A psychological evaluation involves a formal assessment of a person to gain a deeper understanding of their strengths and needs. An evaluation often includes gathering information through standardized measures, interviews, record reviews, observations, and non-standardized activities. Several domains could be assessed through a comprehensive evaluation at Three Oaks, such as: 

• Intelligence and general cognitive abilities

• Academic skills

• Early developmental milestones

• Learning and memory

• Language and communication

• Social skills

• Adaptive functioning 

• Sensory Processing 

• Behavioral and emotional functioning

• Executive functioning skills

• Visual-spatial skills

A psychological evaluation helps understand the nature of a problem to develop a treatment plan. Some evaluations may result in a diagnosis, which helps with some eligibility for programs and services. Further, psychological evaluations can help guide referrals to related service providers who can help the child and their families meet their treatment goals.

Three Oaks currently conducts evaluations for children (ages 5+), teens, and young adults (ages 25 & under). We are happy to provide a list of local provider recommendations for children under five and adults older than 25. 

Children participate in evaluations for a variety of reasons! They are often referred for an evaluation when there are concerns in a/an major life area(s) like school, home life, or friendships. Since every child and situation is different, the evaluation process must be tailored to each child to address the referral concerns. The more we know about the problem, the better we can develop a plan to address it. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation would be more beneficial than a brief interview or screening tool. It’s also helpful to know about the child’s strengths and other protective factors that can increase the positive outcomes of treatment. 

A child may benefit from a comprehensive evaluation if they are currently receiving interventions but are not making expected progress. Many children are referred for a reevaluation after receiving interventions or treatment to see how they’ve responded to the support. Gathering updated information can guide treatment and support services changes. 

There is no referral requirement for seeking an evaluation. Often, a parent/caregiver refers their child for an evaluation when they recognize concerns in areas like school, home life, or friendships. Other times, adults or professionals working with the child, such as a pediatrician, therapist, teacher, occupational therapist, or speech therapist, may recommend an evaluation.

For parents/caregivers, you can expect to share your thoughts, experiences, and concerns related to your child’s strengths and needs. You will likely be asked to complete one or more questionnaires and checklists about your child. Parents/caregivers may be asked to help the psychologist connect with other providers or teachers who know their child well. We encourage you to bring copies of any relevant school records, previous evaluations, or medical history documents. 

For clients (child), you can expect to be asked to share your thoughts, experiences, and concerns about your strengths and needs. You will likely be asked to complete one or more questionnaires and or/checklists. You can expect to complete several tasks in a variety of areas. We ask that you try your best during all tasks. 

A typical evaluation includes two parent/caregiver meetings and several client sessions. Parent(s)/caregiver(s) will first attend an intake session (without their child) to discuss their concerns, review their child’s developmental/academic/medical history, and discuss the evaluation process. The client (child) will attend several in-person sessions to complete various assessment tasks. The number of sessions varies by referral question but can be between 2 and 4 times. Each client session is scheduled for 2 hours but may be shorter depending on various factors (e.g., age, behavior, fatigue, cooperation, etc.). After all of the necessary information is collected, the parent(s)/caregiver(s) will attend a final session (without their child) to review the results of the evaluation and collaborate on the next steps. A written report will be provided at the end of the evaluation process. Although the length of an evaluation varies per child, the average turnaround time for an evaluation is 50-60 days. 

Self-pay Rates

Our providers will work with you to determine which evaluation type will best meet the referral questions. However, for planning purposes, the following self-pay package information is available for your consideration. Standardized assessments could include measures such as cognition/intelligence, attention and concentration, education, memory, language, and visual-spatial/visual-motor. The type of standardized assessment is driven by the referral question and will be identified during the intake session.

ADHD evaluation includes clinical interviews, standardized assessment, multirater rating scales, feedback session, and written report with recommendations. ($1,950)

Comprehensive evaluation includes clinical interviews, record review, multiple standardized assessments, multirater rating scales, feedback session, and written report with recommendations. ($2,550)

Autism evaluation includes clinical interviews, record review, standardized assessments including autism-specific assessments, multirater rating scales including adaptive skills, feedback session, and written report with recommendations. ($3,000)

Educational evaluation includes clinical interviews, record review, educational assessments, feedback session, and written report with recommendations ($1,250)

Comprehensive evaluations can be billed through insurance (if in-network). If we do not accept your current insurance plan, you may be eligible to use your out-of-network benefits (please see our FAQ page for more information). Self-pay options are available. 

IMPORTANT: Insurance carriers may only cover certain assessments, usually those they consider to be “medically necessary.” For example, Insurance carriers do not typically cover the administration of tests of academic achievement or other tests that would be helpful to gain a better understanding of you or your child strengths and needs. This information can be very helpful for educational planning. Therefore, these services are available and billed as a separate service at our providers' evaluation self-pay rate of $250/hour. For example, for an educational screening that takes about 2 hours, the additional fee would be $500. For a more comprehensive educational evaluation that takes 5 hours, $1,250 would be billed directly to you.