of the disorder and to find out the child’s unique difficulties faced to design a personalized and effective therapy plan.

An Intelligent Quotient (IQ) assessment is a series of exams used to determine a child’s general intelligence in relation to other children of the same age. In short, it is supposed to determine how well someone can use information and logic to answer questions or make predictions. results of IQ tests will be able to let psychologists identify a child’s individual areas of strength, as well as areas where they are comparatively not as strong. This will then be used to create personalized learning plans for the child.

A Behavioural assessment is used to examine whether a child exhibits challenging behaviour that falls outside the age-appropriate range. Behavioural concerns may include hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggression, difficulty sustaining attention, and disruptions to learning and peer relations.

Some of the signs that your child is having behavioral problems are as follows.

  • easily angered, annoyed or irritated
  • frequent temper tantrums
  • argues frequently with adults, particularly the most familiar adults in their lives, such as parents
  • refuses to obey rules
  • seems to deliberately try to annoy or aggravate others
  • low frustration threshold
  • seeks to blame others for any misfortunes or misdeeds.
  • lack of empathy for others
  • being aggressive to animals and other people or showing sadistic behaviours including bullying and physical or sexual abuse
  • frequent lying
  • a tendency to run away from home

Results of this assessment will assist psychologists in creating a therapy plan to help improve the child’s behavioral difficulties.

An Emotional Assessment for Children can be helpful when your child is experiencing behavioral or emotional problems. Below are some of the signs that suggest that your child may have emotional problems.

 

  • Irritability and anger
  • Difficulty focusing and concentrating
  • Moodiness or emotional outbursts, difficulty regulating mood
  • Physical complaints without a known medical cause
  • Social withdrawal, isolating from friends and/or family
  • Has difficulty making or keeping friends
  • Sadness/crying
  • Low frustration tolerance, difficulty coping
  • Sleep problems, sleeps too much or has difficulty sleeping
  • Poor self image, low self-esteem
  • Negative thoughts, pessimistic thinking, hopelessness
  • Difficulty getting along with others
  • Decline in school performance, lack of motivation for schoolwork
  • Easily anxious, have panic attacks, worrying and obsessions
  • School avoidance or refusal to go to school
  • Runs away or threatens to run away

 

Emotional Assessment is often needed to clarify a diagnosis, provide a jump start for treatment planning, determine why your child is not progressing in treatment, or to better understand why the child is behaving a certain way.

An assessment for Learning Difficulties is an assessment to find out the probability of a child having problems with reading, writing, mathematics, memory and comprehension and processing speed. This would include assessment for dyslexia which is a type of learning disorder.

 

Some of the signs that your child may be having a learning difficulty is as follows

 

  • Having difficulties catching up in class or classroom activities
  • poor performance in academic setting
  • Mixing up or reversing letters or jumbling sentences
  • Difficulties with numbers, symbols or mathematics problems
  • Struggling to clearly express ideas in writing
  • Difficulty remembering key concepts and facts
  • Difficulty focusing on work or paying attention in class

 

It is important to find out what is happening with a child’s learning skills as early as possible. The earlier learning difficulties are identified and an effective intervention program is started, the better the chance of improving long term outcomes.

Cognition is the mental process involved in knowing, learning, and understanding things. Therefore a Cognitive Assessment is that looks into a child’s abilities to remember, learn new things, concentrate, planning and problem solve. therefore, it will include assessments to look into a child’s working memory and abilities to pay attention.