Psychological Testing & Evaluation
Many times parents are asked by the schools to have their children evaluated for a variety of reasons, such as entry into a gifted program or failure to achieve grades commensurate with their potential. Psychological and educational testing includes intellectual, emotional and school achievement measures. The information from the testing is shared with all treating professionals who use it as a basis for formulating a full treatment program.
Psychiatry & Medical Consultation
In the traditional medical setting, clinical psychology and psychiatry have operated independently, but clinicians now recognize that psychologists and psychiatrists working together can maximize the effectiveness of treatment and improve quality of life for individuals and families. The psychiatrist conducts evaluation of the client and prescribes (if necessary), appropriate medication. The psychologist in turn will provide the therapeutic setting using talk or play therapy as the treatment modality.
Result or Goal-Oriented Therapy
Connections recommends therapists who provide a full range of result-oriented therapy options. Short-term supportive therapy can help adults and children cope with painful life events and understand the behavior that keep their day-to-day life in crisis. For example, a 10-week anger management program teaches our clients how stay in control when dealing with the frustrations of every day life. For those who suffer from depression, studies have shown that short-term cognitive behavioral therapy combined with medication might be the most effective therapeutic option. With our guidance, an appropriate treatment plan will be designed-- one that best suits an individual's needs.
Educational Consultation
The educational consultant gets to know you and your child with an emphasis on school-based issues. The evaluation process entail s more than just the gathering of test scores. Consultants spend hours meeting with the student, teachers and family in order to gain a better understanding of the child's background and general interests. A consultant combines the knowledge gained through personal interviews with information from school transcripts, teacher comments and testing to form a complete picture of the child and their strengths and weaknesses. This individualized approach is crucial to f inding the most suitable educational setting and the program within it.
Speech Pathology & Audiology Assessment
Language-based learning disabilities interfere with age-appropriate reading, spelling, and/or writing. This disorder does not impair intelligence; in fact, most people diagnosed with learning disabilities are of average to superior intelligence.
Children with language based learning disabilities often have problems:
- Learning new vocabulary that the child hears (e.g., taught in lectures / lessons) and/or sees (e.g., in books).
- Understanding questions and following directions that are heard and/or read.
- Recalling numbers in sequence, e.g. telephone numbers and addresses
- Understanding and retaining the dtails of a story's plot or a classroom lecture
- Slow reading and reduced comprehension of the material
- Learning words to songs and rhymes
- Telling left from right, making it hard to read and write since both skills require this directionality.
Children with auditory processing problems typically have normal hearing and intelligence; however, they often:
- Have trouble remembering and paying attention to oral information
- Have problems performing multi step directions
- Are poor listeners
- Need more time to process information
- Have poor academic performance
- Demonstrate behavior problems
- Have language problems (such as syllable confusion, poor vocabulary development and difficulty understanding language)
- Have problems with reading, comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary
Connections recommends speech patholigsts and audiologists to help correct speech and auditory problems.
Family Therapy
Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy that includes some or all of the family members as opposed to focusing on an individual. Family therapy recognizes the role of relationships and changes in a family. Family therapy is the treatment of choice for children and adolescents with psychological problems. It is also used sometimes when an adult family member presents significant psychological problems that impact other family members.