Neurodiversity affirming comprehensive neuropsychological testing now available for ages 3 through adult!
comprehensive | neuropsychological | Psychoeducational | social-emotional
Giftedness | admissions | Disability | Developmental | Autism & ADHD
Our personalized, neurodiversity affirming assessments are crafted for each individual and their unique needs.
what can you expect from a testing experience at playful therapy connections?
You’ll work with your assessor throughout the process, building comfort and rapport in the ways that you need. Your assessor will work with you to make the assessment experience as positive as possible, always offering encouragement and warmth, even when we are limited by testing parameters (e.g., if we can’t answer a specific question about the test or your response).
During testing, you’ll be welcome to move and fidget as needed, and we will work with you to support your unique sensory needs. Breaks will be paced based on you, and can include down time, snacks, play, conversation, and engagement around special interests (SPINS).
how do we select our assessment tools?
Our assessments utilize evidence-based and affirming psychological and neuropsychological measures, that allow us to explore your strengths and vulnerabilities.
how might you benefit from our reports?
Every report, regardless of whether or not you have a formal diagnosis, will include data driven recommendations and feedback based on up-to-date research and ‘best practice’ experience that centers you and your needs. When you read your report, we want to reflect who you really are, leaving you feeling empowered and with a roadmap for any next steps you choose to take.
We seek to understand you as a whole person, meeting you where you are, and answering your questions.
Available Testing for Ages 3 through Adult:
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Comprehensive Testing, often called Psychological Testing, is recommended when you are looking for a deep understanding of your strengths and needs across settings. It is all of the other types of evaluation put together.
Results of this testing might be used for supporting you in school or at work, with curriculum and standardized testing, in your social interactions, and with your home life. We’ll provide any referrals you need for recommendations we include (e.g., executive functioning coaches, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, medication management, tutoring support, etc.)We might recommend a comprehensive evaluation if you have questions about Autism, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, twice exceptionality (GT/LD), ADHD and executive functioning, and social, emotional, and/or behavioral differences and their impact on all areas of your life. If you have a complicated medical and/or genetic history, we’ll likely recommend this testing. Other members of your support team may refer you for this testing, especially if they have questions about differential diagnosis, medication management, or identification of supports. If you are seeking special education services and/or testing accommodations, comprehensive testing is often necessary. The findings support IEPs, 504s, testing accommodations, and learning support plans. Comprehensive is also recommended for those seeking disability services and those with long-term planning needs (e.g., housing and work support).
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Neuropsychological Testing will deeply explore your cognition. We’ll learn about your intellect, attention, executive functioning (e.g., response inhibition, processing speed, working memory, multi-tasking), general memory, language, academic strengths and vulnerabilities, motor skills (e.g., visual, fine), and regulation (e.g., emotional, behavioral). If you are comfortable, we may include input from family members, other providers, and/or teachers. This testing may serve many of the same purposes as our comprehensive evaluations.
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Psychoeducational Testing is quite similar to neuropsychological evaluation, but is more focused on school-based strengths, vulnerabilities, and supports. Depending on your specific needs, this testing may be more streamlined than comprehensive or neuropsychological testing. For example, you may not require the social-emotional or deep memory component of the other evaluations.
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Social-Emotional Testing is often part of our larger evaluations, but they may be separated out for diagnosis or differential diagnosis of your social-emotional concerns. This testing often guides medication management and identification of supports for emotional needs. For our social-emotional testing, you’ll complete standardized checklists and projective measures, which our trained assessors interpret to understand the more subconscious aspects of who you are. Together, we’ll explore your personality, behavior, emotions, thought processes, problem solving, and relationships. Social measures may also explore differences you perceive in both verbal and nonverbal communication, interests, adaptive functioning, and sensory sensitivities.
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The way in which you move through the world as a gifted or “twice exceptional” (gifted and disabled or “2E”) individual is quite unique. Sometimes the needs of gifted and twice exceptional individuals go unidentified because of their many strengths, leading to overlooked struggles. Giftedness and “2E” Testing are incorporated into our comprehensive, neuropsychological, and psychoeducational evaluations. However, if deeper assessment is not needed, Giftedness Testing can be completed on its own.
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Many private schools require Admissions Testing as part of their application process. This may include intellectual testing (e.g., the WISC-V, WAIS-IV, or SB-5) or intellectual and academic testing (e.g., the WIAT-IV or KTEA-3). This is a brief, highly focused evaluation.
