Psychoeducational testing is an evaluation for individuals who struggle in an academic sense. The prior article titled “How to tell if psychoeducational testing is right for your kid” provides a checklist for if it would be helpful for your child. There are many benefits to psychoeducational testing. The main three benefits that stand out among the rest include:
- Identify the cause of an academic problem
- Identify strengths and weaknesses across academic areas
- Set realistic goals
1. Psychoeducational testing in Tampa, FL helps identify the cause of an academic problem
This is by recognizing the potential barriers that hinder their academic success. This helps to pinpoint the possible reason(s) they may not be reaching their full potential.
Some barriers may include:
- inattention
- poor memory
- impulsivity
- high levels of anxiety
- interpersonal problems (e.g., bullying)
- slow processing speed
- motor difficulties
- family conflict
- difficulty adjusting to changes
For example, a child may have great difficulty completing an assignment. They may either give up or select random responses because they feel like they don’t have the time to finish.
One reason for this difficulty may be due to a lower processing speed. Thus, they may need more time to complete the work. Another reason could anxiety related. They may become so worried about the right answer that they overthink the question or misinterpret it. Without identifying the cause of the problem, you may cause them more harm and not actually solve it.
2. Psychoeducational testing in Tampa, FL helps identify strengths and weaknesses across academic areas
When there are many issues, it can be hard to tell if there are any strengths or weaknesses in certain subjects. These may due to frustration, fatigue, and sometimes hopelessness with school.
Psychoeducational testing evaluates several aspects of:
- academic subjects (i.e., reading, writing, and mathematics),
- memory,
- processing speed,
- verbal comprehension,
- non-verbal problem-solving,
- and other areas to evaluate the child’s potential.
For example, a child might have strength in non-verbal tasks, problem-solving, and visual memory. You can reinforce this strength by teaching them targeted study strategies, test-taking strategies, and prompts. This might appear as adding more visual instruction or guidelines.
3. Psychoeducational testing in Tampa, FL helps to set academic goals and understand strengths and weaknesses
Once you discover the cause of a problem, you can then set realistic expectations for that child. Setting realistic goals is not only helpful for parents and teachers. It’s also helpful for students who may be getting frustrated with their progress.
When expectations the child’s ability, adults can set more accurate goals and objectives. You can imagine it is very frustrating for a child to feel like they can never achieve their goal. Or, to think they are working so hard for nothing. By changing goals and objectives, you reduce unrealistic pressure and can start seeing progress at a level they can achieve.
Psychoeducational testing has many benefits and can help increase your child’s success. Improved academic progress can also enhance a child’s emotional wellbeing and hopefulness.
Dr. Brenna Grant Squires – Psychologist || Author
If you would like to have an evaluation completed, please contact Sheltering Oaks Counseling at 813-982-4230 and set up an appointment.
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Other Mental Health Services at Sheltering Oaks Counseling
Your family may need help in more than one way. At Sheltering Oaks Counseling, we want to meet the mental health needs of every member of your family. Therefore, we offer a number of mental health services at our Wesley Chapel, FL based therapy clinic. For example, our therapists offer Christian counseling, counseling for young adults, therapy for cancer survivors and trauma therapy. We also have marriage counseling, family therapy, play therapy, and counseling for ministers. Not only can we help you in our Tampa area counseling offices, but we can also work with you anywhere in the state with online therapy in Florida.
Additionally, we offer several types of testing services, including neuropsychological testing, ADHD testing, psychoeducational evaluation, Gifted testing, and more. Finally, our specialty services for veterans and parents as IEP advocates can help you too! We would love to connect when you are ready to reach out.