Q: What are the ages of students we test?

Ages five through college.

Q: What are the different purposes of testing?

• For school placement
• For entrance into gifted and talented programs
• For eligibility into special education programs
• To determine if learning disabilities are present
• To screen for attention deficit disorder
• To determine a person's learning profile (relative strengths and weaknesses in the various learning channels)
• To determine current academic achievement levels
• To gain objective data to determine if progress has been made in one or more subject areas

Q: What kinds of diagnostic tests can help pinpoint school-related learning problems?

Testing can pinpoint weaknesses, delays, and problems in many significant areas related to your child's development. Tests can be administered in the following areas:

• Fine and gross motor development
• Academic readiness skills
• Pre-reading skills (phonological awareness needed for reading)
• Attentional skills
• Perceptual channels of learning (to determine relative strengths and weaknesses in the various channels of learning)
• Academic skills and achievement levels
• Potential ( I.Q. and Cognitive testing)

Q: How do I know which tests are appropriate?

During an initial consultation, your child's past history will be reviewed including developmental milestones, school records, teacher comments, previous test results, to determine which tests will pinpoint your concerns. An individualized testing battery will be designed for your child.

Q: How early should I get my child tested?

If you notice that your child is not speaking as much as other children the same age, refer your child to the public school system for a speech and language evaluation, or get the testing done privately by a speech and language pathologist

If you notice around age 5, that your child cannot hop, skip, hold silverware correctly, hold crayons/pencils correctly, and is very awkward, seek testing by an occupational therapist, either through the public school or private testing.

Generally, delays in learning, speech, fine and gross motor, and problems with attention, can be identified by ages four to five, so don't delay in getting help. Early intervention is the best strategy for making significant improvements.

Q: How long does testing take?

A. Test sessions range from one to two hours; flexibility in scheduling is essential to accommodate for the individual needs of the client. The number of test sessions needed depends on how many tests need to be administered. If multiple sessions are needed, then we try and use consecutive days. A full psycho-educational test battery requires four sessions, whereas just a reading test might be only one test session.

Q: Is it too late to get tested in high school or college?

Absolutely not! Frequently learning problems don't surface until high school or college. It is very common to be first tested in high school or college.