The PAC offers highly specialized, comprehensive assessments for children, adolescents and young adults in each of the following areas:
Diagnostic Intake Assessment Conducted by CFI clinical psychologists and social workers, the standard clinical intake evaluation at CFI is integrative and may include:
Paper-and-pencil questionnaires: To evaluate goals for treatment and clinical symptom levels, including for example, anxiety, depression, trauma, and behavioral symptoms. Scores on these psychological assessments can then be compared to those of patients of similar age, gender and other identifying characteristics
Structured clinical observations of the young person
Diagnostic interviews: With parents or other family members, the young person (if appropriate) and possibly teachers or other education professionals
Child history questionnaires: This may include detailed family, educational, developmental and medical histories
PsychoEducational (Psychoed) Assessment: Performed by CFI neuropsychologists—often in consultation with school psychologists or other learning specialists—primarily include formal assessments of a student’s intelligence and academic achievement.
Testing seeks to amplify a child’s learning strengths and target learning weaknesses (such as underperformance in school or on standardized tests), while guiding classroom accommodations and supports.
Results can guide development of an appropriate Individual Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan. Not as broad in scope as neuropsychological assessment, psychoed testing focuses on difficulties in the classroom and at school more generally. Because of this, there may not be enough data to fully assess, diagnose and recommend treatment for disabilities involving language, attention, executive functioning or other more complex social/emotional and learning-related difficulties.
Neuropsychological Assessment: Conducted by licensed clinical neuropsychologists (Psy.D. or Ph.D.)—specialists in a field that focuses on understanding brain-behavior relationships—these evaluations examine how a child’s brain functions and how that functioning affects the child’s behavior and learning. Because the testing is broader in scope than psychoed assessment, it takes longer to perform.
Neuropsych assessments also cover areas of neurocognitive functioning controlled by different regions of the brain, such as executive functioning, visual-perceptual abilities, information processing, attention and concentration, learning and memory, sensory perception, language, adaptive skills and fine motor skills.
An evaluation can better understand underlying reasons for students’ difficulties, what their learning strengths and weaknesses are and what interventions can effectively address difficulties both in and out of school.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Assessments—Conducted by highly specialized neuropsychologists, ASD assessments provide an in-depth look at a child’s development and ASD symptoms. Results highlight both the child’s strengths and challenges and inform whether they meet criteria for a developmental diagnosis.
While the Pediatric Assessment Center is highly specialized in psychoeducational and neuropsychological assessments and autism spectrum disorder evaluations with children, adolescents and young adults, CFI also offers specialized evaluations for adults of any age.
