What to Expect From an Evaluation

Rebecca S. Blakeman, PhD
Licensed Psychologist

I have written many articles about the various types of learning disabilities and processing disorders that can interfere with a child’s academic, emotional, and social functioning.  Many parents have a genuine desire to do whatever it takes to find out what is causing their child’s difficulties, so they can then understand what is needed to begin helping their child.  However, many parents do not know what to expect when seeking an evaluation for their child.  Below I have outlined several key factors of quality evaluations, which will hopefully help you to know (1) what you are looking for, and (2) what questions to ask to make sure you get the quality services your child needs.

First and foremost, an evaluation for learning disabilities, ADHD, social difficulties, etc. should be comprehensive.  This often means that the evaluation process will be somewhat lengthy.  Depending on the age of your child, proper testing may require 4 to 5 hours of one-on-one testing, and 1 to 1 ½ hours of clinical interview/review of records.  Following the evaluation, parents should have a meeting with the testing psychologist to review test results and recommendations.  Shortly after the evaluation, parents should receive a complete report that includes a summary of the child’s history, test names and scores, interpretation of test scores, and recommendations.  The report that you receive following the evaluation is a critical component of the evaluation.  After all, if you do not have a record of, or an understanding of, the results, it does not do you much good to have your child evaluated.  Having a copy of the report allows you to have a permanent record of the evaluation that you can review at any time, and that you can share with physicians, teachers, and other individuals who are working with your child.  Just as the evaluation should be comprehensive, the report should be comprehensive.  Many of my reports are 15 to 20 pages long…and that may not include all of the recommendations (as I have separate handouts for some conditions).  If the psychologist is able to summarize your child’s evaluation in 3 to 5 pages, they either (1) did not do a comprehensive evaluation, or (2) they did not provide you with all the information they obtained during the evaluation.  Neither situation is appropriate.

When seeking an evaluation, it is very appropriate to interview the psychologist prior to scheduling an appointment.  Questions you might consider asking include:

(1) How often do you do evaluations?

(2) How often do you do evaluations specifically related to the concerns I have (e.g., dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, etc.)?

(3) How much time will you spend actually testing my child?

(4) Do you use screening measures or more comprehensive tests?

(5) How long after testing will the feedback session be scheduled?

(6) When can I expect to receive the final report?

(7) What is the average length of most of your reports?

Ideally, you want to choose a professional who spends a good portion of their professional time conducting evaluations, and who is very familiar with assessing the types of difficulties you are concerned about.  The amount of time spent testing your child will vary depending on the evaluation questions, the age of the child, and individual characteristics of the child (e.g., hesitant, impulsive, needs frequent breaks, etc.); however, in most cases, it is difficult to conduct a comprehensive evaluation in less than 4 hours of one-on-one testing time.  Obviously, it is important that the examiner recognize the importance of comprehensive tests, compared to screening measures, and that some children with learning disabilities can “pass” screening measures with no problems.  It is important that the evaluator schedule a meeting to review the results of the evaluation with you, rather than simply mailing you a report; you need to understand the test results, and a review of the data with the evaluator is the best way to ensure this.  It does take time to analyze and interpret comprehensive test data, but generally a feedback session should be scheduled within 2 weeks of testing being completed.  Just as it is important that you, as the parent, understand the evaluation results, it is critical that you receive a copy of the evaluation for your records.  Again, it takes time to write comprehensive reports, but generally you should be able to receive the report within a week of your feedback session.