At Liv Associates, we specialize in comprehensive evaluations for children and adolescents to identify a wide range of learning-related challenges. Our evaluations help pinpoint specific areas of difficulty and provide recommendations for targeted interventions and accommodations. If your child or teen is struggling at home or in school with learning tasks, an assessment can offer valuable insights into their strengths and weaknesses, allowing us to develop more effective learning strategies tailored to their needs.
We use current, standardized assessments to create a detailed learning profile that sheds light on how your child processes information compared to their peers. If your child is finding school particularly challenging or is having trouble mastering tasks that others their age have already accomplished, they may be facing a learning disability. It's important to note that learning disabilities are not a reflection of intelligence; many children with learning disabilities have average or even above-average intelligence but experience difficulties in one or more areas of learning.
The first step in supporting your child is often through a formal evaluation to better understand their individual strengths and challenges. At Liv Associates, our goal is to provide you, your family, and—if desired—your child's school with clear, individualized recommendations to help your child learn and function more effectively.
Each evaluation is tailored to the child’s specific needs. The process begins with an initial consultation between parents and one of our psychologists, during which we gather key information about your concerns and discuss the questions you’re hoping to address (e.g., “Does my child have ADHD?” or “Does my child have a learning disorder?”). This personalized approach ensures that we provide the most relevant and actionable guidance for your child's success.
INITAL CONSULTATION
In preparation for this consultation appointment, you may be asked to complete a thorough developmental history questionnaire, which will provide valuable information about your child related to family history, medical history, developmental history, mental health history, social history, and educational history. Additionally, you will be asked to provide all relevant educational documents and/or previous evaluations. During the initial consultation, you will partake in a structured psycho-social interview with the psychologist to review and expand upon the developmental history questionnaire. At the conclusion of the consultation, you and the psychologist together will determine an appropriate course of action that best meets your child’s needs.
Liv Associates offers a variety of evaluations that assess different domains of functioning; you may specifically know what type of evaluation you are looking for, and other times, the psychologist may offer recommendations based on the presenting concern(s), educational history, and past evaluations (i.e. your child may have recently undergone an evaluation through the school district in which case, we would not want to replicate similar measures). Moreover, there may be times when you have specific questions about recent evaluations completed by other professionals or your local school district; the initial consultation can serve as an opportunity to review such evaluations in order to determine if additional testing/evaluation is truly necessary.
POST CONSULTATION
After the initial consultation, the psychologist works with you in order to create an individualized battery of assessments that will ultimately answer your referral question and lead to a better understanding of your child’s competencies as well as weaknesses. Depending on your child’s needs, the battery of tests may include cognitive and intellectual assessment, academic achievement assessment, assessment of attention and concentration, social-emotional screening, and relevant neuropsychological measures.
At times, the psychologist may wish to observe your child in a more natural setting such as the school/classroom in order to gather information about his or her functioning amongst peers and adults (i.e. ideally, this would occur prior to any formal assessments).
At Liv Associates, our psychologists complete evaluations in a quiet, controlled environment. Formal testing may require several 2-3 hour sessions. For teenagers and adolescence, structured interviews will also be conducted to gain introspective insight. After all testing is completed, the psychologist will review the results with you during a feedback session inclusive of providing specific home-based and school-based recommendations so that your child can reach his or her true potential. A comprehensive and integrated written report will be provided to you after the feedback session as well.
