We provide psychological testing for children (also called a pediatric psychological evaluation) that assesses a child’s cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning. A child psychological assessment should center on finding strengths and opportunities while identifying the challenges and barriers preventing the child from reaching them. In other words, a high-quality child evaluation should go well beyond identifying potential diagnoses like ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, anxiety, or depression and give a significant number of suggestions and ideas for growth and progress. We provide a strength-based assessment that offers a unique and comprehensive list of suggestions and ideas to help the child reach their potential.
Types of Psychological Testing for Children
Pediatric psychological evaluations cover various assessments tailored to a child’s development, behavior, and mental health. Below are the key types of child psychological assessment, along with their purposes and common tools we use:
Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML-3)
7. Speech and Language Assessments
Purpose: To evaluate communication skills, including speech, language, and comprehension. (Note: We do not do these, but we can refer you to someone who does.
Common Uses:
Diagnose speech and language disorders
Assess expressive and receptive language skills
Identify social communication difficulties
Common Child Evaluation Tools:
Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-5)
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-5)
Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation (GFTA-3)
8. Motor and Sensory Processing Assessments
Purpose: To evaluate motor skills, coordination, and sensory processing abilities.
Common Uses:
Diagnose sensory processing disorders
Identify motor coordination difficulties (e.g., dyspraxia)
Assess fine and gross motor skills
Common Child Evaluation Tools:
Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (Beery VMI)
Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2)
Assess self-care, communication, and social skills
Common Child Evaluation Tools:
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (Vineland-3)
Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (ABAS-3)
Integrating Child Evaluations
Our comprehensive pediatric psychological evaluation may include multiple types of assessments listed above to provide a complete picture of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral profiles. This is common, for example, in psychoeducational testing.
Results of child psychological testing are analyzed holistically to provide tailored recommendations for support at home, school, and therapy.
When to Consider Pediatric Psychological Evaluation
Psychological testing for children can provide clarity and direction when a child faces challenges or shows concerning behaviors. Below are key signs and situations that may indicate a need for a child evaluation:
1. Academic Challenges
Difficulty keeping up with peers academically despite effort
Significant struggles with reading, writing, or math
Sudden drop in grades or academic performance
Trouble focusing, completing tasks, or following instructions
Possible Concerns: Learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia), ADHD, intellectual disabilities
2. Emotional or Behavioral Concerns
Excessive anxiety, fear, or worry
Frequent mood swings or emotional outbursts
Persistent sadness, hopelessness, or withdrawal from social activities
Intense anger or aggressive behavior
Possible Concerns: Anxiety disorders, depression, mood disorders, trauma
3. Social Challenges
Difficulty making or maintaining friendships
Limited eye contact or lack of social engagement
Inappropriate social behavior or difficulty understanding social cues
Preference for repetitive routines or intense focus on specific interests
Possible Concerns: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), social anxiety, communication disorders
4. Behavioral Issues at Home or School
Impulsivity or difficulty controlling behavior
Frequent tantrums or meltdowns beyond typical age expectations
Defiance, oppositional behavior, or difficulty following rules
Initial Consultation: This first step in the child psychological assessment process involves discussing concerns and history with parents. We also often gather data from teachers, pediatricians, and others who know them well.
Child Psychological Assessment Sessions: The child completes standardized tests and activities to determine their strengths and challenges and what prevents them from reaching their potential.
Pediatric Psychological Evaluation Feedback Session: This session shares results, diagnosis (if applicable), and detailed recommendations. It is often used to develop a comprehensive and multifaceted plan.
Emma is an 8-year-old girl in the 3rd grade. Her teacher noticed that Emma has difficulty paying attention in class, frequently daydreams, and struggles to complete assignments on time. Emma’s parents describe her at home as creative and imaginative but notice that she gets easily frustrated with homework and avoids tasks requiring sustained mental effort. They also mention Emma often seems overly anxious, especially in social situations. Her parents referred her for a child psychological assessment.
Psychological Testing for Children Step 1: Initial Consultation
Child Psychological Assessment Family Interview: We meet with Emma’s parents to gather information about her development, medical history, family dynamics, and academic performance.
Child Psychological Assessment Teacher Input: Feedback from Emma’s teacher highlights concerns about focus, task completion, and social interactions.
Key Concerns Identified:
Difficulty focusing and completing tasks
Anxiety in social situations
Emotional frustration during challenging tasks
Psychological Testing for Children Step 2: Empirical Testing
We give Emma a series of standardized assessments tailored to her challenges:
Cognitive Testing (IQ Test)
Tool Used:WISC-V
Findings: Emma’s overall IQ is in the high average range, but she struggles with tasks requiring sustained attention and working memory.
We met with Emma’s parents to discuss the findings of the child evaluation and the next steps. We gave Emma an age-appropriate explanation of her strengths and areas of support to help her understand that her challenges are not her fault.
