Image from The Yes Brain by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson.
At the Center for Connection, we believe that a comprehensive evaluation should provide so much more than just a diagnostic blueprint. We partner with individuals and families to explore your questions, determine a constellation of strengths, challenges and vulnerabilities, make meaning of the behaviors and experiences you share, and establish a roadmap of recommendations that will carry you through the months and years to come.
All of our assessments are guided by the framework of Interdisciplinary Neurobiology, through which we consider how one’s brain, mind and relationships interact to shape who they are and how they experience the world. Throughout the assessment process, our specialized team of psychologists and neuropsychologists peel back the layers and look under the surface of behaviors in order to gain a better understanding of what might be going on in each person’s brain and inner world. To accomplish this we work with each individual to develop an assessment plan, rooted in safety, trust and connection, that honors their specific regulation needs. We consider details such as pacing, personal interests, schedules, and environmental factors as we develop a best-fit plan. Our team recognizes that intersectionality matters within the assessment process and that neurobiological differences and divergences are experienced differently by people with varying identities. As such, we invite our clients to be fully themselves.
At the Center for Connection we strive to curate an assessment experience that feels illuminating and empowering for the children, adults, and family members entrusting us with their care. Assessment results deepen one’s understanding of their relative strengths and challenges, highlight areas of neurocognitive asynchrony, increase knowledge about learning styles, and guide recommendations to better set you or your child up for success. The goal of our assessment process is to empower the individual with an in-depth understanding of how their cognitive and neurocognitive profile may be impacting their relationships with others, themselves, and their learning or work.
our assessment services At a Glance
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(18 mos. to 15 yrs.)
Comprehensive Developmental Screenings (18 months to 5 years old)
Developmental and Neuropsychological Evaluations
Learning Disabilities and Learning Challenges Clinic
Interdisciplinary Assessments
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(16-25 years old)
Comprehensive Neuropsychological Evaluation
Abbreviated Neuropsychological Evaluation
Autism Evaluation
ADHD Evaluation
Learning Disabilities and Learning Challenges Clinic
Mental Health Screenings
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(26+ years old)
Alzheimer’s disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Anoxic/hypoxic brain injury
ADHD
Brain tumors
Capacity
Chronic pain disorders
Decline in memory/memory disorders
Discrimination/Harassment Litigation
General confusion/Altered Mental State
Giftedness/Twice Exceptional Adults
Emotional Distress/Dysregulation
Encephalitis
Epilepsy/seizure disorders
Fitness for Duty
Genetic disorders
Learning Difficulties/Disorders
Medically complex cases (encephalopathy, metabolic disturbances, myocardial infarction, sleep apnea)
Malingering
Medical Malpractice
Metabolic/toxic brain injury
Mild cognitive impairment
Movement disorders (dystonia, essential tremor, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease)
Multiple sclerosis
Neurodevelopmental considerations such as Autism
Post- COVID symptoms (e.g., brain fog)
Post Concussive Syndrome
Stroke/cerebrovascular disease
Traumatic brain injury/concussion
Worker’s Compensation
““Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
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Click on the headings below to learn more about the assessment services available at The Center for Connection:
Image from The Power of Showing Up by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson
Pediatric Evaluations
18 months to 15 years old
Our experienced and dedicated assessment division will help determine the best type of assessment for your child’s specific needs. Our pediatric assessments include:
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We provide a holistic and research-informed approach to discuss and investigate parents’ concerns, and to provide guidance on whether behaviors are within the range of developmental expectations, and which services, if any, would be beneficial to pursue. Parents and guardians can expect to walk away with suggestions for activities and monitoring, or recommendations for resources/services to explore. If the child is in a preschool or daycare program, school observations and recommendations are included as part of the screening process. This type of assessment does not provide a diagnosis. Parents who are unsure of what services to pursue, or whether a full assessment is warranted, are encouraged to begin here. Click here for more information.
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Through our comprehensive assessment process, we assess a child’s or teen’s cognitive, neurocognitive, academic, emotional, social, and regulatory functioning to uncover both their gifts and areas to support. We value the expertise and input from all important caregivers in a child’s life, including parents/guardians, teachers, and childcare providers. Our assessment process consists of gathering information across multiple environments (e.g., home, school, clinic) to develop a comprehensive profile of a child’s strengths and vulnerabilities. We take a strength-based approach in helping to foster understanding and acceptance of an individual’s unique profile, and how their unique neurodevelopmental constellation might impact their relationships with others. Because we tailor our assessment experience to each individual, prioritizing their sense of safety and comfort throughout the process, we can support children who may not yet feel comfortable separating from caregivers or who may benefit from specific sensory accommodations. Assessment concerns that we investigate include, but are not limited to: learning differences, Autism (including the PDA subtype of Autism), ADHD, emotional distress/trauma, anxiety, and giftedness/twice exceptional profiles.
