Does My Child Need a Neuropsychological and Educational Evaluation? A Guide for Franklin-Area Families

Kuehnel Psychological Services · Franklin, MA
As a parent, you know your child better than anyone. So when something feels off — school is harder than it should be, emotions run high, or a skill just isn’t clicking the way it does for other kids their age — you notice. What’s often less clear is what to do next.

What Is a Comprehensive Neuropsychological and Educational Evaluation?

A comprehensive neuropsychological and educational evaluation is a structured, deeply individualized process that looks closely at how your child’s brain processes information and how that impacts their day-to-day life. We include the educational piece not just to look for academic struggles, but because a child’s experience in the classroom is deeply intertwined with their self-esteem, social world, and overall development. Rather than focusing on a single test score, our team at Kuehnel Psychological Services (KPS) builds a complete, holistic picture of your child’s unique cognitive strengths, executive functioning, emotional processing, and academic achievement levels.

That picture can help answer questions like:

  • Why is my child struggling with confidence or motivation, despite clearly being bright and capable?
  • Is this an attention deficit (ADHD), anxiety, a specific learning difference — or a complex combination of cognitive and emotional factors?
  • What kind of support would actually help, at home and in the classroom, to help them feel successful and understood?

The goal of an evaluation at KPS isn’t simply to apply a diagnostic label. It is to provide clarity — a shared, clinically grounded understanding of your child’s whole profile that everyone supporting them can build from.

Signs It Might Be Time to Consider an Evaluation

Every child develops at their own pace, and not every challenge calls for a formal evaluation. But it may be worth reaching out if you notice patterns like:

A mismatch between your child's obvious intelligence and their actual performance or comfort level in school

Attention, executive functioning, or organizational difficulties that show up across settings, not just with homework

Intense frustration, school avoidance, physical symptoms (like headaches or stomachaches), or homework-related anxiety

Social challenges, such as difficulty making or keeping friends or reading social cues, which can often be linked to how a child processes information

A gut sense that an unidentified barrier is blocking your child's progress and happiness, even if you can't quite name it

Trusting that instinct matters. Families often tell us they wish they’d asked the question sooner.

What the Evaluation Process Looks Like

Understandably, the word “evaluation” can sound intimidating. In practice, it’s a collaborative, child-friendly process — and because every child is unique, we tailor our testing battery to your specific child rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.

  1. Intake conversation. We start by listening — to your concerns, your child’s developmental and academic history, and what you are hoping to understand about them as a whole person.
  2. Testing sessions. Your child works one-on-one with a KPS clinician through activities that often feel more like games and puzzles than a “test.” We pace sessions to keep your child comfortable, supported, and heard.
  3. Review and integration. We pull together everything we’ve learned — testing results, clinical observations, your input, and (with your permission) input from your child’s teachers.
  4. Feedback meeting. We sit down with you to walk through the findings in plain, jargon-free language and answer your questions.
  5. A written report with real, practical recommendations and specific accommodations you can bring to your child’s school, pediatrician, or other providers.

How Families Use the Results

A good evaluation doesn’t end when the report is delivered — that’s really where the helpful part begins. Families use their child’s results to:

  • Guide decisions about therapy, executive functioning coaching, tutoring, or other services
  • Request appropriate supports, accommodations, or specialized instruction at school (such as 504 Plans or IEPs)
  • Establish diagnoses that qualify a student for accommodations on standardized testing (such as the SAT, ACT, or MCAS)
  • Help teachers, tutors, and caregivers understand how their child learns and processes information
  • Simply understand their child more fully — which is often a relief all on its own

Supporting Families Across Franklin and the Surrounding Towns

Our practice is based in Franklin, MA, and we’re glad to work with families throughout the surrounding communities — including Medway, Norfolk, Millis, Medfield, and Bellingham — and from far away! Wherever you’re coming from, our aim is the same: to give your family clear answers and a practical path forward for your child’s overall development.

If you think an evaluation might help — or you’re simply not sure and want to talk it through — we’re here. You can always reach out to our team to ask questions or get started.

Frequently Asked Questions

Evaluations can be tailored for a wide range of ages, and here at KPS we typically see school-aged clients from four to 22 (i.e., preschool through college). If you’re unsure whether your child is a good candidate, a brief conversation can help clarify that.

It varies depending on your child’s needs, but the process typically spans four or five appointments, including the intake, two testing sessions (often broken up to keep your child fresh), and a parent feedback meeting to review results together. When appropriate, a fifth meeting is scheduled for the student to have their own feedback appointment.

Not necessarily. Many families reach out on their own after noticing concerns, or when they feel a school-based evaluation or a standard screening at the pediatrician’s office did not fully capture their child’s developmental needs. If you’d like, we can help you figure out whether an evaluation is the right next step!

You’ll receive a written report with specific, practical, individualized recommendations — and we’ll walk you through everything in a feedback meeting, so you leave with a clear understanding and a plan. We also remain available to consult with your child’s school team to help advocate for the recommended supports.

