Psychological Testing For Giftedness
Parents are often the first to recognize that their child has some sort of unique ability in a given area such as intelligence, creativity, leadership, or art. They might notice very early in this child’s life that this gift exists.
However, some parents aren’t quite sure what to do with the skills they see in their child. It is important to make an effort to solidify this giftedness with further testing so that a child can gain access to additional resources through the local school system or be admitted to a more challenging private school.
If you have reason to believe that your child might be gifted, it’s time to take a closer look at what you need to do next.
Why Dr. Katherine Lewitzke PsyD?
Dr. Kat Lewitzke PsyD LP is affiliated with the Roeper School, one of the most prestigious private schools in the Metro-Detroit – Oakland County, Michigan area. She has also been appointed as a board member for the Michigan Association of Gifted Children (MAGC). We are conveniently located in Clarkston MI, a suburban city in Oakland County. If you’re in need of a required giftedness test for your child, we’re here to help.
Reasons for Giftedness Testing near Oakland County, MI
Many children definitely meet the requirements for giftedness, but few are ever tested to prove their advanced ability. As a result, these children often fall through the cracks without receiving the additional opportunities to learn and grow. There are many reasons to have your child tested for giftedness. First and foremost, testing for giftedness ensures that your child can gain access to new resources and learning experiences that can help to shape their future.
Without access to these resources, children might exhibit the signs of being bored with their school experience which can lead to additional difficulties for parents. When the curriculum isn’t challenging for a student, they might not necessarily demonstrate that with excellent grades. Instead, a child may stop turning in work and start bringing home poor grades because they are too bored to put forth any real effort.
Alternatively, children may start to act out in school leading to disciplinary problems. Your child may become disruptive in the classroom, disrespectful to teachers, and argumentative with their peers. While these may seem like behavioral problems at first glance, they can actually stem from giftedness that isn’t being tapped into during the typical school day.
Some parents choose to pursue giftedness testing because their child’s private school may require it. This is still a great reason to check in with a psychologist who can help to pinpoint your child’s strengths and weaknesses in the classroom. After all, a neuropsychological evaluation is going to give you an extremely thorough look at your child’s ability to think, learn, and communicate.
Cognitive Domains Tested During the Evaluation
Testing a child for giftedness is a complex process that involves testing many of the cognitive domains. The most significant domain tested is usually considered to be intelligence. Gifted children tend to have above-average intelligence that can be demonstrated through standardized test scores on a neuropsychological evaluation. They are also sometimes given content-specific achievement tests to determine whether they might be more gifted in certain areas.
Along with testing for intelligence, children are also given standardized tests to demonstrate their language abilities. This can help a clinician to conclude whether a child can communicate their intelligence using verbal and nonverbal methods. Many gifted children have a more sophisticated vocabulary with more complex sentence structure compared to their typical peers. This is something that can be also be addressed during the evaluation.
Another sign of giftedness is often the ability to concentrate for extended periods of time. In a neuropsychological evaluation, a child’s memory and attention will also be put to the test. This can be helpful in identifying how a child learns and how much information they can absorb during a set period of time. This may not always be the case when a child has a current diagnosis of attention-deficit disorder or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, it is a general rule of thumb that many gifted children can concentrate for extended periods of time.
Along with the cognitive tests administered to determine giftedness, a psychologist may also choose to administer some emotional tests or interviews. Gifted children tend to have more intense emotions than their peers. It can be helpful to assess whether your child also needs assistance in managing their intense emotions. With this piece of the picture in place, you receive a thorough and comprehensive look at your child’s giftedness and emotional capacity.
By testing each of these cognitive domains, clinicians can get a better sense of the child’s overall abilities. Using standardized tests, it is easy to see where a child falls in relation to their peers. Clinicians can put all of the pieces together to determine whether the child is gifted in a particular area or across the board.
Reasons To Have Your Child Evaluated
Having your child evaluated for giftedness is extremely important to their future academic success. It reveals more information about who they are as learners and how they can best learn new information. You can finally find the appropriate degree of difficulty for your child’s academic abilities with a thorough assessment. With the proper neuropsychological testing to back you up, you will be able to pursue more suitable accommodations for your child’s classroom experience.
When the child is accurately labeled and handled as gifted, you may see some of the negative behaviors in your child disappear. Their boredom with the material might dissipate and acting out could become a thing of the past.
They can once again find the classroom to be an exciting place to learn and explore new interests. However, they have to be appropriately challenged according to their unique level of giftedness.
And this particular psychological assessment can provide the key that you need in order to pursue this help and additional resources for your child.
Having a gifted child requires a lot more work for parents. You must make sure that your child is adequately challenged in all areas so that they don’t grow bored with the classroom experience. Encourage a love of learning in your child by helping them to excel in school.
The first step is to have them tested for giftedness so that they can receive the challenge that they crave.
This assessment can be an invaluable tool for giving you access to the resources that are responsible for shaping your child’s young mind.
Giftedness Testing in Oakland County, MI