Services
Psychological Testing and Treatment Options
Is Your Child Struggling With Any of These?
Sometimes, it can be hard to know if what your child is experiencing is part of their normal growth or something that might need extra support. Here are some signs that parents often notice when their child is facing challenges:
- Difficulty focusing or paying attention, especially in school or at home
- Excessive worry about everyday situations, like going to school or meeting new people
- Frequent outbursts or emotional meltdowns that seem out of proportion to the situation
- Difficulty making or keeping friends
- Challenges with reading, writing, or math despite trying hard
- Strong aversions to certain textures, sounds, or routines (could suggest sensory sensitivities)
- Unexplained physical complaints (like stomachaches or headaches)
- Difficulty following through on tasks or staying organized at school or at home
If you’re noticing any of these signs, it could be helpful to talk with a professional who can help figure out what’s going on and create a plan to support your child. Let’s work together to get to the root of the issue and make sure your child is getting the support they need to thrive.
Pediatric Testing and Therapy Services
Psychological Testing Services
Testing Services
Comprehensive Assessments for Children and Adolescents in Dane County, WI
When your child is struggling with school, social interactions, or emotional challenges, it can often be difficult to understand what’s going on beneath the surface. You may be wondering if there’s an underlying learning disability, ADHD, or other developmental concerns contributing to their difficulties.
At Positive Insights, LLC, I offer comprehensive psychometric testing to help identify and assess learning disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety, and other developmental and emotional concerns. These assessments provide clarity and understanding, and create a clear path forward for addressing your child’s needs.
What is Psychological Testing?
Psychological testing involves a series of standardized assessments that measure various aspects of a child’s cognitive, academic, and emotional development. These tests provide valuable insights into your child’s strengths and challenges, and help us identify if a learning disorder, ADHD, anxiety, or other factors are affecting their behavior and academic performance.
The results of the assessment will guide us in creating a customized treatment plan or recommendations for your child, and can also be helpful in coordinating support with teachers, school personnel, and other professionals.
Types of Assessments I Offer
- Learning Disabilities: To assess for difficulties in reading, writing, and math (e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia)
- ADHD: To assess attention and impulse control challenges
- Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): To identify challenges related to social communication, repetitive behaviors, and sensory sensitivities
- Emotional and Behavioral Concerns: To assess underlying causes of anxiety, depression, or other emotional struggles
- Intellectual and Cognitive Assessments: To measure cognitive abilities and IQ
- School Performance and Academic Skills: To identify academic gaps, processing difficulties, and other learning barriers
How It Works
The testing process typically involves the following steps:
Initial Consultation: We begin with an initial consultation where I gather information from you and discuss your child’s struggles, history, and goals for testing.
Testing Session: The testing itself over the course of several hours with time for breaks. During the testing session, I’ll administer age-appropriate tests designed to measure specific areas of cognitive, academic, and emotional functioning.
Feedback Session: After the testing is completed, I’ll schedule a feedback session where I review the results with you in detail. Together, we will develop a collaborative plan that may include therapy recommendations, school accommodations, or additional supports and services. You’ll receive a comprehensive report that outlines the testing results as well as the recommendations.
Why Choose Positive Insights for Testing?
With over 20 years of experience in child therapy and standardized assessment, I bring a comprehensive, compassionate, and individualized approach to the testing process. I believe in creating a collaborative relationship with families, and I strive to make testing a positive experience for both you and your child.
I offer confidential and thorough assessments that provide valuable insights and practical recommendations to support your child’s success at school, at home, and in social situations.
Next Steps
If you believe your child may benefit from psychological testing, or if you’d like more information on the process, please reach out to me for a consultation. Together, we can get to the heart of what your child is experiencing and create a path forward for their success.
Specialized Therapy Options
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Play Therapy Program
School-Based Mental Health Program
"Pawsitive Play" Therapy
More Information about our Specialized Treatment Options
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a well-established method of treatment for children and teens facing a range of challenges, including anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress. It is guided by the belief that our thoughts, feelings, and actions are connected, so a change in one lead to a change in the others. We incorporate several CBT programs in our treatment (Trauma-Focused CBT, Coping Cat, CBT for Angry and Aggressive Children, and Coping Power).
Children communicate, learn and develop through their play, therefore, we use Play Therapy to help children work through their big emotions. During sessions, your child will explore toys, games and activities we select that help them process through difficult experiences to bring about healing. It is a beneficial treatment for those children challenged with anger management, grief and loss, divorce, crisis and trauma. It is also commonly used for children with anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and academic and development disorders.
Play Therapy Program
Animal Assisted "Pawsitive Play" Therapy
Called Pawsitive Play at Positive Insights, this type of therapy facilitates child-animal interaction for a specific reason and purpose within a child’s treatment. It promotes play and playfulness as the central component for exploring feelings, developing relationships, and resolving social and emotional challenges. Benefits include a reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression, improved self-regulation, communication, trust building, cooperation, and motivation, as well as increased self-confidence, relational development, problem-solving skills, attention, and impulse control.
We partner with area school districts to support the social-emotional learning of children and teens dealing with depression, anxiety, life transitions, stress, behavioral challenges, and loss. Being located within the schools allows for early identification, intervention, accessibility and convenience, and effective coordination. Positive Insights provides services in collaboration with school staff and in addition to the school-based services already in place.
School-Based Mental Health
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