Prisma Health Pediatric Psychology–Greenville

Pediatric Psychology provides developmental, psychological, psychoeducational and neuropsychological assessment and diagnosis of infants, toddlers, preschool and school-age children and adolescents presenting with a variety of neurodevelopmental, cognitive, medical, academic, behavioral and emotional disorders and conditions.

The children we see typically have a complex presentation of medical, developmental and emotional/behavioral components that require intensive assessment. Many children have limited or no verbal communication. Other children present with behavioral, physical or other challenges that have interfered with previous efforts to evaluate the child. Often, the children have been evaluated by other professionals but referred to us, needing further clarification/assistance in diagnosis.

For many children, previous interventions have been ineffective, or it is suspected that additional factors are impacting the child’s presentation.

The type of evaluation your child receives will depend on your child’s age, presenting concerns and any previous evaluations that your child may have had.

The types of assessments typically conducted include:

• Developmental assessments.
• Autism assessments.
• Neuropsychological and psychoeducational evaluations.

All evaluations include a diagnostic interview with the child’s parents/caregivers and child to allow the pediatric psychologists and neuropsychologists to gather a developmental and medical history and description of the present concerns to ensure the clinical assessment will meet the needs of the child and family.

From there, future appointment(s) will include a combination of any of the following:

• Developmental and/or intellectual measures.
• Psychological measures.
• Neuropsychological tests.
• Academic measures.
• Adaptive measures.
• Emotional and behavioral measures.
• Autism specific measures.
• Clinical observations of the child.

The results of the evaluation are interpreted along with other relevant information (e.g., patient/family history) to assist with diagnosis, treatment planning and intervention recommendations.

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.

Our pediatric psychologists provide therapy to individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities (e.g., ADHD or autism), as well as children and adolescents with co-morbid mental and physical healthcare needs (e.g., anxiety due to coping with a specific medical illness).

Can I call to make an appointment?

Currently, an in-house referral is required for a therapy appointment with Pediatric Psychology. Due to the high demand, we currently do not accept outside referrals.

My child has anxiety/depression but no medical concerns; will they be able to see a psychologist?

Pediatric Psychology provides specialized services that focus on the relationship between children’s cognitive, social and emotional functioning and their physical health.

Due to the nature of the field and the specialized training of our psychologists, we only provide services for disorders such as depression and anxiety if it is related to a medical condition the child is diagnosed with.

Pediatric Psychology also provides intervention services that focus on the relationship between children’s cognitive, social and emotional function and physical health, most often for children with co-occurring medical conditions (e.g., cancer, sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, diabetes) or developmental disabilities.

Therapy services focus on coping and adjustment to chronic or acute medical conditions, promotion of positive health behaviors, adherence to medical regimes and symptom management and coping strategies.

Examples of conditions and disorders that present to Pediatric Psychology for intervention services include:

• ADHD.
• Autism.
• Weight management.
• Depression and/or anxiety related to a medical condition.

An in-house referral is required for intervention services with Pediatric Psychology.