In a confidential and comfortable setting, South Miami Psychology Group offers a comprehensive suite of testing services for children, adolescents, and adults – including ADD/ADHD, psychoeducational, developmental, emotional support animal, gifted/intelligence (IQ), immigration/hardship, psychological/personality, and vocational evaluations. Please read on for more detail!

Why can’t my child sit still?

Why do I get so angry over the smallest little things?

Could I be suffering from a mental illness?

Is my teen “bipolar”?

How do I know if my child learns differently? Could she be dyslexic?

My memory is definitely slipping… is this from age or something more?

Could my child be the next Einstein?!?

But when it comes to the psychological well-being of you and your children, “Dr. Google” cannot come close to providing you the understanding, guidance, support, and recommendations that you will find from our team of doctoral-level testing psychologists.

Here are a few questions that can help you gain clarity…

Did someone refer you or your child for an evaluation?

Teachers, school counselors, therapists, and pediatricians are often the ones who will encourage you to get your child tested. A psychiatrist might also request testing to gain clarity about a specific diagnosis or prior to administering medication.

Has there been a recent significant change in the way you or your child are feeling or behaving?

A marked change in emotions and behaviors that are beyond a reaction to a difficult situation is a good indicator that something might be going on “behind the scenes.” Testing might be the right step to help identify what is going on and what to do about it.

Is your or your children’s progress “stalling”?

… with therapy, tutoring, medication, or other such efforts? There might be an unidentified, underlying factor that is interfering with your functioning. Testing can help you get to the root of the issue and provide specific recommendations to help you achieve your mental health goals.

• My child was evaluated by the school but was not identified to receive special services and is still not doing well.
• My child is bright but is not doing as well as I think they should in school.
• My child is overly hyperactive and/or impulsive.
• My child displays processing delays and requires extra time to complete tests and assignments.
• My child spends an excessive amount of time completing his or her homework.
• My child struggles with attention and concentration.
• My child is disorganized and has difficulty with getting started – whether it’s schoolwork, chores, or even goal-directed activities.
• My child works very hard but is always just below grade level.
• My child does poorly on the state mastery tests.
• My child struggles with reading.
• My child has weak writing or reading comprehension skills.
• My child exhibits memory impairments.
• My child experiences difficulty memorizing math facts or operations.
• My child hates school.
• My child has difficulty making/keeping friends.
• My child seems anxious or depressed.
• My child is displaying oppositional or defiant behaviors.
• My child can benefit from a more challenging academic environment, such as a gifted program.

Maybe you are tired of being disorganized, called lazy, or always having to be reminded of things.

Could you as an adult have an issue with attention that has gone unnoticed all these years?

Or perhaps you have had a lifetime of struggling with sadness, anxiety, or anger and never realized until now that this could be part of a bigger mental health issue.

Testing can be extremely helpful in identifying longer-term issues and what steps you can take to help you find peace in your adult life.

Psychoeducational and developmental testing is helpful for…

Identifying learning differences (e.g., dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, visual processing disabilities, auditory processing disabilities)

Diagnosing attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and understanding how it impacts learning

Testing for Autistic spectrum disorders

Determining eligibility for “special education” (e.g., testing for an IEP or 504 plan)

Making school placements, including admissions testing, Gifted placement requirements (e.g., IQ evaluations) or finding the right school for your child

Determining eligibility for SAT/ACT testing or college admissions accommodations

Understanding behavioral concerns such as impulsivity, hyperactivity, and/or defiant behavior

Determining why a child is not achieving at his or her potential

Identifying the need for Transition Planning (for career training and services such as SSI)

Psychological testing is recommended for answering questions such as…

Why am I struggling?

Testing can help identify underlying reasons for an individual’s psychological/emotional distress

Do I have a diagnosis?

Testing can be used for diagnostic clarification that can be helpful for psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and therapists when identifying the most effective and efficient forms of treatment.

Why am I not getting better?

Testing is helpful for treatment planning. Collecting information and identifying patterns can help you and your therapist create a roadmap for self-discovery and personal growth.

I need help proving an extreme hardship related to immigration. Is this something I need testing for?

Psychological testing or an immigration mental health evaluation is an assessment used by the immigration courts in determining whether a person can legally remain in the United States. We provide this evaluation in both English and Spanish.

Can you help me travel with my service animal?

A brief mental health evaluation can be conducted by your therapist to support your need to travel or live with your emotional service animal.

I am struggling to figure out my career path. Can testing help illuminate my options?

Assessments help students and adults to better understand their abilities and interests which can then help guide them as they formulate a career path.

It’s a 3-step process including an intake, testing, and feedback session(s).

Intake session (approximately 60 minutes)

Whether the testing is for you or for your child, you and your testing psychologist will meet to gain a better understanding of the nature of the concerns; obtain additional information about your or your child’s academic, medical, and developmental history; and learn about any social, emotional, or behavioral concerns and history.

Testing session(s) (number of sessions vary related to type of testing)

Testing sessions (evaluations) are typically are scheduled over the course of 2 or 3 mornings. However, adolescents and adults may have the option of completing the testing in one day. How many actual hours of testing needed depends on the nature of the problem, the individual’s attention, work pace, and number of breaks needed during the testing session(s). But this will all be explained to you during your intake session, so you can plan accordingly.

Once testing is completed, your testing psychologist begins the behind-the-scenes work of scoring, analyzing, and interpreting the test results to determine the reasons for your or your child’s difficulties. Through this process your testing psychologist will also be consulting with other informational sources, such as primary care physicians, teachers, and psychiatrists, to gather additional information that can help put together all the pieces of the evaluation.

*Gifted testing is generally completed in two hours and a written report is released within one week of the completed testing session.

Feedback session

After testing is completed, an appointment will be made to review the results of the testing. During this session, your testing psychologist will provide you with the findings of the evaluation and help you better understand how these findings can help you or your child reach your mental health and/or scholastic goals.

You’ll also receive a comprehensive written report and specific recommendations for assembling and working with a team of helping professionals as you move forward.

Call our office and ask to speak with our Director of Testing. After speaking to you briefly on the phone, she will be able propose a testing plan that suits your needs.

Costs vary depending on the evaluation and services needed. Call our office for information on fees.

We recognize that psychological testing is an expense that can be difficult to bear all at once. Please do not hesitate to ask if we can accommodate your needs.

Payment plans are available, but please note that payment must be received in full prior to release of the testing report.

No, not at this time. Also, in our experience, insurance companies generally do not provide reimbursement for the diagnosis of learning disorders and/or testing that is considered to be educational in nature.

However, we will always provide you an invoice with diagnostic and procedure codes so that you can submit to your insurance company in hopes of receiving some reimbursement for the cost of the evaluation.

A feedback session is typically scheduled within 2 to 4 weeks after the testing has been completed, depending on the nature of the evaluation. If you need results more quickly, please let our testing director know if you are up against a deadline. We can work with you to expedite the results.

Our comprehensive testing services are curated specifically to help you gain a meaningful understanding to the questions you, your doctors, teachers, or family members have about you and your children.

Testing is an opportunity. An opportunity to truly understand what is holding you or your children back from being and feeling successful across many areas of life.

We encourage you to seize this opportunity and start today.

Still have doubts? Call for a free 15-minute consultation with one of our testing psychologists for an honest conversation on whether testing is right for you and your family.

Please contact our office at (305) 662-2686 to speak with one of our testing psychologists to learn how we can meet you and your child’s testing needs.