Evaluation Experiences

Evaluation Experiences

Psychology interns rotate through three evaluation experiences with different faculty supervisors for 4 months each. Evaluation experiences emphasize the need to go beyond accurate diagnosis and provide recommendations tailored to each unique patient to enhance their quality of life. Examples of evaluations include the following:

• Clinical Child Evaluations:  Includes outpatient diagnostic assessment: comprehensive cognitive, educational, and emotional evaluations of children and adolescents presenting with a broad range of developmental, medical behavioral, and emotional concerns. Emphasis is placed on providing multidisciplinary recommendations to address individual patient needs in the home and school settings.
• Neurodevelopmental Evaluations:  Includes neuropsychological ly-based assessment and consultation of children/adolescents with known or suspected CNS compromise such as cancer, sickle cell disease, genetic syndromes, seizures, head injury, CP, cerebral vascular malformations, and infectious processes. Interns work with school systems so that recommendations can be feasible to implement for each particular patient.
• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Evaluations:  To address the most common referrals, an integrated diagnostic assessment, treatment, and consultation service for children presenting with attentional and behavioral concerns. Diagnostic assessment involves combining input from teachers and parents with neuropsychological screening for common comorbidities. Differential diagnoses include learning disorders, mental retardation, conduct disorders, adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders and mood disorders. Emphasis is placed on providing treatments that are indicated by evaluation.
• Early Childhood Evaluations:   Includes evaluations focusing on children, ages infant to five years. Families present with a variety of concerns that may focus on development (Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Developmental Disabilities, Language Disorders, behavioral issues (feeding disorders, disruptive behavior, anxiety). Evaluations may include formal testing, but also emphasize behavioral observations, developmental play and consultation with daycare/preschool caregivers. Frequently, evaluations involve coordinating care with other disciplines (e.g., physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language, developmental medicine) to ensure a comprehensive evaluation including an individualized treatment plan, ready to implement across settings.