Parent’s Response:
Emma’s parents feel relieved to have clarity about her struggles and are optimistic about the support plan.
Emma’s Response:
Emma feels encouraged knowing she’s not “bad at school” but that her brain just works a little differently.
Outcome After 6 Months of Support:
Emma shows improved focus and task completion at school.
Her anxiety levels have decreased with therapy.
She feels more confident tackling homework with support strategies in place.
Child Evaluation Key Takeaway:
Psychological testing helped uncover the root causes of Emma’s struggles and provided a roadmap for tailored interventions, leading to significant improvements in her academic and emotional well-being.
Benefits of a Child Psychological Assessment
Child psychological testing offers valuable insights that can guide parents, educators, and healthcare providers in supporting a child’s development and well-being. Below are the key benefits:
1. Psychological Testing for Children for Deeper Understanding
Pediatric Psychological Evaluations Identify Strengths and Weaknesses: Testing highlights areas where they excel and areas requiring additional support.
Pediatric Psychological Evaluations Clarify Root Causes: Helps differentiate between issues like ADHD, autism, anxiety, or learning disabilities, which may present with overlapping symptoms.
Pediatric Psychological Evaluations Uncover Hidden Challenges: Some struggles, like auditory processing issues or subtle learning disabilities, might not be immediately obvious without formal testing.
2. Academic Support and School Accommodations
Tailored Educational Plans: Results or pediatric psychological evaluations can be used to create or adjust IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) or 504 Plans.
Appropriate Accommodations: Recommendations might include extra time on tests, a quiet testing space, or assistive technology.
Improved Classroom Strategies: Teachers can better understand how to approach the learning style.
3. Emotional and Behavioral Support
Early Intervention: Early detection of emotional or behavioral concerns (e.g., anxiety, depression) leads to timely intervention.
Emotional Validation: Children may feel relieved when they understand why they face certain challenges.
Coping Strategies: We can recommend tools for managing emotions, stress, and social interactions.
4. Access to Appropriate Therapies and Services
Targeted Interventions: Results guide therapists in selecting the best approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), speech therapy, or occupational therapy.
Medication Decisions: For conditions like ADHD, results can help determine whether medication might be beneficial.
Referral to Specialists: Testing may uncover the need for additional assessments by other professionals, such as speech-language pathologists or neurologists.
5. Family Understanding and Support
Reduced Parental Guilt: Testing can reassure parents that challenges aren’t due to poor parenting.
Improved Communication: Families can better understand their child’s experiences and needs.
Shared Language: Clear terminology and explanations help parents advocate effectively.
6. Psychological Testing for Children Long-Term Positive Outcomes
Boosts Confidence and Self-Esteem: Children can focus on their strengths and feel supported in their areas of struggle.
Prepares for Transitions: Results help with school transitions, like moving from elementary to middle school.
Future Planning: Insights from testing can guide decisions about academic tracks, career paths, or life skills training.
A pediatric psychological evaluation isn’t just about identifying problems—it’s about creating a roadmap for growth, success, and well-being.
Summary and Our Child Evaluations
We provide psychological assessments that identify the child’s strengths and potential, the barriers and challenges preventing them from reaching that potential, and suggestions for overcoming them. A comprehensive child evaluation should lead to an effective plan that can be measured over time.
If you have questions about psychological testing for children or how it could benefit a loved one, don’t hesitate to contact us or schedule a consultation anytime.
Psychological Testing for Children: Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions parents ask most often about pediatric psychological evaluations — from when to seek testing to what happens after the report.
Psychological testing for children is worth considering when a child is struggling in ways that concern you — and when the reason for the struggle isn’t clear. Common signs include:
Persistent academic difficulties despite genuine effort, or a gap between verbal ability and written output
Emotional outbursts, anxiety, or worry that seems disproportionate to the situation
Difficulty making or keeping friends, or struggles with social cues and peer interaction
Significant behavioral challenges at home or school that aren’t improving
Developmental patterns that don’t match what you’d expect for their age
A child who seems clearly capable but chronically underperforms — a gap between potential and results
A pediatrician or teacher has raised concerns, or previous interventions haven’t helped
When in doubt, a free consultation is the right first step. We review the most common parent questions about the process in detail, and the CDC’s data on children’s mental health underscores why early identification matters: children who receive support early have substantially better outcomes than those who wait.
School evaluations are conducted by the district to determine eligibility for special education services — they are designed around that narrow administrative purpose, not your child’s full picture. They may be limited in scope, focused primarily on academic achievement, and slow to reflect the most current assessment tools or clinical research.
A private comprehensive child psychological evaluation is broader, deeper, and strengths-forward. It explores the full range of cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning — not just IEP eligibility — and produces a detailed report with richer, more actionable recommendations. Private evaluations can be used alongside school evaluations to advocate for stronger supports, challenge placement decisions, or access accommodations that a school evaluation alone may not support. The U.S. Department of Education’s IEP guide outlines parents’ rights in this process.
