The Evaluation Maze: A Parent’s Guide to Finding the Evaluation Your Child Needs to Understand Struggles, Find Answers, and Move Forward

“I want to know how to help my child learn.” When your child is struggling in school with attention, learning, memory, behavior, or development, knowing that something needs to be done may be the easy part. Figuring out what kind of evaluation your child needs and who should conduct it can feel like navigating a maze. But it is one of the neurodiversity tools that you need in your tool belt. Even mild learning or attention/concentration problems can make a big difference when it comes to education. Getting the answers about your child through the appropriate evaluation can lead to help that makes a difference. Should you start with the school? Do you need a psychologist, school psychologist, neuropsychologist, speech-language pathologist, or another specialist? What is the difference between psychological testing and a neuropsychological evaluation? How do you know whether an evaluation will actually answer the questions you have about your child? The Evaluation Maze gives parents a clear, practical guide to making those decisions. Drawing on more than three decades of clinical experience, neuropsychologist Dr. Mary Cubbedge Wetherby explains the differences among school evaluations, private psychological testing, neuropsychological evaluations, and other specialized assessments. Whether you are concerned about finding a professional who is skilled in diagnosing learning disorders, ADHD, academic difficulties, autism, developmental differences, or improving school success, this book will help you better understand your options and determine the next step for your child. The book discusses: • The differences among multiple types of evaluations • Which type of professional may be appropriate for your child • Qualifications to consider when choosing an evaluator • Questions to ask before scheduling an evaluation • Factors associated with costs, insurance, school-based testing, and private testing • How to prepare your child and yourself for the evaluation process • Various test scores, and the inclusion of diagnoses and recommendations in reports • 504 Plans, IEPs, and how evaluation results may be used at school • When reevaluation may be appropriate For parents searching for answers about evaluations to help their child learn, support a neurodivergent child, or navigate the often-confusing world of special needs parenting, this book offers something especially valuable: a way to understand the evaluation process without having to become an expert in psychological testing. Written in straightforward language for parents rather than professionals, The Evaluation Maze is designed to help you ask better questions, recognize your options, and make informed decisions based on your child’s individual needs. You do not need to know everything about testing. You just need to know enough to choose the right path. And you would love to empower your neurodivergent child to feel good about themselves. Going from, “My child does poorly in school” to knowing your child’s specific areas of strengths and weaknesses can be a game-changer. Dr. Mary Cubbedge Wetherby is a clinical neuropsychologist with more than 30 years of experience evaluating children, adolescents, and adults. Her work has focused on helping families understand cognitive, learning, attention, behavioral, developmental, and emotional concerns and translating evaluation findings into practical recommendations that can make a meaningful difference in everyday life. She has been passionate about writing a neurodivergent book with a focus on helping children and their families understand the evaluation process.