Pediatric Psychological Testing Services in DeKalb County

Pediatric psychological testing can help clarify, confirm or rule out particular diagnoses and/or answer specific questions about your child’s current level of psychological functioning and needs.

Programing is funded in part by a generous grant from the DeKalb County Community Mental Health Board.

The Testing Process

At Northwestern Medicine, the pediatric psychological testing process typically starts with a clinical assessment interview with you (caregiver) and your child conducted by a licensed clinical psychologist. This process will help clarify what you hope to have answered via pediatric psychological testing and whether this service will meet your needs.

If testing is recommended, the psychologist will obtain information relevant to attaining the objectives for the testing. That often will involve collecting/reviewing information from sources such as:

• Interviews with you, your child and others who may have relevant information to share
• Relevant records, such as from your child’s school, medical providers, behavioral health care, and/or early intervention services
• Rating scales and questionnaires completed by you, your child’s teacher(s) and/or others with relevant information
• Clinical observations of your child’s behavior during the initial intake/assessment and the subsequent testing appointment
• Data obtained through standardized psychological assessment measures, such as self-report rating scales and measures directly assessing skills/development in a particular area
• A medical evaluation (history and exam) conducted by a pediatrician on the Pediatric Psychological Testing team
• Additional multidisciplinary staff on the Pediatric Psychological Testing team

Once the information is collected, the psychologist integrates and interprets all the data to form conclusions addressing the questions identified in the initial appointment. With the support of the Pediatric Psychological Testing team, the psychologist will make determinations regarding which diagnoses, if any, best account for your child’s symptoms. Then, you will receive recommendations regarding how to best address their needs going forward. This information will be shared during a meeting between you (caregiver), your child and the psychologist at the end of the testing process.