The following explains components of the Evaluation process offered within this practice.

Intellectual Aptitude Assessments - Cognitive processing tools are primarily utilized to establish an individual’s intellectual aptitude (IQ).  Administration of standardized aptitude tests assists the evaluator in examining an individual’s abilities on measures relating to verbal (long-term memory, abstract reasoning, vocabulary development, comprehension, and auditory short-term memory) and nonverbal skills (visual organization and memory, nonverbal reasoning, planning ability, visual motor coordination, spatial visualization ability, and short-term visual memory). 

Achievement or Academic Assessments – Achievement or Academic Assessments are utilized to evaluate an individual’s developed skill or knowledge within the academic domain. The most common type of achievement test is a standardized test that attempts to evaluate the skills and knowledge expected to have been learned within certain grade levels. These evaluative tools generally examine an individual's competencies within academic areas relating to reading, written language, and mathematics.   

Adaptive Behavior Assessments - Adaptive behavior relates to the skills an individual needs to function independently at home, at school, and in the community.  Adaptive behavior assessments evaluate the following skills:

-Communication and social skills (interacting and communicating with other people)

-Independent living skills (shopping, budgeting, and cleaning)

-Personal care skills (eating, dressing, and grooming)

-Employment/work skills (following directions, completing tasks, and getting to work on time)

-Practical academics (reading, computation, and telling time)

Personality/Adjustment Assessments – A personality or adjustment assessment is a standardized instrument designed to identify aspects of an individual's character or psychological makeup. One’s character or psychological makeup sometimes may affect how an individual performs at home, school or work.