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The specialized Learning Disabilities and Learning Challenges Clinic provides single-day assessments focused on evaluating cognitive predictors of performance along with broad or focused academic evaluations in math, reading, and writing. These are targeted evaluations to help identify a child or adolescent's complex learning profile and whose struggles are primarily limited to academic contexts. This evaluation is also a great fit for individuals who have already received a full neuropsychological evaluation and need updated information for continued accommodations at school. Follow this link for additional information.
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An interdisciplinary assessment is a unique and highly collaborative comprehensive evaluation completed simultaneously by a psychologist, speech language therapist and occupational therapist. This specialized assessment is designed to eliminate the need for multiple evaluations and instead include our team’s expert lenses, fully integrated into a single streamlined evaluation process that is guided by our interpersonal neurobiology framework. We have thoughtfully designed this process to maximize collaboration among professionals and reduce the burden on families of managing multiple appointments and competing recommendations. Upon completion of the evaluation, all participating assessors will meet with your family to discuss the synthesized outcomes of the assessment process and discuss how the various areas of development that each provider looks at interrelate to one another. In addition to a holistic report, families will receive organized, prioritized recommendations that span professional divisions.
To schedule an initial informational consultation for pediatric evaluations, click below:
Pediatric Assessment Team
Our team of psychologists believes that relationships and play are foundational to healthy development, and we are committed to using our framework of interpersonal neurobiology to deeply understand each child in all their beautiful complexity. Families will be matched to a psychologist based on availability and areas of specialty unless otherwise requested.
Young-Adult-Evaluations
(16-25 years old)
We recognize that teens and young adults experience unique demands in having to continually balance evolving academic demands, executive functioning demands, and social demands, all while navigating a transitional period of increased independence and exploration of identity. Our young adult evaluations account for these complexities while uncovering areas of individual strength, difficulty, and vulnerability. The Center for Connection’s experienced and dedicated assessment division will help determine the best type of assessment for you or your child’s specific needs.
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This comprehensive assessment includes detailed evaluation of intelligence, executive functioning, attention and concentration, motor skill development, visuoperception, language, learning, and memory. Additionally, we incorporate a holistic evaluation of the individual’s psychological functioning, emotional functioning, and personality development.
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This assessment includes an in-depth evaluation of intelligence, executive functioning, attention and concentration, motor skill development, visuoperception, language, learning, and memory. However, it does not include an evaluation of the individual’s psychological functioning.
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Our Autism evaluation process is a collaborative partnership between the psychologist and the client to explore the client’s unique constellation of strengths, differences, challenges, and vulnerabilities. Through investigation of various neuropsychological capacities and characteristics, the evaluation will explore the intersections of cognition, executive functioning, communication, and emotional-regulation to consider whether the client’s constellation aligns with an Autistic profile. We recognize the implicit biases of neurotypicality within many assessment measures and subsequently incorporate a balance of standardized and interview/experience-based feedback into our holistic evaluation. Our approach celebrates each client’s neurodivergence, lived experiences, and differences rather than seeking to mask or eliminate them.
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Our young adult ADHD evaluations are designed to investigate the roots of attention-based challenges and deeply understand how one’s brain constellation impacts their day-to-day experiences. Through comprehensive neuropsychological assessment of attention, processing, memory, executive functioning, and emotional-regulation, this assessment will uncover an individual’s unique cognitive profile and consider the ways any cognitive gaps lead to attentional vulnerabilities in their life. Our assessment approach celebrates neurodivergence and invites individuals into partnership with the psychologist to determine ideal supports for home life, peer interactions, and school/college accommodations.
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The specialized Learning Disabilities and Learning Challenges Clinic provides single-day assessments focused on evaluating cognitive predictors of performance along with broad or focused academic evaluations in math, reading, and writing. These are targeted evaluations to help identify a child’s or adolescent's complex learning profile and whose struggles are primarily limited to academic contexts. This evaluation is also a great fit for individuals who have already received a full neuropsychological evaluation and need updated information for continued accommodations at school. Follow this link for additional information.
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With greater access to information and shared experiences on TikTok and Snapchat, we can find ourselves wondering if specific diagnoses fit our unique profiles and lived experiences. Screenings are a great starting point for individuals who are wondering whether their thoughts, feelings, and experiences are expected or whether they might benefit from further evaluation or possible support. Screenings do not diagnose, but will give you information and guidance as to whether additional services would be helpful for you, and if so, what types of therapeutic approaches might be a good fit for your needs and personality.
