Excerpt from Chapter 6: Evaluation and Testing, Why, What, Who, and Where?

My goal in this chapter is to give you enough information to make your experience with psychological testing less mysterious and less anxiety-provoking. I want you to know enough to be able to explain the process to your child. I also provide information about other kinds of evaluations, done by child psychiatrists and pediatric neurologists, for these same goals.............

....Why was the evaluation or testing requested?

All of the adults involved with your child may realize that he is having difficulty managing his body, coping with emotions, dealing with relationships, or taking in and processing information. Yet it may not be at all clear why the difficulties are present or how to address them.

Your child may have difficulties primarily with his school academic performance. The school personnel may have several questions:

Does your child have a problem with learning itself, or an emotional/behavioral disorder which interferes with learning?
Is there a neurological or medical condition that contributes to the problem?

A psycho-educational evaluation by the school psychologist may be the first step. If that test does not give enough information, school personnel may refer your child for evaluation and testing by an out-of-school child mental health specialist. Your child may have difficulties primarily with his school relationships—with peers and/or adults. The school personnel may have several questions: .................

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Testing today is becoming more complex. Generally, this means that the specialist can make better recommendations. But it also means more confusion for you and your child. Below, I describe the most common tests and what they test. I hope this gives a framework for understanding what is involved in psychological testing. Whoever does the testing should be able to explain to you in simple language why the test is being done, what is being tested, and what the results mean.

A. Psychological tests

There are five main categories of psychological tests:

tests of ability and general intelligence (to evaluate your child's potential)
tests of academic performance (to evaluate what your child has actually learned)
tests of specific information-processing skills that underlie learning (to evaluate your child's style of learning, strengths, and deficits):
1. tests of visual–spatial perceptual functioning, including fine motor functions
2. tests of auditory memory and visual memory
3. tests of attentional skills
4. tests of executive function skills (problem-solving abilities) .........

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