Supporting Young Minds, Building Bright Futures

School Readiness

For most students, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten mark the beginning of a child’s formal education. Assessment of a child’s unique learning style during this time is essential to helping caregivers and teachers understand a child’s individual pattern of strengths and weaknesses.

Assessment of “Kindergarten Readiness” or “School Readiness” provides a measure of how prepared a child is to perform in school. It includes assessing the cognitive, academic, motor, social, and emotional preparedness skills a child demonstrates to succeed in a school environment. Research tells us that students with appropriate readiness skills are more likely to enjoy academic success and to progress in a timely manner throughout their academic careers. For this reason, early assessment of these skills can be critical in order to identify and support any potential areas of concern.

Developmental Assessment

At The Child & Family Practice of Washington, DC, we understand that taking the step to have your child assessed for a potential developmental concern can feel overwhelming. Our evaluators partner with families every step of the way to provide them with comprehensive, wrap-around support services.

We regularly conduct comprehensive assessment of neurodevelopmental concerns such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder, and other diagnoses related to social and developmental functioning. Testing of neurodevelopmental concerns can provide specific insights into a child’s unique abilities and challenges. The goal of our assessments is to provide families with a thorough understanding of the presenting concern, and to outline a program of intervention to support the student holistically. 

The Assessment Process
Our evaluators have completed specialized post-doctoral training in the assessment of Autism Spectrum and related disorders. We follow an evidence-based approach rooted in Best Practices, which includes the administration of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2), rating scales, and various neuropsychological measures. Similar to a neuropsychological/psycho-educational evaluation, the assessment consists of parent/caregiver and teacher interviews, observations, and individually-administered assessments. When necessary, non-verbal measures are also integrated into the evaluation.

Follow Up
After the evaluation, you will meet with your evaluator to review the findings from the assessment and to discuss next steps. At the feedback session, you will receive a comprehensive report that outlines the findings from the evaluation, as well as recommendations. Occasionally, this may mean additional assessment of speech and language, sensory, or motor concerns. These evaluations may also be completed in our office; however, we are also happy to help you choose from a range of providers with whom we have long established relationships.