The Chesapeake Center offers psycho-educational, psychological, and neuropsychological assessments of children, adolescents, and adults. These assessments may be recommended for a variety of reasons. An assessment typically takes place over several sessions including an initial diagnostic interview and two testing sessions of 3-4 hours each followed by a feedback interview to interpret test results and to make recommendations based on those results.
It is recommended that previous assessment records and relevant academic and/or medical records be mailed or faxed in advance so that the psychologist has time to review them before your initial appointment. If you prefer, you may bring records to the initial appointment. Please bring copies instead of your originals, so that there will be no risk of damaging or losing original documents.
More information:
Children and Adolescents
Our team is highly trained in testing students for ADHD, learning disorders and related psychological issues. Many children with ADHD are overlooked when tested by psychologists that are not as expert in ADHD as our team members. Center Director Kathleen Nadeau is a nationally recognized authority on ADHD and has carefully trained our team of psychologists to recognize the subtleties of ADHD. Girls with ADHD, boys with inattentive type ADHD and gifted students with ADHD are those most at risk for missed diagnosis.
Our team is also expert at exploring a broad range of learning challenges and learning disabilities as well as the psychological problems that often accompany ADHD including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders and behavior disorders.
Often, children that do not meet the full DSM IV criteria for ADHD still suffer significantly from the disorder and deserve diagnosis and treatment. The DSM V is currently in process and many changes in the diagnostic criteria are anticipated. Parents should not allow their child go undiagnosed and untreated because he or she does not meet diagnostic criteria that are now understood to be inappropriate for many children.
The psychologists providing assessments for children and adolescents at our center are Lise Becker, Ph.D., Ana Cragnolino, Ph.D., Marcia Gilroy, Ph.D. (ages 12 and up), Judith M. Glasser, Ph.D., Donna Henderson, Psy.D., Eric Rossen, Ph.D., and Susy Thomas, Ph.D.
Adults
Testing for adults is not automatically recommended in order to diagnose AD/HD and many other co-occurring conditions can be made clinically with an extensive clinical interview, review of medical and academic records, and a few rating scales. In the event that a clear and simple diagnosis cannot be made testing may be recommended to help us understand what the underlying issues may be and what treatment program would be of most benefit. Another reason an adult may need testing is if the individual needs documentation of AD/HD, a learning disability or other co-occurring conditions in order to qualify for accommodations in a school or workplace setting under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The psychologists providing assessments for adults at our center are Ana Cragnolino, Ph.D., Marcia Gilroy, Ph.D., Donna Henderson, Psy.D., and Eric Rossen, Ph.D.
Our Approach
At the Chesapeake Center we follow a hypothesis-based approach to diagnostic testing. This means that we tailor our testing to the individual by addressing the referral question and by developing a hypotheses based on our initial interview, a review of previous records, and initial test responses. Specific diagnostic tools are then selected based on what information is needed to determine what may be preventing the individual from functioning at his/her best. By using this method we can decrease the likelihood of false positive results by only testing for difficulties that are suggested by current and previous functioning.
School Admissions
For clients from pre-school to high school, we offer testing for school admissions for area independent schools. As specific tests are requested by the schools for this purpose and the process is much shorter than our full psychological/neuropsychological assessments the fee for this service is based on the amount of time spent to administer, score and interpret the results.
Dr. Susy Thomas provides specialzed expertise in the assessment of preschoolers and young children for school admissions.
Psychological and Projective Testing
Psychological screening is a routine part of our assessment protocol. However, more in-depth psychological assessment, including projective testing, is not routinely part of our assessments. When emotional or psychological issues are the focus of an evaluation, more extensive psychological, and personality measures are needed. An additional fee is charged for this type of testing based on time spent to administer, score and interpret the results.
The psychologists providing projective and personality testing at our center are Ana Cragnolino, Ph.D. (all ages), and Judith M. Glasser, Ph.D. (children and adolescents).
Neuropsychological Testing
AD/HD and many of the commonly co-occurring conditions such as learning disorders are often neurological in nature and therefore neuropsychological testing can help to identify specific brain regions that may not be functioning well. These tests are used routinely as part of our assessments to determine specific interventions for treatment.
Psycho-educational Testing
Psycho-educational testing is used to determine the presence of specific learning disabilities, AD/HD or other conditions that may impact ones ability to function well in an academic setting. These evaluations are used to document such a condition in order to request reasonable accommodations in an academic setting under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Veronica Chang, M.A. Psychology Associate, provides psycho-educational testing for college students in financial need at a reduced fee. This reduced fee is offered for students with limited income who are financing their own testing. It is designed specifically to meet the needs of students in need of accommodations in college.
Assessment for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Dr. Kara Goobic conducts evaluations to determine if an individual may have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). She utilizes the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), an observational measure used to “press” for social and communicative behaviors that are often delayed, abnormal, or absent in children with an ASD. These evaluations can be administered to adults and children over the age of 2 years. The ADOS is used in conjunction with other measures, including the Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised (ADI-R), the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Dr. Goobic also obtains a detailed developmental history from the individual’s primary caretaker.
As part of this type of evaluation, individuals will be referred for a formal audiologic hearing screening and medical evaluation to rule out hearing loss or other medical conditions. Cognitive testing is required for this evaluation as well and can be administered by another testing psychologist at our center or recent previous results from other providers can be used as part of the assessment.
Career Assessments
Career assessments may include testing to assess interests, abilities and personality type so that we can help the individual understand his/her talents, interests and needs. Our clinicians work with young adults seeking to choose a career direction that is well suited to their strengths interests and needs, adults in mid-career to help them function better in their current position and to help them evaluate whether it is in their best interest to seek a different position or field, unemployed individuals to help them stay on track in an effective job search, and to help them assess which jobs may be a good match for their strengths, interests and challenges and adults that are experiencing challenges in their current job, assisting them in finding ways to better communicate their needs to their supervisor, helping them to problem-solve on the job, and to reduce problematic workplace patterns that are impeding top workplace performance.
The psychologists providing career assessments at our center are Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D, Emily Wells, Psy.D., and for unemployed adults who cannot afford our fees we have a reduced fee option provided by Veronica Chang, M.A. Psychology Associate.
Consultations and Second Opinions
Our testing clinicians can provide consultations to review results of previous testing when a second opinion is warranted. Additional testing may be recommended but is often unnecessary.
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