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Disability Testing is recommended if you are applying for federal or state disability support, or if you require long term planning for housing and/or work-based support. Disability Testing may include many of the measures in our Comprehensive Testing, but will focus specifically on intellectual, adaptive, and social-emotional strengths and vulnerabilities.
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Developmental Testing is recommended for our youngest clients. It is helpful in identifying neurodivergence, like ADHD and Autism, developmental differences (e.g., language, motor, social), and early signs of learning disabilities. Parents often seek this tending to understand their child’s feelings, emotions, and behaviors, or early special education needs. Play is a big part of our developmental evaluations. This allows us to make essential observations, build rapport, and help your child feel safe and cared for during the testing process.
We are comfortable with the needs of young children and will support your child’s language, attentional, behavioral, and sensory needs, and can modify assessment accordingly (e.g., use of nonverbal measures). Regardless of whether this evaluation leads to formal diagnosis, you’ll leave with a strong understanding of your child’s strengths and needs, and recommendations for supports that will guide your next steps. During this testing, you’ll stay in our office and spend breaks and lunch with your child.
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Our practice specializes in affirming Autism and ADHD Testing for individuals aged 3 through adult. Whether you seek standalone Autism and/or ADHD Testing, or include it as part of a more comprehensive evaluation, we will utilize affirming measures whenever possible (e.g., MIGDAS, DIVA, CAT-Q). Given that few such measures exist, the language we’ll use in your report will be affirming and strengths based even when the language of the measures are not. We can help if you are self-identified or seeking late diagnosis. We understand differences in how Autism and ADHD present across genders, and we can identify the PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance or more affirmingly Persistent Drive for Autonomy) presentation of Autism. Our team members are attuned to the misdiagnoses late diagnosed Autistic and ADHD individuals may have previously experienced, and we understand the potential trauma that can develop while living as an identified or unidentified neurodivergent individual in a predominately neurotypical world. One of the benefits of completing this testing with our providers is that we have the training and background to identify when deeper testing is necessary, since we deeply understand comprehensive testing. We can support you if you are non-speaking, including if you use an AAC device.
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Your next step is to email - hello@playfultherapy.net - to get connected with our Testing Intake Coordinator.
After that, you'll complete an intake, where we’ll meet with you to learn about you or your child, understand your questions, and develop an initial testing plan. -
The Testing Process
Testing starts with an intake. We’ll meet with you to learn about you or your child, understand your questions, and develop an initial testing plan.
As testing progresses, we might recommend scaling back or going deeper with the testing measures, based on specific strengths or vulnerabilities that become clear. If there is any expected change in cost based on this, we’ll talk with you for consent before we make any changes.
Once reports are ready, your assessor will schedule a feedback session with you. Reports are generally completed within 2-4 weeks after the last piece of data is collected. Sometimes, if a teacher, caregiver, or other provider does not return a rating scale quickly, this slows down the timeline for reports. We’ll do all we can to remind and encourage the return of such measures.
The testing report will be provided at the time of the feedback session so that you and your assessor can discuss the findings. You’ll talk together about results. If you are a caregiver, we’ll meet with you first, though we also like to set time to follow up with your child directly. The feedback time allotted for a child’s testing is 90-120 minutes. Often, we’ll meet with caregivers for 60-90 minutes, and with a child for 30 minutes. For adults, the feedback session is generally 90 minutes.
The intake and feedback sessions are often completed virtually. Testing is generally completed in person, though we offer some measures virtually. All in person testing takes place in our North Bethesda/Rockville Office: 6110 Executive Blvd, Suite 540, Rockville, MD 20852
Testing begins in the morning and is completed during the school or work day to best measure day to day functioning.
When necessary, we’ll recommend school or home observations in addition to testing. If we make this recommendation and you agree, the assessor’s hourly rate will apply for the time.
Diagnosis
Ethically, we cannot guarantee any specific diagnosis will or will not be made. In fact, we cannot guarantee there will be any diagnosis. Diagnosis is based on deep review of history, test data, consultation, and observation. Regardless, we’ll explain all of our findings and provide a report with personalized recommendations and referrals.
Neurodiversity Affirming Measures
We have an extensive, ever-growing testing library. Whenever possible, we utilize neurodiversity affirming measures. When affirming measures are not available, the language within our reports will still be affirming.
