psychological/psychiatric testing

[Denisemomof4]

if you've had a child around age 7 - 9 evaluated for this, can you tell me what the process was like? I want to have dd8, almost 9, evaluated, but can't figure out how they'd go about it. We had an evaluation done on ds15 and they had tons of papers for him to fill out, as well as teachers and school personnel, and us, the parents. Had we homeschooled him still, the hospital only would have had our input and the child's. Do kids 8 years of age fill out their own evaluation?

 

I'm not sure what to expect with such a young child. I'd like to know what the process is.

[Joanne]

Do you know who is doing the testing? You might be able to talk to them first, and ask how to prepare your child.

 

Do you know what tests?

[Denisemomof4]

Do you know who is doing the testing? You might be able to talk to them first, and ask how to prepare your child.

 

Do you know what tests?

 

I don't know where I'm going to go yet. I know we got a huge packet of information to fill out and hand out to schools, and ds had to fill out his own share himself. I'm not sure how they'd handle that with a younger child, and a child who is not in a traditional school.

 

I also would not want to give her the opportunity to "play" with the evaluator, IYKWIM. While she's a compulsive liar, I'm not quite certain she can clearly establish truth/reality vs. non.

 

:confused:

[Denisemomof4]

nobody has had a psychological test on their young child?

 

I think dd is too old for the types of assessment which involve playing and observing, and too young for her to fill out questionnaires. I'm not sure what they'd do with a child her age, and not sure if waiting a little bit to assess would be more beneficial.

[Mommyof4ks]

My ds was 5 when he was tested by a neuropsychologist (not the same as what you are looking for I do not think, but here is our experience), and he did not have to fill anything out. We were given paperwork to fill out, but questionnaires were not given to others (he is home schooled also). He was tested to give us a baseline for future reference though (he is a cancer survivor), so I do not know if that makes a difference. He was tested at 3 for some visual processing issues that we have since dealt with, but we were the only ones given questionnaires at that time too. I would ask when you make the appt.

[WeeBeaks]

We had it done for ADHD, and to help rule out comorbid conditions with the ADHD. Is that type of thing what you are looking for.

 

He went to 3 peds (our choice on that). He went to a psych we didn't like because she give a 10 minute interview and a diagnosis. We then went to another one. He talked to us 45 minutes and the child 15 minutes afterwards. Two more visits occurred before he prescribed meds. During the interval also my child went to another evaluator, who gave him computerized attentional testing and interviewed him. This took 3-4 hours.

 

Other than one pediatrician who wanted us to fill out a questionnaire, the rest was all done orally, full history from parents and then discussion with the child. The 3-4 hour evaluation did have a history form on paper, but it was a complete medical history down to any birth trauma and such.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

My ds has had a handful. It depends on why you're seeking the opinion.

 

During his last eval a few months ago (he was 7) the psychologist went over his history with me, then tried to talk to ds a bit. He's not a talker. She asked ds to draw a picture, but was overly concerned with it (he drew zombies and killed them). This eval was to determine need for in home behavioral help.

 

The same day he saw the psychiatrist. Again went over history, psych gave a few diagnoses (required for the services we were getting, but all he did was pick from a list of prior diagnoses). He offered meds, but then we went over his med reaction history. He was not concerned with ds's pictures.

[Denisemomof4]

My ds was 5 when he was tested by a neuropsychologist (not the same as what you are looking for I do not think, but here is our experience), and he did not have to fill anything out. We were given paperwork to fill out, but questionnaires were not given to others (he is home schooled also). He was tested to give us a baseline for future reference though (he is a cancer survivor), so I do not know if that makes a difference. He was tested at 3 for some visual processing issues that we have since dealt with, but we were the only ones given questionnaires at that time too. I would ask when you make the appt.

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I'm sorry your son had cancer, and I'm so glad he's a survivor!

[Denisemomof4]

We had it done for ADHD, and to help rule out comorbid conditions with the ADHD. Is that type of thing what you are looking for.

 

He went to 3 peds (our choice on that). He went to a psych we didn't like because she give a 10 minute interview and a diagnosis. We then went to another one. He talked to us 45 minutes and the child 15 minutes afterwards. Two more visits occurred before he prescribed meds. During the interval also my child went to another evaluator, who gave him computerized attentional testing and interviewed him. This took 3-4 hours.

 

Other than one pediatrician who wanted us to fill out a questionnaire, the rest was all done orally, full history from parents and then discussion with the child. The 3-4 hour evaluation did have a history form on paper, but it was a complete medical history down to any birth trauma and such.

 

My ds has had a handful. It depends on why you're seeking the opinion.

