Assessment methods used by psychologists in developmental-behavioral pediatrics may include:
- Structured and unstructured diagnostic interviews
- Structured and unstructured observation, particularly with children who are young or nonverbal (e.g., play, functional analysis)
- Autism specific measures
- Emotional and behavioral measures (completed by parents, children and teachers)
- Developmental/intellectual measures
- Adaptive measures
- Academic measures
What disorders do pediatric psychologists typically see?
Our pediatric psychologists conduct comprehensive assessments on children presenting with developmental delays, autism, intellectual disability and learning concerns.
Additionally, our Pediatric Neuropsychology division sees children with traumatic brain injuries, attentional difficulties, executive functioning weaknesses, neurocognitive and neurodevelopmental disabilities and children with complex medical conditions in which diagnosis or treatment may impact their neuropsychological or behavioral functioning.
Once my provider makes a referral, what are the next steps?
Once we receive a referral from your provider, you and your child’s teacher (if applicable) will be mailed a packet of information to fill out about your child. Once the packets are returned to us, your child’s information will be reviewed by our Developmental Intake Team to determine the appropriate type of assessment and/or provider for your child.
From there, your child will be placed on the waiting list, and you will receive a call to schedule your first appointment once your child is off the waiting list.
How long is the wait for an evaluation?
Currently, the wait is approximately 6–8 months for autism (under 9), psychoeducational, and neuropsychological assessments. Our 9+ autism waiting list is currently 12–24 months long.
What if I need an evaluation sooner?
Talk with your child’s school about conducting a psychoeducational and/or autism evaluation. If the school has concerns about potential learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, developmental delays and/or autism, they should be able to provide your child with an assessment.
What does the typical evaluation process look like?
The number of visits and length of visits for your child’s evaluation will depend on the specific concerns being evaluated. All evaluations, however, have a one-hour diagnostic interview appointment as the initial appointment.
From there, your child will be scheduled for subsequent appointments (2–3 appointments, depending on the referral question) which will last anywhere from 1–3 hours each. All assessments also have an informational conference where the results of the assessment will be discussed with you. This conference will either happen on the same day as the last evaluation appointment or two weeks after the last evaluation appointment, depending on the type of assessment.
Do you provide therapy?
Our assessment providers do not also provide therapy. Please refer to the Therapy FAQ below for more information on our therapy services.