Billing & Insurance
The testing cost covers intake, up to 2 days or 10 hours (with breaks included) of testing, the written report, and the feedback session. If testing goes over 10 hours/2 days, the assessor’s hourly rate will apply. Most people are able to complete their testing in the time allotted.
We are out of network providers. As such, we cannot guarantee that testing will be covered in part or in full by your insurance. We will provide you with estimated CPT codes and units in your Good Faith Estimate (GFE). However, CPT codes and units often change as we cannot predict how deep we’ll need to go or how long testing will take ahead of time. If you are working with one of our psychologists, a Superbill which you can submit to insurance for any out of network reimbursement you might have is provided at the time of feedback to include all aspects of the testing process, as this is when we’ll have the full and accurate CPT codes and units available. We do not provide Superbills for testing with doctoral externs, as insurance will not cover these services. Insurance also does not approve testing retroactively if pre-approval/pre-authorization is required. Insurance does not cover educational testing (e.g., for learning disabilities or school admissions).
Consultation & Collaboration
It is your choice whether we engage family members, friends, other providers, or school staff in the testing process. For those seeking school support, it is highly recommended that teachers complete rating scales. It is often also helpful to consult with providers or those who know you/your child well, so that we can better understand you/your child as a whole person. We will always seek your consent before reaching out to these individuals for any reason.
Supports
Please bring drinks, snacks, and lunch on your testing days. Dress comfortably and in layers, in case you are warm or cold. Feel free to bring your favorite fidgets. You can also bring preferred activities for breaks but please choose those that won’t be too hard to shift away from when it is time to resume testing.
Please let us know if you have any sensory, mobility, or other needs so that we can adjust the environment for you.
Parents
If you are a parent bringing your child for testing, you are welcome to stay and relax or work in our waiting room. If safety is not a risk and if your child is not highly anxious about separating, you are welcome to leave. We just ask that you stay within about a 20 minute range so that you can return if needed. Our office is close to many restaurants and coffee shops if you are looking for a place to spend your time. Children often prefer to have lunch with their parents, and some prefer to be with their parents on breaks.
After Feedback
Your assessor will be available for quick follow ups after the feedback session. For example, if you have a brief question or want more referrals. If you’d like to schedule additional meetings with your assessor, their hourly rate will apply.
Your assessor or their supervisor may be available to attend school meetings (e.g., IEP, 504, Due Process). For these meetings, including any case review or additional time required, their hourly rate will apply, including drive time from the office. If expert witness testimony is required, the rates outline in our policies will apply.
Our assessors and their supervisors are familiar with many providers and schools in the area and are happy to assist with referrals. If more specialized school placement support is needed, we will provide referrals.
How to Prepare for Testing
Please avoid any online test prep companies, practice exams, and question samples. If we find out you or your child has accessed such services or been exposed to test materials in advance (outside of previous testing experiences), it is our ethical duty to end testing and discard scores. Private schools and gifted programs also take careful steps to ensure applicants have not been prepped, and will not accept students if they are concerned.
It is perfectly fine to read, play ‘brain games’ and board games, build, draw, complete puzzles, or engage in regular school based tasks before testing.
Focus on sleep, nutrition, relaxation, and exercise prior to testing.
We do not recommend your child go to school on the testing day. They should be well rested and alert before testing, and have time to decompress after testing.
If you or your child is sick on the testing day, please reschedule. We know this may delay your testing, but results will likely not be accurate if you or your child is unwell.
How to Prepare your Child
When we talk with children about testing, we stay upbeat and simple.
Try something like, “All brains are different, and they grow and change. You’re going to do some activities that help us understand your brain! We want to know how you think, learn, and feel right now. That way, we can figure out ways to support you. We want school and home to feel as good as possible!”
Let your child know that many, many people complete this testing to learn about their brains. It does NOT mean that something is wrong with them. Everyone has strengths and vulnerabilities, and testing helps us understand those.
Explain to your child that some of the testing will be easy and some will be hard. It is supposed to feel like this, and they are not supposed to know all the answers. Sometimes there is not even a right or wrong answer to a testing question! These tests are not tests anyone can fail. There are no grades like in school.
Encourage your child to share their experience of the testing with the assessor. This helps aid our understanding.
Help your child understand that trying their best will help us best understand and support them.