 

During his last eval a few months ago (he was 7) the psychologist went over his history with me, then tried to talk to ds a bit. He's not a talker. She asked ds to draw a picture, but was overly concerned with it (he drew zombies and killed them). This eval was to determine need for in home behavioral help.

 

The same day he saw the psychiatrist. Again went over history, psych gave a few diagnoses (required for the services we were getting, but all he did was pick from a list of prior diagnoses). He offered meds, but then we went over his med reaction history. He was not concerned with ds's pictures.

 

these make more sense to me. I wouldn't want to fill out all the papers for her that I did for ds because a lot of what we went over won't apply to her. I'd really like to go to someone to discuss her issues, and what will be hard is that I need someone who has experience with RAD. I still want an evaluation because I'm puzzled and don't know that's all we're dealing with.

 

Because of the RAD, it would take a special therapist who won't allow her to manipulate him/her or pull the wool over her eyes. It's not going to be easy. Itls a coin toss as to whether she'll cooperate, and it's doubtful she'll be 100% truthful.

[Terabith]

I had my dd tested at five, however, they were looking at spectrum type things. She was evaluated by a speech therapist and an occupational therapist, both of which involved them doing various tests. The developmental pediatrician had us fill out forms and had her preschool teacher fill them out. They did observe her at her preschool. They did an IQ test and achievement testing and an ADOS (autism test). They talked to me and to her briefly.

 

The wound up diagnosing her with an anxiety disorder instead. Didn't do a big evaluation, just used the information we had provided.

[gardenmom5]

a teacher at church, a coach, etc. all can fill out. I don't think an 8 yo is ready to fill out his own.

 

my son's church teacher filled out the teacher form for his autism spectrum evaluations.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I don't think I'm much help. DS had full psych testing at 6 and 8. My littles had some psych testing twice (interviews, checklists for caregivers, IQ testing). My littlest just had a fuller eval. He was with the psychologist about 2 hours after about 2 hours of interviews and it took me three hours to fill out checklists. His teacher had a short form and an interview also. Additionally, psych had access to medical records (same clinic) and the feeding eval she ordered for us. We got a summary today and I was very pleased. The information was much more helpful than the original psych testing had been (and he's made amazing progress in the last six months also!).

 

I would guess they could do a pretty full eval with an 8 yr old. They could do sentence completion, interviews, iq testing, etc. Additionally, they'd give you and any other "caregivers" checklists and interviews.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Denise,

 

I actually just got a psych report for a little guy (possible adoptive placement, age 7). Here is what they did with him:

 

Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of intelligence (WASI)

Wechsler individual Achievement Test (WIAT-Il)

Sentence Completion Form

Human Figure Drawing

Clinical Interview

Mental Status Exam

Behavioral Observations

Parent Questionnaire (Completed by Foster Mother)

Records Review

 

I assume that last one included psych hospital records, previous psych testing (he had them done in 08 and 09) as well as other various things like doc reports as necessary.

[Chris in VA]

Oldest ds had a neuropsych eval with intelligence testing and many other tests, when he was 7. His teacher filled out some of the forms.

Second son had tons of psych testing, but he was a teen.

 

(Basically, I'm just giving a bump and a hug! :grouphug:)

[Alessandra]

if you've had a child around age 7 - 9 evaluated for this, can you tell me what the process was like? I want to have dd8, almost 9, evaluated, but can't figure out how they'd go about it. We had an evaluation done on ds15 and they had tons of papers for him to fill out, as well as teachers and school personnel, and us, the parents. Had we homeschooled him still, the hospital only would have had our input and the child's. Do kids 8 years of age fill out their own evaluation?

 

I'm not sure what to expect with such a young child. I'd like to know what the process is.

 

I think it depends on what the test is:

 

--WISC-IV or a similar type of ability/achievement test administered by psychologist -- little/no paperwork.

 

--Developmental pediatric eval (team or individual -- long questionnaire (developmental milestones, behavior, etc). There may also be other tests as prerequisites (vision, hearing) or those may be administered concurrently. There may be separate forms for parent and teachers to complete. Often two sets of docs -- one to make sure your dc needs an eval and a more detailed one prior to the eval.

 

--Psychiatric -- usually some type of screening for specific diagnoses. These can be quick yes/no type of questions completed by parent. You may get screenings for things you know dc doesn't have -- it's just to rule things out.

 

--PT, OT, ST evals -- usually a 1-2 page checklist

 

In any case, most professionals want to see all relevant previous evals.

 

In my experience, hospital based evaluators ask for more info that private practitioners.

 

I have never heard of an 8 year old filling out own eval!

Edited December 16, 2011 by Alessandra