How can assessment help my child?
What is the assessment process like?
Do I attend the assessment sessions with my child?
What if my child would benefit from therapy as well as assessment?
How can assessment help my child?
Many children with learning difficulties have been told they are lazy or do not try hard enough, when in fact they are trying very hard to accomplish academic tasks. It is in a child’s nature to want to be successful. The goal of assessment is to gather information regarding your child’s cognitive, academic, social-emotional and executive functioning to determine areas of strength and weakness. Recommendations that build on the child’s strengths while being tailored to areas of weakness help decrease frustration while providing support in needed areas.
What is the assessment process like?
The assessment or evaluation process includes a diagnostic clinical interview, where the clinician meets with parents to discuss their child's medical, academic, emotional/behavioral and family history. Multiple assessment sessions are administered while gathering additional information from parents, teachers and the child or adolescent. Assessment sessions are tailored to each student according to the diagnostic questions discussed in the interview. There are typically three two-hour assessment sessions for the student. A comprehensive written report is created, and the clinician provides and in-depth feedback session with parents (and adolescents, if interested) to explain test results and recommendations.
Do I attend the assessment sessions with my child?
Following the initial interview with parents, some parents wonder if they should attend the actual assessment sessions with their child. Parents are welcome to attend the assessment sessions if they think it will be helpful for their child. However, many children and teens prefer to attend sessions on their own.
What if my child would benefit from therapy as well as assessment?
Many children or teens who are assessed with learning or attention difficulties at StepStone continue with recommended individual therapy to decrease emotional and/or behavioral difficulties that may be related to their area of difficulty.
Students with learning difficulties acquire strategies to decrease anxious and/or depressive thoughts and increase behavioral regulation, while students with attention difficulties learn skills to help decrease problematic behaviors. StepStone follows best-practice guidelines. Cognitive Behavioral and Solution Focused therapies are provided along with executive functioning training to help increase emotional well-being and ability to focus, plan and organize student’s environment and acquire life skills necessary for academic and personal success.
Do you accept insurance?
For Learning Disability, ADHD and psychological assessments, it is important to note that nearly all insurance plans exclude assessment. StepStone Psychological Assessment and Therapeutic Services is therefore considered “Out of Network” for insurance plans and we do not bill insurance directly. Many insurance plans allow you to file an out of network claim to obtain reimbursement for part of your out of pocket costs. Please check with your insurance company if you would like to pursue this possibility for assessment or therapy. If your plan does have some coverage for these services, StepStone will provide you with all necessary documentation to seek reimbursement from your insurance plan (i.e. “Superbills”), but we cannot guarantee reimbursement for services.
