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Psychological & Educational Assessments

Why Use Assessments?

University Park Counseling & Testing Center, PLLC offers a wide range of assessments that can provide additional information to individuals, parents, teachers, and other professionals. Having an in-depth understanding of how a person is functioning can be helpful in making academic decisions, understanding relationship dynamics, and clarification of treatment goals. Our personalized and team-oriented approach utilizes individual assessments as well as assessment batteries to assess the following:

  • Intellectual/Cognitive Functioning

  • Academic Skills

  • Learning Disorders

  • Auditory and Visual Processing 

  • Oral and Written Language

  • Memory

  • Emotional and Behavioral Functioning

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic

  • Adaptive Behavior

  • Social Skills

  • Relationship Stress and Satisfaction

  • Development

  • Kindergarten Readiness

Types of Assessments

Psycho-Educational Assessment: Our psycho-educational assessment battery involves a comprehensive set of assessments to help gain a holistic understanding of an individual's current level of functioning. Each assessment battery is uniquely tailored to your child and typically examines the following areas: cognitive ability, attention, executive functioning, self-concept, mood, and behavior.

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Learning Assessment: The learning battery is typically an addition to the psycho-educational assessment battery to better understand any learning challenges that a child or adolescent may be experiencing in school, such as dyslexia. This battery is also tailored to each individual and can include evaluation in the following areas: academic achievement (reading, writing, and/or math), oral and written language, auditory and visual processing, memory, and visual-motor abilities.

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Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Assessment: This diagnostic evaluation will provide a definitive understanding of whether or not an individual meets criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder. The assessment process can also be expanded to include additional evaluations of mood, behavior, executive functioning, and/or adaptive behavior, 

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Developmental (Kindergarten Readiness) Assessment: We conduct a multi-dimensional assessment that is specifically designed to help parents, educators, and professionals understand characteristics of a child's behavior in relation to typical growth patterns. It encompasses a child's social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development. This information can be helpful in determining whether or not a child is ready to start Kindergarten.

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Other Psychological & Diagnostic Assessments: Psychological and diagnostic assessments are used to create a better understanding of an individual's current level of functioning. Assessment results can aid in the determination of a correct diagnosis and/or guide the treatment process. Assessments are often used to assess for anxiety, depression, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and many others.

​Assessment Process

  1. Request and schedule an assessment intake appointment. During this appointment, you will meet with Dr. Jenifer Balch and/or Twila Farrar to discuss your reasons for seeking an assessment and information you are hoping to gain from the process. Dr. Balch and Ms. Farrar will make recommendations for the best assessment(s) for you (or your child) as well as the cost and time involved.

  2. If you decide to move forward, the next step is to schedule the assessment. When scheduling the assessment, 25% of the full assessment fee will be charged and serve as a non-refundable deposit to reserve your assessment appointment.

  3. On the assessment day, you (or your child) will participate in a face-to-face assessment, as discussed in the intake appointment. The length of this appointment will depend upon the specific type of assessment(s) being conducted. You will also receive an email about questionnaires that may need to be completed as part of the process in order to collect information about developmental history, parent and/or teacher perspectives, etc. The remaining 75% of the assessment fee will be charged on this day.

  4. Once the assessment is complete and results are ready, you will be scheduled for a parent or individual feedback session. In this appointment, Dr. Balch and Ms. Farrar will meet with you to explain the results, review recommendations, and answer any of your questions. After completing the feedback session, you will receive a detailed assessment report that provides all of the information gathered during the assessment process, diagnostic impressions, and recommendations.

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