Testing and Assessment

TESTING AND ASSESSMENT

South Florida Counseling and Assessment offers comprehensive psychological assessment services for individuals ranging from early childhood (preschool age) through adulthood. Assessments range from brief screenings to full neuropsychological batteries, and are completed in a warm, confidential, and caring environment. We are aware and highly sensitive to the fact that going through the assessment process may be stressful and challenging for some. Our goal is to provide a relaxed environment for children and adults alike, where we may identify strengths and weaknesses unique to each individual, and to ensure that the testing process is engaging in order to allow each individual the opportunity to perform their best.

Psychological testing provides information for diagnosis, therapy treatment planning, academic programs, testing accommodations, medication treatment planning, and for a better understanding of the etiology of behavior. For children, academic achievement, ability, and intelligence tests may be utilized as a tool to assist in school placement, in determining the presence of a learning disability or a developmental delay, or in identifying giftedness. The most comprehensive level of testing, the neuropsychological assessments, examines how a client's brain functions and why there may be problems in school, at home, with friends, or with overall success.

Formal assessment is led by Dr. Richard Taborga Psy.D., a highly skilled and experienced clinician with diverse training in the testing and assessment of individuals of all age groups. Dr. Taborga’s philosophy and approach to assessment is one that values a flexible, individualized, collaborative, meaningful, strength-based strategy that recognizes the needs of each individual. This means that test batteries are approached from the perspective of the client, constructed on a case-by-case basis, honor the desires of the client and/or parent, and clearly answer referral questions in a way that translates test scores into daily functioning. Additionally, because relying on test data alone to inform educational and treatment decisions is limited, emphasis is placed on the need to involve community partners (i.e. teachers, tutors, coaches, physicians, specialists) in assessments to gather information from multiple sources as well as a diverse number of environments (i.e. classrooms). This process allows the evaluator to integrate information across multiple sources making for more informative and accurate results. To further make results more reliable and to promote their optimal level of performance, clients are seen across several sessions and environments to obtain a comprehensive sample of their behavior and skills. If a child or adult requires shorter test sessions across a greater number of days to demonstrate true capacities, then extra time will be made to accommodate the client’s needs.