My child had a formal psychological/educational evaluation: what do I do next?

You may have read every parenting book, blog, or forum post from your local mom for every difficulty your child might have, but chances are your child only represents a small part of what’s thrown your way. That being said, when your child undergoes a psychological or educational evaluation, whether in a school, clinic, or private practice setting, it is her job to ask questions related to your child.

The most important thing is to ask questions beyond what the data or general “norms” suggest.

I say this because although we psychologists are trained to observe how a child’s behaviors present themselves throughout testing and account for them along with their abilities and skills, visual processing and behavioral observations are often overlooked. high during these very informative times. Unfortunately, this is not due to the negligence of the psychologist, but rather because psychologists are not trained to detect visual processing problems beyond what the scores present.

Usually it is the parent who asks the psychologist “have you ever heard of vision therapy?” and “do you think my child needs this?” Visual processing issues can present themselves in many ways throughout the tests. If you are a parent who has tested your child before or will be tested in the future, you are likely to hear/see the abbreviated terms for the testing materials used. Some of the most widely used tests are WISC-V, WPPSI, WJ-IV, Bender-Gestalt II, GORT-5, GSRT, and WIAT-III, which assess cognitive abilities, visual-motor integration, and academic performance (reading, writing, and math). On each of these measures, your child may score below average; Your provider will spend some time discussing this, and if your child averages, he’s likely to progress during any type of feedback unless you stop him. However, you should ask how your child’s work processes were. By asking these questions, you will know whether or not to seek vision therapy or ask more about your child’s visual processing.

Here are some suggestions I would recommend asking the evaluator:

During the test, my son…

Work close to the page

Having difficulty copying items (i.e. investing or exerting too much energy)

Seems to slow down or spend more time rereading parts of larger passages

Write words that displayed reversed letters

Fatigue during reading tasks.

Showing lip biting or excessive mouth movements while reading

Express complaints when tackling reading/writing tasks

Skip lines when reading aloud

Reads words accurately, but shows minimal understanding.

Write sentences with little spacing or ‘floating’ letters off the line

Do not pay attention to mathematical sign changes

Exhibit minimal task organization, both spatially and verbally

Has difficulty following multi-step instructions

Has difficulty self-control during tasks

Having a short attention span for particular tasks.

Exhibiting a lack of fluency on timed tasks

These questions are important to ask because they are all signs of vision-related difficulties that may be causing your child to put extra strain or strain on their eyes, which often goes unnoticed. Regardless of your child’s performance on these measures, it is by understanding her behaviors throughout the test that you will be able to detect visual processing issues and the need for vision therapy. Remember, you are your child’s best expert witness!