What do they do at an evaluation?
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What do they do at an evaluation?
| Wed, 07-27-2005 - 7:10pm |
We saw my not-quite-3-year-old daughter's ped yesterday and she's referred us to a psychologist at the university. I was curious about what the evaluation entails. The ped just told us that our daughter would have fun and just to think of it as my daughter going to play with a fun safe adult for a few hours.
Thanks in advance,
Mary

We just went to see a Developmental Pediatrician with my not-quite-3-year-old son and it was about an hour evaluation. She had a few developmental toys for him to play with, and some pictures that she asked him to identify, but most of it was parental reporting and just observation. I also filled out a questionaire call the M-CHAT which is a tool for identifying possible autism in toddlers, which of course red flagged us as possible autism....duh...
All in all, she told me nothing I didn't already know and couldn't really give me anything except that old "You are doing everything you possibly can and you are doing great speech". I found the school psychologist with the Intermediate Unit (we are transitioning away from Early Intervention and are getting ready for our IEP) more forthcoming with her experiences with other children and opinions.
It's a necessary visit, just don't expect much. If you've done your research as a mommy, I wouldn't expect you to learn much that's new.
You may have the option to get her involved in some research with the university, which may be interesting.
Good Luck! And let us know what you find out.
BTW...I just reread my post....sorry if I sound cynical. It's just been a frustrating few months with us.
Take care,
Gemma
Mommy to Kiki (DS, almost 3 and ASD)
It kind of depends on the child and the tester, but they do have you fill out a lot of forms and wil ask you to outline your concerns. It is good advice to start noting things down in advance -so you are not stuck on the day. I built a profile of my son; -his strenths and interests well as areas of concern, which I would share with the psychologists. I think that helped them to form a better picture of him.
As to the actual tests: They lots of toys: puzzles, blocks, beads, etc. They often ask the child to imitate an action: -"I built a wall with my blocks. Can you build a wall with your blocks?". They may have a picture book and ask the chld to point out or find shapes or animals. If the child is very verbal, they may try to explore some more abstract concepts, such as "what are your feet for?" -but maybe not at 3yo.
Good luck and please let us know how it goes.
-Paula
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
With my son's early evaluation, there were two components - we answered alot of specific questions from the psychologist and the psychologist observed Jake's interactions with us and him.
Pat
Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. --
Mary,
I am a psychologist, and I used to work in early intervention. I am now a SAHM with a 5.5. yr old son on the Spectrum. IMHO, a good evaluation should have the behavioral component your Ped talked about. The psych should do a play-based assessment as well as some formal tests, like portions of IQ tests. Some of the testing will be done at a small child-sized table, probably. This type of work usually looks at how the child takes directions, figures out problems, social references (looks to an adult or asks questions to gain information), attention span, etc. There should also be some opportunity for dramatic play (with dolls, cooking toys, etc.). Dramatic play allows the psych to observe imagination, creativity, language, social interaction, etc. in a setting that is not adult-directed.
You may be asked to facilitate with your DD at times. In this case, the psych may ask you to try to get her to give the doll a ride in a wagon or something. Since your DD doesn't know the psych, the assumption is that you may be able to get her to perform to her fullest capacity because she knows you well. If you are asked to play or interact with your DD, the objective is usually not to have you help her too much, so keep this in mind. The psych may also ask you to step out of the room to see how your DD reacts to your leaving or how she interacts without you present. Again, this is session is all about your DD, not about you as a parent. So don't be nervous about being judged. She has been referred because of her development and behavior.
Psych's also usually have you fill out a questionnaire or two. You may be asked to do this while your DD plays with the psych. This is a common practice which saves time. Here is a good site with info on many types of questionnaires and tests that a psych might use in her evaluation: http://www.neurodiversity.com/diagnostic_instruments.html. Some especially applicable ones for your DD would be the ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale), any of the developmental tests, the Children's Nonverbal Learning Disabilities Scale, the WISC (one example of an IQ test), the Vineland. With younger kids, psychologists are less interested in a total IQ score than they may be with particular subtests of something like the WISC or Vineland. The Vineland is often used to measure adaptive skills. A speech language test may also be part of the assessment, but this is typically done during play by asking the child questions, asking the child to explain something, looking at how he/she follows directions.
That is my best guess as to what will happen in the assessment. Good luck. I hope it goes well for you.
Suzi
THANK YOU EVERYONE!!
I really appreciate all the information. I know it's her evaluation, but it really helps me know what's coming.