Evaluation or Assessment for Gifted People
Understanding an individual’s unique combination of strengths and weaknesses in order to better guide development and education.
A common myth is that gifted people are good at everything. This is often not the case. It can be very helpful to understand under what conditions a child learns well and what conditions tend to shut a child down. Finding out that one is extremely talented at math or reading, but fairly normal at something else can help parents ensure that they develop the talent without unnecessarily “pushing” their child in areas where they do not have such high ability. Identifying learning challenges such as perfectionism, low frustration tolerance and avoiding risk can lead to exercises and plans which overcome these obstacles to developing talent. Most people feel relief when they find out more about why their kid “acts the way they do.”
Understanding unusual or problematic behaviors or emotions.
If your child struggles with angry outbursts, anxiety, shyness or other problems that concern you, evaluation can help pinpoint where the problems come from and how to address them effectively. Our psychologists have experience discerning the interaction between high cognition and emotional problems, creating treatment and coaching plans that are effective in changing the symptoms and making life work better.
Our Assessment Process
We do not take a cookie cutter approach to assessment at our center. We design all evaluations to meet needs which are discovered in initial conversations with our clients. Assessments are ALWAYS performed by a PhD level licensed psychologist with 30 years of experience or by a emerging masters level provider under the extensive and involved guidance of our highly skilled leadership team. The same person who administers the testing will be giving you the feedback and writing your report. We find that observations made during testing often lead to asking more finely tuned questions during evaluation. We also might be helping you with a plan to address the findings of the testing. We think it’s a good idea to use the testing process to build a therapeutic relationship that can accelerate the development of coaching or treatment plans. Our clients tell us they like staying with one person throughout the process.
The Assessment Process Begins
When it’s time for the assessment, we begin with an extensive background session with a structured diagnostic interview. We will meet with the person being tested (and their parents if they are a child or teen). We will get a detailed health, educational, and social/emotional history and try to articulate the questions being asked or the goals of the testing.
Testing may take from two to four hours to six or seven hours, depending on what’s being assessed. For most testing, we prefer to schedule two or more sessions in order to evaluate an individual on more than one day. This approach allows us to see how someone performs across different contexts and prevents fatigue from compromising the results.
It’s not about a number or diagnosis. It’s about creating a useful plan of action that helps you understand yourself or your child better and identifies concrete next steps.
Feedback and Results
After testing is complete, the psychologist will score the tests, review the interview and test observation notes, and formulate a clinical description (including clinical designations, where appropriate).
We will meet with you for feedback in two sessions. Your first session will focus on the results of testing—this will be more data-oriented and focused on answering your questions. The second feedback session will be a week later, where we will review your reactions to the testing, address questions that have emerged, and discuss goals and recommendations, including specific recommendations for talent development and personal development. That second session is often the most valuable, as it gives you time to process the initial results and think more deeply about what they mean for you or your child.
We will write a report that can be used in communication with your doctors and your schools. Should you need it, individual education plans need to begin with an evaluation and will be re-evaluated every 3-4 years— (that’s the school’s requirement, not ours.)
Testing may take from two hours to 6 or 7, depending upon the question being asked. For most testing, we prefer to schedule two or more sessions, in order to “get a look” at an individual on more that one day. If we think there are factors interfering with a good measurement (fatigue, upset, etc) we will stop the testing and reschedule. It is our goal to get the most accurate evaluation possible.
Next Steps After Assessment
For some of our clients, this is enough consultation for now. Other clients may want assistance in pursuing the recommendations that were made as a result of the assessment, and we are happy to help.
This is an excellent way to begin working with a gifted psychologist for parent coaching or child therapy. The child has already met the psychologist, and there is an abundance of information gathered in a relatively short period of time. This foundation makes ongoing work much more effective because we already understand the full picture.
Many times, people will reach out for counseling when there is a problem and work with us until the issue is resolved. Then we might stop for a while. A few months later, you might reach out again when a new challenge emerges—whether that’s a breakup, academic struggles, or another life transition. Think of us like a family doctor you come back to when you need help. This is especially common with adolescents and college students who may need focused support for specific issues as they arise, rather than ongoing weekly therapy.
Ongoing Support
Either way, we remain available for ongoing phone questions and consultation regarding your evaluation. We want to be a resource for you as you move forward, whether that means occasional check-ins or more structured ongoing work.
Fees
We do accept insurance in instances where there is coverage. Frequently, testing is only covered when there is a question of a psychological diagnosis. Testing for giftedness alone or Learning Disabilities, including ADHD are frequently not covered. Feel free to discuss this with us in order to determine your coverage. All of our services, however, are typically covered by a Health Services Account. We also accept credit cards and make payment plans. We do sliding scale testing with demonstrated financial need. Please feel free to call and discuss your situation to see how we may assist you.
PsychoEducational Evaluation
Typically this will include an interview, a feedback session, treatment plan and report. Testing would typically include an IQ test (such as the WISC 5), a comprehensive and above level achievement test (such as the Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement) and a social/emotional behavioral inventory. Typically this package will include between 10 -15 hours of clinical service. The fee is $2000 for this package.
If you do not require a comprehensive evaluation, but are seeking information about a particular problem, your psychologist will review the assessment recommendation with you and quote a fee at that time. Typically, the fee will reflect a cost of $190 per clinical hour. Many simple problems can be assessed in two to four hours.
Common Gifted and Talented Tests Include:
SB5 – Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition
WISC-5 or WIAT
WPPSI-III and WPPSI-IV
AABL – Admissions Assessment for Beginning Learners
CogAT
