PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS

Kids are different in lots of ways not only in their physical appearance but also in the way that they can do and learn things too. Sometimes a kid may have a psychological assessment to help find out more about the things they can do well and the things that are hard for them.

Who does the assessment? 

Psychologist is a person who has learnt about how people think, feel and act. They can help people understand more about thinking and behavior through talking with them and sometimes doing testing (psychological assessment).
Psychiatrist is different to a psychologist – psychiatrists also help people with their thinking, feelings and behavior, but they trained first as doctors, and they can prescribe medicines. However, they don’t do psychological assessments.

DIAGNOSIS

The psychologist will ask you lots of questions and ask you to do some special tasks. Sometimes the psychologist may use a watch to find out how long it takes you to do the task. Some of the tasks are like things you do at school – some are different.

After that, the psychologist will usually write a report. It can take a while for this report to be finished. Then he or she will talk to you and your family about the report and may send it to your school. The report is about the things you do well and the things you need some help with – and some ideas about things that might help you at school and at home.