Assessment and Evaluation
A psychological evaluation, is performed when academic, cognitive, social-emotional, and/or behavioral concerns arise. A psychological evaluation can be helpful when you suspect your child may have an emerging learning disability (e.g., Dyslexia), an attentional disorder (ADD/ADHD), a global developmental delay, an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), behavioral problems, anxiety disorder (e.g., Social Anxiety, OCD), mood disorder (e.g., depression), or language and communication delays. It is also used when anxiety or social/emotional difficulties are getting in the way of your child’s functioning or when you are seeking to better understand your child’s functioning in the face of neurologic disease (e.g., epilepsy or Lyme’s Disease).
The purpose of the psychological evaluation is to provide deeper knowledge of your child’s unique profile of strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, this illuminates how your child learns best and what may be getting in the way of your child’s functioning at his or her fullest potential, whether academically, socially, emotionally, or behaviorally. Once your child’s own unique profile is understood, recommendations can be made for direct interventions, accommodations, and various supports at home and at school to assist your child in optimizing his/her learning and successful development. The knowledge that emerges from the psychological evaluation is employed to design intervention and remediation strategies specifically tailored to your child’s learning style. Through clinical interviewing and a range of psychological tests, Dr. Kimel collaborates with families to develop effective educational and treatment plans. The written report itself is an invaluable tool to support the development and educational progress of your child.
Some examples of when a psychological evaluation is recommended include when:
It is understandable that pursuing a psychological evaluation for your child seems very anxiety-provoking, and for that reason alone, many families fear and avoid this initial step. There is an understandable desire to take a “wait and see” approach, hoping that your child develops without enlisting the help of highly trained experts. But, it is important to know that evaluating your child is best done as early as possible. Nearly all professionals agree that early intervention plays a significant and vital part in the treatment of a child’s developmental needs and long-term progress.
A comprehensive evaluation serves as the foundation of most educational and treatment plans, allowing families to better understand their child's specific needs and enabling them to advocate for their children more effectively. Assessments are tailored to your child’s specific strengths and challenges and include a diagnostic evaluation and written report that can be utilized as a starting point for educational and other services, including:
Prior to the evaluation, families typically talk to Dr. Kimel by phone (in a free 30 minute consultation) in order to discuss assessment and treatment options. Appointments can be scheduled thereafter, though the initial phone discussion may lead to being referred to other providers, if needed.
Components of a Psychological Evaluation
Dr. Kimel personally handles each component of the psychological evaluation, which consists of the following components:
Initial Intake Session: A complete history and understanding is gained during the first hour of the initial session.
Evaluation: If an evaluation is determined to be in your child’s best interests, evaluation sessions are scheduled. The actual evaluation typically takes several hours and may spread across several sessions, depending on the age of your child. The assessment is very interactive and involves paper and pencil tasks, hands-on activities, answering questions, and sometimes using a computer.
During the course of the evaluation, the following areas may be assessed:
Feedback Session: Approximately two weeks after the last testing session, a feedback session is scheduled, at which each test that your child completed and the results achieved are explained, what each test means conceptually and diagnostically is discussed, and, most importantly, the rationale behind each recommendation is appreciated.
Report: A comprehensive written report follows the feedback session that sets forth your child’s test results and corresponding diagnostic findings, along with a detailed set of recommendations as to how your child’s individual needs will best be met.
Benefits of an Evaluation
Some of the benefits of an evaluation include:
Fees
Payments
Dr. Kimel currently accepts Medicaid and Kaiser Permanente of Colorado (with preauthorization) for autism evaluations and therapy and is an out-of-network provider with most other insurance companies. Many health insurance companies will pay for some portion of consultations or developmental evaluations. However, because Dr. Kimel does not bill most insurance companies directly, payment is expected from clients at the time of service. For assessments, clients can pay the negotiated fee in 2 equal payments over the course of the evaluation.
Dr. Kimel accepts cash, checks, and all major credit cards. Invoices can be provided for services. Often, clients can then be reimbursed by their insurance companies or Flexible Spending or Health Savings Accounts.
With regard to specific fees, each situation is unique and Dr. Kimel tailors her services accordingly to offer the most appropriate services to meet each client’s needs. Reduced fee services are available on a limited basis. Please discuss this with me during the initial phone interview.
Payment by the school district
If your child's school district has agreed to pay for the evaluation, the results of the evaluation will be shared with your child's school at the same time as they are shared with parents. A copy of the final report will be released to the district.
A psychological evaluation, is performed when academic, cognitive, social-emotional, and/or behavioral concerns arise. A psychological evaluation can be helpful when you suspect your child may have an emerging learning disability (e.g., Dyslexia), an attentional disorder (ADD/ADHD), a global developmental delay, an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), behavioral problems, anxiety disorder (e.g., Social Anxiety, OCD), mood disorder (e.g., depression), or language and communication delays. It is also used when anxiety or social/emotional difficulties are getting in the way of your child’s functioning or when you are seeking to better understand your child’s functioning in the face of neurologic disease (e.g., epilepsy or Lyme’s Disease).
The purpose of the psychological evaluation is to provide deeper knowledge of your child’s unique profile of strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, this illuminates how your child learns best and what may be getting in the way of your child’s functioning at his or her fullest potential, whether academically, socially, emotionally, or behaviorally. Once your child’s own unique profile is understood, recommendations can be made for direct interventions, accommodations, and various supports at home and at school to assist your child in optimizing his/her learning and successful development. The knowledge that emerges from the psychological evaluation is employed to design intervention and remediation strategies specifically tailored to your child’s learning style. Through clinical interviewing and a range of psychological tests, Dr. Kimel collaborates with families to develop effective educational and treatment plans. The written report itself is an invaluable tool to support the development and educational progress of your child.
