How Child Evaluations Work

A typical evaluation has four phases

1. 1

   Clarify the referral question and fit

   Before booking, tell the evaluator what you want answered, and ask how often they see children with that question at your child's age.

2. 2

   Gather history, records, and observations

   Expect intake forms and requests for school reports, prior evaluations, and health history. Teachers may be asked to complete rating scales.

3. 3

   Complete interviews and selected measures

   Your child works one-on-one with the evaluator on tasks chosen for the question. Parents are usually interviewed separately.

4. 4

   Integrate findings, provide feedback, and write recommendations

   A feedback meeting walks through results and next steps. Ask when the written report will arrive, since some come weeks after the meeting.

Questions worth asking