A Parent's Guide to Psychoeducational Evaluations

The purpose of this book is to help parents who are considering a psychoeducational evaluation for their child, to become more knowledgeable about how to decide if a psychoeducational evaluation is indicated, what the process is like, what different tests and procedures may be used, how testing can be individualized based on a child's needs, what the scores provided in test reports mean, what makes a good test report, how parents can best advocate for their child and how to access services that may be recommended based on the evaluation findings. The goal of this book is to help parents become more savvy about the testing process so that they are more able to work collaboratively with the evaluator in obtaining information that will ultimately be beneficial in planning for their child's educational needs.

This book was written for parents who are considering a psychoeducational evaluation for their child to help them become more knowledgeable about the process. The various chapters address: how to decide if a psychoeducational evaluation makes sense, what might take place at an intake meeting, what are the different types of testing, observation, questionnaires and other procedures that may be suggested, how psychologists may adapt the testing to individual needs, how to interpret the scores from a psychoeducational evaluation, how to present test findings in a way that is useful to teachers, what happens at the feedback meeting and how to advocate for your child after the evaluation. The author provides a list of frequently used tests and explains what they measure and what age they are used for. There is also a list of frequently asked questions that are answered. The goal of this book is to help parents to become more savvy about the testing process so that they are more able to work collaboratively with the evaluator to obtain information that will ultimately be beneficial in planning for their child's educational needs.

Paula Elitov is a licensed clinical psychologist who practices in Maryland. She earned a Ph.D. in both Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan. She has been practicing for over 30 years and has worked in hospital settings, school settings and in private practice with children beginning at preschool through college age. She has specialized training in assessing learning disabilities, autism, social skill weaknesses, nonverbal learning disabilities, anxiety and depression. Her combined training in both education and psychology has contributed to her interest in translating psychoeducational findings to make them relevant for teachers.