Psychological Assessment Services in Sacramento, California
Our specialty clinic provides the following evaluation services:
DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENTS
These assessments are for children who are under the age of five. There are many reasons why a family might seek this type of evaluation for their child.
They may have some general concerns or feel like their child’s development is different than other children of the same age.
Pediatricians or teachers may have raised concerns or noticed potential symptoms of autism.
A developmental assessment will explore all these concerns with a focus on language, early cognitive skills, and social-emotional development. If autism spectrum disorder is a concern, this evaluation will also incorporate evaluation of signs/symptoms associated with autism.
If you have concerns about your child’s social communication skills, or a medical provider or school support has suggested that your child may have autism spectrum disorder, your family may wish to pursue a formal evaluation.
This evaluation will look at signs/symptoms related to autism spectrum disorder as well as cognitive and adaptive skills.
Our autism assessments involve taking a careful developmental history as well as completing an in-person assessment.
Our clinicians have all received extensive training, use gold standard assessments that meet the criteria of insurance companies and other supportive services, and have years of experience with diagnostic evaluations.
It is important to know that other disorders or concerns can have similar features to autism, for example, social anxiety, anxiety, or ADHD.
Part of the evaluation process is getting to the root cause of the behaviors and helping people to figure out what supports and services will best help them meet their goals.
AUTISM ASSESSMENTS
ADHD ASSESSMENTS
If your child is struggling at school or home with paying attention, focusing, remembering important items, or acting impulsively, it may be helpful for them to have a formal evaluation for ADHD.
An ADHD assessment starts with a medical, social, psychological, and educational history.
Teachers and parents will also be asked to provide input around symptoms that are seen in different environments, and in-person testing ensures that our clinicians can determine the root cause of the concerns that your child is experiencing.
Please contact our office if you are requesting an assessment that is court-involved. These will be considered on a case-by-case basis by our psychologists.
FORENSIC OR COURT-INVOLVED ASSESSMENT
WHAT’S OUR ASSESSMENT PROCESS?
While some services are available via teletherapy, we don’t offer fully remote assessments. Our psychologists find that important and relevant information can be missed during remote evaluations, and we want to ensure a thorough and accurate assessment.
All of our assessments follow a consistent structure, which includes the following steps:
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You will have a short consultation call with one of our psychologists to clarify concerns and make sure that our clinic is a good fit for your family.
Our office staff will then work with you to schedule two appointments.
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The first appointment will be online or in the clinic and will be attended by parents/caregivers only.
At this appointment, the clinician will conduct a thorough interview to understand the symptoms, history, and current challenges of the client.
We will also ask you to provide us with any previous evaluations, school IEPs, and other documentation that might be helpful.
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The second appointment will be in-person with your child and will consist of several hours of direct testing as well as completion of forms by a parent/caregiver/teacher.
We will work with you to provide any support that your child needs to complete the testing process.
After this appointment, a feedback appointment will be scheduled.
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At the feedback appointment, you will review the results of the testing with your clinician, discuss next steps and recommendations, and receive a formal report.
