The multidisciplinary team at VCNH provides diagnostic evaluations in the areas of social-emotional-behavioral functioning, cognition, academics, speech, language, and sensory motor skills, and brain mapping. Each assessment includes an interview with the family, teachers, and child, a records review, observation, and testing administration. Following testing, the team meets with family to review results and recommendations and provide a comprehensive written report.

Each evaluation includes the use of standardized and normative assessment instruments. This means that the test is administered and scored in a specific and consistent manner and an individual’s scores are compared to the general population. In addition to these types of tools, VCNH engages in a process called dynamic testing. While standardized tests yield valuable information, they assess what a child has already learned and frequently reveal little about how a child learns. In dynamic assessment, the evaluator teaches a skill and then assesses what the child has learned. This process renders important information about how the child acquires and understands new information and responds to specific instructional techniques. This knowledge allows the team to make individualized recommendations and reflect on the validity of the child’s performance on standardized testing.