Have questions about whether a comprehensive neuropsychological and educational evaluation is right for your child? Contact Kuehnel Psychological Services — we’re happy to help families across Franklin and the surrounding area find clarity and a path forward.

Wondering whether an evaluation is right for your child?

Contact Kuehnel Psychological Services

Educational Consultation

Supporting a child with social, emotional, behavioral, or academic challenges can be an overwhelming experience for many parents. It’s not uncommon for families come to us with questions about whether testing is warranted, if the school is providing the most appropriate services, etc. Others desire some support with understanding Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Section 504 Plans, progress reports, behavior support plans, and/or neuropsychological test results from other centers. In these cases, we are happy to meet with families for consultation. We’re also happy to connect with school Teams to share evaluation findings or other relevant information.

Evidence-Based Group Intervention

We have lots of experience with running parent-assisted intervention groups, where children and parents work together to learn strategies to improve social, emotional, and behavioral functioning. This approach blends the benefits of parent training and individual support, and groups are structured with both components offered simultaneously to increase accessibility for families. As these programs become available, more information will be listed here and sent out via our newsletter.

Behavioral or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

When children are displaying challenging behaviors at home, behavioral parent training can be a very effective intervention. In fact, some research shows that for children under the age of 10, parent support is more effective than individual therapy for the child. Behavioral parent training involves teaching parents specific strategies, which are grounded in behavioral psychology, so that they have more successful tools to manage behavior on a day-to-day basis. We have lots of experience working with parents of children with autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, attentional challenges, and oppositional and defiant behaviors. Sessions are held with the parent(s) only, though it may be appropriate on occasion for us to meet your child.

When tweens and teens are experiencing significant symptoms of anxiety or depression, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be a very effective treatment modality. In short, CBT is an approach that makes the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors more explicit, so that individuals become more capable of shifting negative thoughts, viewing situations more clearly, and responding in ways that foster improved day-to-day functioning. While we work directly with children and adolescents in CBT, we do also feel strongly that parent involvement is important for generalizing strategies outside of therapeutic sessions, and we welcome the opportunity to collaborate closely.

Short-Term Solution Focused Therapy

Solution-focused therapy is an approach that centers on current circumstances, future hopes, and solutions that will directly foster progress towards those goals. There is less of a focus on past problems or causes, and a more explicit focus on solutions. This approach aims to minimize the time spent in therapy, as well as the time spent struggling. Often, it involves 5-8 sessions. Please note that solution-focused therapy is not a particularly effective approach for complex mental health conditions, but can be a good fit for some with anxiety, stress, adjustment challenges, family conflict, or children with behavioral issues.

School or Community Observation

We greatly value the opportunity to collect real-time data on a child’s functioning in the classroom or other community settings, such as a preschool center, afterschool program, extracurricular activity, etc. When used as a prevention tool, these observations can lead to incredibly helpful recommendations for parenting and behavior management. When paired with a comprehensive evaluation, this add-on service can allow for an even more exhaustive analysis of your child’s day-to-day functioning, and can lead to more detailed, high-quality recommendations for intervention and supports.

The frequency/duration of an observation is determined on a case-by-case basis, often informed by a review of relevant clinical information and input from other relevant stakeholders (e.g., parents, teachers, therapists, etc.). If you are interested in having your child observed, please contact us and we can discuss the specifics of the case, so that you have a clear understanding of the process. Please know that these observations are not considered “medically necessary” and are not covered by insurance.

Educational Evaluation

Although a complete neuropsychological and educational evaluation is most appropriate for the large majority of referred clients, there are some cases where a thorough, educational evaluation is most suitable to specifically identify a learning disability or monitor progress. For example, if a complete neuropsychological evaluation was previously completed and recommendations were offered to address social and emotional issues before a learning disorder could be ruled in/out, a follow-up educational evaluation may be warranted after the child has responded to social and emotional interventions. This service can be offered on a case-by case basis, and we encourage you to contact us for more information.

Comprehensive Developmental or Neuropsychological Evaluation

Our comprehensive evaluation approach pairs developmental, psychological, and/or neuropsychological testing with an educational evaluation, in order to obtain an in-depth understanding of the child’s performance across domains. The evaluations that we conduct typically involve about 25 hours of professional time, some of which is billable to insurance and some of which is not. More information about billing procedures can be shared by our practice manager when you call to book your appointment – it is our aim to ensure that you have a complete understanding of the process and options available to you.

The evaluation process begins with a clinical intake, which is typically about an hour and involves both the parent and the child. Following the intake, we review supporting documents (e.g., medical records, school records, and other information about the child’s developmental and educational history). This information allows us to determine a) if testing is warranted and medically necessary, and b) what specific tests are needed in order to effectively answer the referral question(s).

The next step is for the child to participate in formal testing, which may range from four to six hours of direct, face-to-face administration. In addition to formal testing, evaluations also typically include some combination of social, emotional, behavioral, and adaptive rating scales.