Some examples of when a psychological evaluation is recommended include when:
- Your child is struggling in school or on standardized tests.
- There is a large disparity between your child’s potential or effort and how your child is performing in school.
- Your child displays difficulties with learning or memory.
- It is unclear why your child is struggling.
- Your child has a history of neurological difficulty.
- Your child has a history of developmental delay (e.g., delayed language or motor activity)
- Your child has suffered any toxic exposure (e.g., lead poisoning, alcohol).
- You think your child may be gifted.
- You wish to document any changes in your child’s abilities or achievement since prior evaluations
- You want to answer specific questions about your child
It is understandable that pursuing a psychological evaluation for your child seems very anxiety-provoking, and for that reason alone, many families fear and avoid this initial step. There is an understandable desire to take a “wait and see” approach, hoping that your child develops without enlisting the help of highly trained experts. But, it is important to know that evaluating your child is best done as early as possible. Nearly all professionals agree that early intervention plays a significant and vital part in the treatment of a child’s developmental needs and long-term progress.
A comprehensive evaluation serves as the foundation of most educational and treatment plans, allowing families to better understand their child's specific needs and enabling them to advocate for their children more effectively. Assessments are tailored to your child’s specific strengths and challenges and include a diagnostic evaluation and written report that can be utilized as a starting point for educational and other services, including:
- Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
- 504 Plan accommodations
- SAT/ACT accommodations
- college accommodations
- intelligence and academic achievement testing for applications to gifted/talented programs
- Twice Exceptional testing
- Independent Educational Evaluations
- Testing to get into Gifted school programs
- Adult Support Services and Eligibility for Waivers
Prior to the evaluation, families typically talk to Dr. Kimel by phone (in a free 30 minute consultation) in order to discuss assessment and treatment options. Appointments can be scheduled thereafter, though the initial phone discussion may lead to being referred to other providers, if needed.
Components of a Psychological Evaluation
Dr. Kimel personally handles each component of the psychological evaluation, which consists of the following components:
Initial Intake Session: A complete history and understanding is gained during the first hour of the initial session.
Evaluation: If an evaluation is determined to be in your child’s best interests, evaluation sessions are scheduled. The actual evaluation typically takes several hours and may spread across several sessions, depending on the age of your child. The assessment is very interactive and involves paper and pencil tasks, hands-on activities, answering questions, and sometimes using a computer.
During the course of the evaluation, the following areas may be assessed:
- Intelligence / Cognitive Skills
- Academic Skills
- Attention / Concentration
- Learning and Memory
- Language and Communication Skills
- Perceptual / Spatial Skills
- Motor Skills
- Social Interaction Skills
- Play Skills
- Adaptive Functional Skills
- Social-emotional Skills
- Behavior
Feedback Session: Approximately two weeks after the last testing session, a feedback session is scheduled, at which each test that your child completed and the results achieved are explained, what each test means conceptually and diagnostically is discussed, and, most importantly, the rationale behind each recommendation is appreciated.
Report: A comprehensive written report follows the feedback session that sets forth your child’s test results and corresponding diagnostic findings, along with a detailed set of recommendations as to how your child’s individual needs will best be met.
Benefits of an Evaluation
Some of the benefits of an evaluation include:
- Gaining a greater understanding of your child’s learning and behavioral style.
- Explaining why your child is having difficulties in school. For example, a child may have difficulty reading because of an attention problem, a language disorder, an auditory processing problem, or an actual reading disability. An evaluation can unravel why your child is experiencing problems.
- Determining whether your child qualifies for accommodations on standardized tests.
- Determining whether your child qualifies for special education services.
- Obtaining recommendations that will help your child learn to compensate for any difficulties.
- Assessing the effectiveness of current treatments and interventions, and determining whether academic difficulties are due to cognitive problems, motivational difficulties, a learning disability, or psychiatric problems.
- Detecting the effects of developmental or medical problems on cognitive and emotional functioning (e.g., autistic spectrum disorder, ADHD, dyslexia or a genetic disorder).
- Obtaining a baseline against which to measure outcome of treatment or the child’s development over time.
Fees
- Comprehensive Evaluation: $3000-4400 (depends on the type and level of assessment needed)
- IQ Testing Only (for private school entrance and other reasons, price is based on estimation of time required for specific case): $650
- IQ and Academic Achievement Testing Combined: $2500
- A consultation with parents to review previous testing and development recommendations typically costs $175/50 minutes.
- Telephone calls with clients and consultations with other professionals for less than 10 minutes are without charge.
Payments
Dr. Kimel currently accepts Medicaid and Kaiser Permanente of Colorado (with preauthorization) for autism evaluations and therapy and is an out-of-network provider with most other insurance companies. Many health insurance companies will pay for some portion of consultations or developmental evaluations. However, because Dr. Kimel does not bill most insurance companies directly, payment is expected from clients at the time of service. For assessments, clients can pay the negotiated fee in 2 equal payments over the course of the evaluation.
Dr. Kimel accepts cash, checks, and all major credit cards. Invoices can be provided for services. Often, clients can then be reimbursed by their insurance companies or Flexible Spending or Health Savings Accounts.
With regard to specific fees, each situation is unique and Dr. Kimel tailors her services accordingly to offer the most appropriate services to meet each client’s needs. Reduced fee services are available on a limited basis. Please discuss this with me during the initial phone interview.
Payment by the school district
If your child's school district has agreed to pay for the evaluation, the results of the evaluation will be shared with your child's school at the same time as they are shared with parents. A copy of the final report will be released to the district.