Child Assessment & Testing - Testing Process

Psychological testing is different from other forms of assessments, such as medical tests. It is non invasive, it can be carried out in a playful manner and a good interviewer will adjust to a child's temperament to obtain the most representative results. There are a few key principles that parents should be aware of in order to make the assessment an easy process.

The overall assessment has three main components: the parent interview, the testing session and the report as a form of feedback.

The Parent Interview
The parent interview is the first part of the overall assessment process. Children can be present, particularly older children, but depending on the referral question we may prefer if the child plays in the adjacent play room while we are talking about him/her (note: the play room is separated by a glass partitioning wall and we are able to monitor the child).

The purpose of the parent interview is to collect as much information about a child's history and social/family context as possible. Often relevant information relating to a child's functioning emerge during the interview session and parents can find it surprising how little details can be important. The interview usually takes up 40 to 50 minutes. Parents can also download the standard "Parent Interview Form" from our resources page here .

The Testing Session
Following the interview we administer the selected psychological tests and if necessary and part of the referral question, we interview the child. With very young children we may require the parent(s) to be present, but we ask parents to be respectful of the testing process and do not try to provide cues to the child or assist him/her. The time involved depends on the selected tests and the child's individual approach. For an estimation of overall testing times, please see our fees page here.

The Report
All test data first must be scored and interpreted. This is a delicate process as we try to incorporate the information learned during the parent interview with the test scores and behavioural observations. The report is prepared separately. In every case the report provides detailed descriptions of the relevant background information, the assessment tools used, behavioural observations and specific recommendations based on the referral question. The report is written in an easily read descriptive style to be presented to parents, other health professionals and teachers.

Parents are often concerned about what to tell their children before the assessment. As with most aspects of the assessment, it depends on the purpose of the assessment and the age of the child. With older children over 7 or 8 years, there is no need for "white lies" and parents should have an upfront discussion about why they would like their child to be assessed. With younger children, particularly around 3 - 4 years old, parents may want to tell them that they will be doing some puzzles with a "puzzle teacher". Try not to put too much emphasis on the testing process, the more relaxed the children on the day of the assessment, the more representative their results.