After all relevant information is collected, we then spend time scoring tests and developing the conceptualization that will inform our impressions and recommendations to the family. A feedback meeting is scheduled for approximately one to two weeks after the final testing session. Feedback meetings are typically for parents and any other relevant adult professionals (e.g., educational advocates), though in some cases, it may be appropriate to have older teenagers participate. Most often, an additional feedback meeting is scheduled to provide evaluation information directly to the child or adolescent, if desired and appropriate. At the conclusion of an evaluation (i.e., after the feedback session), a clinical report is written to document the evaluation findings.

Brief Evaluation (targeted)

At times, a comprehensive neuropsychological and educational evaluation is not necessary, and a brief, targeted evaluation is more appropriate. Perhaps your child has already had an extensive amount of testing done elsewhere, and you’re looking for a second opinion or diagnostic clarity. As another example, maybe your prescriber wants confirmation of a diagnosis before making medication recommendations. If our clinical team feels that a comprehensive neuropsychological and educational evaluation is not warranted, we will offer more targeted, individualized evaluations. However, please note that this is not an a la carte service where families can pick and choose what tests they want; our assessment protocols will always be informed by evidence-based practice and aligned with our ethical guidelines for professional practice.

Progress Monitoring

The assessment and identification of behavioral health challenges is not always clear-cut! At times, data may suggest that your child falls in the borderline or the at-risk range for a particular condition, and waiting multiple years for a follow-up evaluation is unhelpful. Similarly, for those who do meet criteria for a particular diagnosis, it is often reasonable to expect some meaningful progress within four to six months, if the right interventions are in place. Without more frequent progress monitoring though, many children and adolescents wait years before any formal data is collected to examine responsiveness to intervention. To address this gap in service delivery, we are now offering progress monitoring appointments.

Specifically, when there’s reason to believe a child is at-risk following an annual mental health wellness exam, we can schedule a six-month follow-up appointment to assess progress over time and determine if further assessment or intervention is warranted. Additionally, for those who have had a comprehensive evaluation at KPS, we offer six-month check-ins to assess whether your child is demonstrating an appropriate response to intervention.

Primary Prevention Workshops

We strongly believe that prevention is the best intervention. We’re in the process of developing a number of primary prevention workshops to support parents of young children, with the aim of lessening the likelihood of future challenges. As these programs become available, more information will be listed here and sent out via our newsletter.

Anticipated Topics:
• Becoming a Child Behavior Detective – Tools for Understanding Why Kids Do What They Do!

• Sticker Charts, Schedules, and Signs, Oh My! – Structuring Your Home for Positive Behavior

• The Screen Time Battle – Strategies Proven to Decrease Meltdowns and Improve Family Functioning

• Anxiety Pitfalls – Identifying and Avoiding Common Parent Behaviors That Reinforce/Exacerbate Anxiety

• Supporting Kids with Social Weaknesses: A Crash-Course in Evidence-Based Practices

In addition to these primary prevention workshops hosted by KPS, we are also available for community workshops and presentations (e.g., with SEPACs, preschools, or other parent groups). If you are in need of a speaker and feel that we could potentially be an appropriate fit, please don’t hesitate to contact us with specific questions.

Parent Coaching

We love working with parents, especially those who are proactive about learning best practices for supporting their child’s development. On the very best days, parenting can be exhausting, confusing, and overwhelming. Parenting support should not be reserved only for those who are experiencing clinically significant challenges, and we welcome the opportunity to support parents before problems become more severe or suggestive of a diagnosable disorder.

If you’re a new parent, a tired toddler parent, or the parent of a preschooler with big feelings, we would love to work with you. There are so many research-supported strategies for parenting in the early years that foster healthy emotional and behavioral development in the elementary years and beyond. Let us help you with parenting for the future!

If you’re already through the early years and your child is now searching for more independence in the elementary, middle, or high school years, we can help with that too. Need some guidance on best practices for managing screentime, supporting extracurricular participation, navigating peer/dating relationships, talking to your kids about alcohol and substance use, etc.? These years are challenging, and you don’t have to navigate it alone – we can help!

Annual Mental Health Wellness Exam

Insurers are now required to cover an annual mental health wellness exam, in order to improve patient access to behavioral health care. This exam may be completed by your pediatrician as part of the annual physical, but you have the right to seek care with a licensed behavioral health clinician, if you wish. Without any significant family history of behavioral health challenges, the annual visit with your pediatrician may be sufficient. However, if your child is at higher risk for social, emotional, behavioral, or learning challenges, we can help!

Once per year, we can meet with you to discuss your child’s developmental progress and any related social, emotional, or behavioral concerns. We will have you complete some evidence-based screening tools, provide recommendations for strategies/supports that can foster healthy development, and inform you if more frequent progress monitoring or detailed assessment seems necessary. If/when appropriate, we can provide referrals for further prevention, assessment, or intervention services.