To schedule an initial informational consultation for young adult evaluations, click below:
Adult Evaluations
(26+ years old)
Our psychological and neuropsychological evaluations are tailored to each client’s specific questions, concerns and goals in order to explore their brain and its relationship to their emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. Through detailed, neurodiversity-affimiring investigation of a client’s cognitive capacities, as well as their mood, temperament and lived experiences, we help clients better understand themselves from the inside-out and develop a roadmap of strategies and supports to allow them to thrive. Whether you have difficulties concentrating and making decisions, experience intense and overwhelming emotions, recognize differences from your peers in how you relate to other people or the world, or you have noticed changes in your thinking and mood, an evaluation is an ideal opportunity to chase the why behind your experiences and determine the best next steps.
Clients seeking an evaluation may have questions about a while variety of concerns, diagnoses, or situations including, but not limited to:
Alzheimer’s disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Anoxic/hypoxic brain injury
ADHD
Brain tumors
Capacity
Chronic pain disorders
Decline in memory/memory disorders
Discrimination/Harassment Litigation
General confusion/Altered Mental State
Giftedness/Twice Exceptional Adults
Emotional Distress/Dysregulation
Encephalitis
Epilepsy/seizure disorders
Fitness for Duty
Genetic disorders
Learning Difficulties/Disorders
Medically complex cases (encephalopathy, metabolic disturbances, myocardial infarction, sleep apnea)
Malingering
Medical Malpractice
Metabolic/toxic brain injury
Mild cognitive impairment
Movement disorders (dystonia, essential tremor, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease)
Multiple sclerosis
Neurodevelopmental considerations such as Autism
Post- COVID symptoms (e.g., brain fog)
Post Concussive Syndrome
Stroke/cerebrovascular disease
Traumatic brain injury/concussion
Worker’s Compensation
The Center for Connection’s experienced and dedicated assessment division will help determine the best type of assessment for you or your family member’s specific needs.
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This comprehensive, individualized assessment includes detailed evaluation of intelligence, executive functioning, attention and concentration, motor skill development, visuoperception, language, learning, and memory. Additionally, we incorporate a holistic evaluation of the individual’s psychological functioning, emotional functioning, and personality development. Because we tailor our assessment experience to each individual, prioritizing their sense of safety and comfort throughout the process, we aim to honor clients’ sensory processing and pacing needs.
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This assessment includes an in-depth evaluation of intelligence, executive functioning, attention and concentration, motor skill development, visuoperception, language, learning, and memory. However, it does not include an evaluation of the individual’s psychological functioning.
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This focused and specialized assessment is designed to address specific questions and concerns related to how an individual learns, and evaluate how their unique learning profile impacts wellbeing across their work, community, and social experiences. In particular, this type of assessment may evaluate for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Non-verbal Learning Disorder, and Autism, among other possible neurocognitive profiles, and make recommendations, as needed, for academic or employment-related supports and accommodations that will allow the individual to succeed.
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The giftedness evaluation process explores a client’s range of cognitive, behavioral, physical, and psychological exceptionalities and provides recommendations, when appropriate, for any accommodations and modifications needed for them to thrive.
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This unique and specialized comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation regards the relationships between neurocognitive dysfunction, neuropathology, and the behavioral and/or cognitive issues related to a client’s legal proceedings. We evaluate for capacity, fitness for duty, return to work, brain injury, worker’s compensation, and more.
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Our psychological assessment is designed to evaluate an individual's personality, emotional and psychological state, and to diagnose and help treat psychiatric conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder).
To schedule an initial informational consultation, click below:
Consultative Assessment Services
Illustrations from The Whole-Brain Child by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson.
If you, your child or your family member have completed an evaluation outside of The Center for Connection and are feeling overwhelmed or confused by how to understand the results, make sense of the outcomes in a holistic way, or prioritize recommendations and next steps, we are here to help. Through our Consultative Assessment Services, a Center for Connection psychologist will partner with you to explore your evaluation outcomes, apply our unique Interpersonal Neurobiology lens, and ensure you have a robust roadmap to confidently embrace next steps.
Consultative Assessment Services are highly individualized to your specific needs and may include a combination of the following:
An in-depth review of the client’s existing report(s)
Consultation with previous or current providers, if warranted
Consultative discussion of the client’s assessment results through a holistic, Interpersonal Neurobiology lens with the client and/or guardians
Support for the client and/or client’s family to prioritize existing and, when appropriate, new recommendations to develop a comprehensive roadmap of next steps
Partnership with the client’s family and, when appropriate, current providers to determine how best to share the outcomes of the evaluation with the client in an affirming, understandable, empowering way
We believe every individual should have access to a deep, whole-person understanding of themselves and the ways their emotional, social, cognitive, physical and psychological characteristics intersect to inform their unique constellation. Our team will support you in developing a consultative plan that best addresses your needs.
To schedule an initial informational consultation for an Assessment Consultation & Review, click below:
