The Psychological Assessment: An Important Part Of The Comprehensive Assessment (page 2)

In order to address some of the child and adolescent concerns noted in the preceding section, the school psychologist often conducts an assessment or an evaluation to obtain valuable information about the nature and severity of the problem. This information is necessary to develop an appropriate plan to assist the student. Most school psychologists function as part of the child's school support team composed of professionals from the multiple disciplines discussed in Chapter Five. The psychological assessment often complements information obtained from assessments and evaluations performed by other members of the team. The resulting comprehensive assessment package provides an overall picture of the "total child."

Overview of the Psychological Evaluation Process

A psychological evaluation involves many of the same steps that were outlined in the example of the medical evaluation introduced in the Chapter Five. A psychologist's goal is to determine the nature of a child's learning or social emotional problems in much the same way that a physician seeks to find the cause of medical problems. The psychologist does this through the use of interviews, tests, and observations. Results from various tests are compared with so-called normal or standard scores, similar to the way that the physician compares test results with what would be expected for a normally developing and healthy child. In this way, the psychologist can determine the nature of the problem (learning problem, emotional problem, behavioral problem, and so forth) and the severity of the problem (the degree to which the child's scores differ from what is expected, given the child's age and grade level).

How Will I Know When a Psychological Assessment Is Necessary?

Parents and teachers often ask when an assessment should be requested. The decision is not one that is usually made quickly, but is part of a process of ongoing monitoring and review. We introduced three stages in the assessment process in the preceding chapter; here we will discuss the stages in greater depth.

Steps in the Psychological Assessment

The psychological assessment itself is a process that may involve a number of steps. An overview of what to expect is provided in Table 6.1.

How to Prepare a Child for an Assessment

Parents and teachers often wonder what they can do to prepare a child for an assessment. If the assessment is taking place in a clinic or private practice, the parent should inform the child that he or she will be working with a psychologist, who is a person who has studied how children think, learn, and feel. You can share your concerns and feelings about the child's frustrations at school and reassure the child that the psychologist is there to help understand why the child is experiencing difficulties learning and can suggest ways to present information that will make it easier for the child to be successful in school.

If the child is being seen by the school psychologist, there may be a time lag between obtaining permission for an assessment and having the actual assessment take place. As you can see in Table 6.1, there are several steps that must occur before the school psychologist actually makes contact with the child. Therefore, parents and teachers should just let the child know that help is on the way, and that at some time in the future, the school psychologist will be working with him or her to find out how he or she learns so that everyone can help make learning easier.

What Takes Place in the Assessment Session?

Parents and teachers are often curious about what an assessment session is like. When school psychologists begin working with the child, they initially engage the child in a rapport-building task to place the child at ease, such as asking the child about favorite movies, books, or hobbies, or asking the child to draw some pictures, if that is the child's interest. Once rapport is established, the school psychologist usually begins by describing the nature of the tasks to be introduced.