Evaluations

What an evaluation is for

An evaluation answers two questions. Is your child’s development within the expected range for their age, and if not, what specifically is causing the difficulty. The second question is the one that determines whether therapy helps, because two children with identical-looking difficulties can need opposite approaches.

An evaluation is not a commitment to therapy. It is information you can act on. Some families leave an evaluation with a therapy plan. Others leave with reassurance that their child is developing typically, a few things to watch, and a recommendation to check back in six months. Both are legitimate outcomes and we will tell you plainly which one applies.

We say this because parents sometimes delay an evaluation out of a worry that they will be signed up for something. If your child does not need our services we will say so. A practice that recommends therapy for every child who walks in is not evaluating anything.

Referral forms and school paperwork often call this a developmental evaluation. It is the same appointment. Before a first appointment we need a physician referral and your insurance details; the intake forms page lists all of it. Which clinician runs it depends on the referral question, so a concern about talking starts with speech and language therapy and a concern about handwriting or sensory processing starts with occupational therapy.

One thing an evaluation here is not: we do not perform diagnostic autism testing. That is a separate process, carried out by a psychologist, a developmental pediatrician or a diagnostic team, and it answers a different question from the one we answer. If that is what your child needs, tell us and we will point you toward it rather than starting therapy around the question.

The two often run alongside each other. A therapy evaluation tells you which skills are affected and what would help, and it does not wait on anyone else’s assessment. Families frequently begin therapy while a diagnostic referral is still in the queue, and the report we write is usually useful to whoever picks that up.

What we actually do

An evaluation combines several sources of information. Standardized assessment gives a comparison against children of the same age. Clinical observation shows how your child approaches a task, which is often more revealing than the score. And your history as the parent is a primary source rather than background, because you have watched your child in a thousand situations we will never see.

Depending on the referral question, an evaluation may cover speech and language skills, oral motor and feeding, fine and gross motor skills, sensory processing, self-care and daily living, play and social interaction, or behavior. Where a child’s needs cross disciplines, we can assess across them rather than making you start again elsewhere.

You will receive a written report with findings, scores where standardized measures were used, and specific recommendations. Your evaluating clinician will go through it with you rather than mailing it and leaving you to interpret it. That report is also what you can take to a school meeting, a physician or an insurer.

Who evaluations helps

An evaluation is a reasonable next step when:

• You have a concern about your child’s development that has not gone away
• Your pediatrician has recommended an assessment
• A teacher or childcare provider has raised something they are seeing
• Your child is approaching a transition, such as starting school or aging out of early intervention
• You want a second opinion on a previous evaluation
• You need documentation for a school meeting, an IEP or a 504 plan
• Your child has a new diagnosis and you want to know what support is appropriate

We conduct evaluations across our clinical disciplines:

• Speech and language evaluation
• Oral motor and feeding evaluation
• Occupational therapy evaluation
• Physical therapy evaluation
• Sensory processing assessment
• Behavioral assessment by a BCBA

This list is not exhaustive and nothing on it is a diagnosis. If something here sounds like your child, an evaluation is the way to find out what is actually going on.

What a session looks like

Evaluations generally take 60 to 90 minutes, occasionally longer or across two visits for younger children or broader assessments.

1. We listen first

   Your evaluating clinician starts with your concerns, your child’s history and what you are seeing at home. This shapes everything that follows.

2. Structured assessment

   Standardized tools are used where appropriate to compare your child’s skills against typical development for their age.

3. Observation and play

   Much of a young child’s evaluation happens through play, where a clinician can see how your child approaches, adapts and problem-solves.

4. Findings and a plan

   You get a written report and a conversation about what it means, including a clear recommendation on whether therapy is warranted and at what frequency.

Credentials

Evaluations are conducted by licensed clinicians in the relevant discipline:

• Speech and language evaluations by speech-language pathologists holding the CCC-SLP
• Occupational therapy evaluations by occupational therapists holding the OTR/L
• Physical therapy evaluations by therapists holding a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree
• Behavioral assessment by Board Certified Behavior Analysts
• All clinicians hold current Georgia licensure in their discipline

This page is not a diagnosis and nothing on it is medical advice. If something here sounds like your child, an evaluation is how you find out what is actually going on.