Yes. Many core components of a child psychological evaluation — cognitive testing, academic achievement measures, behavioral rating scales, clinical interviews with parents, and emotional assessments — can be administered via secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth. We are PSYPACT-authorized to provide virtual psychological testing across 44 states, with research supporting the validity of virtual administration for the majority of instruments used in pediatric evaluations.
In-person testing is available in Massachusetts and California for families who prefer face-to-face contact or whose evaluation includes components best done in person. During your consultation, we’ll determine the format that best fits your child’s needs and temperament.
The most important preparation is framing. How you talk about testing shapes how your child approaches it:
Describe it as a chance to understand how their brain works best — not as a test they can pass or fail
Let them know some activities will feel easy and some harder — both are expected and completely okay
Avoid drilling or rehearsing, which raises anxiety and can distort results
Ensure a full night’s sleep, a protein-rich breakfast, and an unhurried morning on testing days
If your child tends toward anxiety or perfectionism, tell us before the session begins so we can adjust our approach
Children who feel safe and relaxed with the examiner produce more accurate and representative results. Our clinicians are experienced at building rapport quickly with children of all ages and temperaments — including those who are nervous, avoidant, or have had difficult experiences with testing before. The VeryWellMind guide to preparing children for psychological testing offers additional parent-friendly guidance.
Yes — and this overlap is far more common than most parents realize. Twice exceptional children are both intellectually gifted and have a neurodevelopmental difference such as ADHD, autism, or a specific learning disability like dyslexia or dysgraphia.
Their giftedness often masks their challenges — and their challenges often mask their giftedness — making them easy to overlook in evaluations that only examine average scores. A child who reads two years ahead but cannot complete written assignments, or who is verbally brilliant but emotionally dysregulated, may be twice exceptional. Our evaluations specifically examine the gap between cognitive peaks and troughs, identifying these profiles and producing recommendations that honor the child’s strengths while addressing their real challenges. The National Association for Gifted Children provides excellent background on twice exceptionality for parents.
A comprehensive child psychological evaluation can identify or clarify a wide range of conditions, including:
ADHD — all subtypes, including the inattentive-only presentation frequently missed in girls and highly verbal children
Because many of these conditions share overlapping presentations, the comprehensive battery distinguishes between them by profiling which specific areas are affected — producing an accurate picture rather than a reflexive label.
Yes — this is one of the most immediately practical outcomes of a pediatric psychological evaluation. A well-documented private evaluation provides the clinical foundation needed to:
Support referrals to speech therapy, occupational therapy, or other specialists
The report explains the functional basis for each recommendation in the language school teams need to act. As your child advances, the same documentation can support SAT, ACT, and AP exam accommodations, and eventually college disability services. The Understood.org guide to 504 Plans is a helpful resource for parents navigating this process.
After all testing is complete, you receive a comprehensive written report that integrates cognitive, academic, emotional, and behavioral findings into a clear, individualized picture of your child. It includes:
A clinical diagnosis where applicable
A plain-language explanation of the findings — written for parents, not just clinicians
A profile of your child’s strengths alongside their challenges
Specific, prioritized recommendations for home, school, and therapy
Referrals to additional services when indicated — CBT, occupational therapy, speech services, or coaching
A feedback session is included to walk through the results with you. We also provide an age-appropriate explanation for the child — because children deserve to understand that their struggles are not their fault and that their brain simply works in a particular way. The report can be shared with your child’s therapist, pediatrician, or school team so everyone is working from the same roadmap. For families who want ongoing academic support, our sister agency Therapeutic Tutoring provides instruction that directly targets the areas identified in the evaluation.
Ready to get a clear picture of how your child thinks, learns, and feels?
Our pediatric psychological evaluations are comprehensive, strengths-forward, and designed to give your family the clarity and direction you need to help your child thrive. We serve children and families virtually across 44 states and in-person in Massachusetts and California.
Dr. Alan Jacobson, Psy.D., MBAFounder and Chief Psychologist
Dr. Alan S. Jacobson, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and the Founder of Foresight Psychological Institute. He specializes in comprehensive psychological testing, diagnostic assessment, and high-stakes accommodations evaluations. He provides evidence-based assessment and consultation services for students, professionals, and organizations, with particular expertise in ADHD, executive functioning, anxiety, learning differences, and performance optimization. Dr. Jacobson integrates rigorous psychometrics with practical clinical insight to deliver precise, defensible evaluations grounded in applied psychological science.
About Dr. Alan Jacobson, Founder and Chief Psychologist
Alan Jacobson, Psy.D., MBA, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Director of the Foresight Psychological Institute, the parent company of Precision Psychological Testing.
Alan Jacobson, Psy.D., MBA, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Director of the Foresight Psychological Institute, the parent company of Precision Psychological Testing.
