Psychoeducational Evaluation and Consultation

I provide comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation and consultation to assess cognitive, academic, and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning in children, adolescents, and young adults.

A comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation can uncover the following:

  • Learning disabilities: Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, and Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD)/Developmental Visual Spatial Disorder (DVSD).
  • Social/Emotional/Behavioral difficulties: Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder (ADHD), Anxiety, Depression, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and other mental health issues.
  • Dyslexia Screenings are offered for students in K4 – first semester of first grade to determine if a student is at-risk for Dyslexia.

Please contact me for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation to further discuss my services.

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
– A.A. Milne

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Frequently Asked Questions

What can a psychoeducational evaluation answer?

Why is my child struggling academically?

What are my child’s cognitive and/or academic strengths and weaknesses?

Does my child present with any significant cognitive and/or academic deficits?

Are there any specific information processing deficits that are impacting my child’s academic performance?

Is my child’s social, emotional, and/or behavioral functioning interfering with his/her academic achievement or interpersonal relationships?

Is my child delayed in social skills?

Does my child meet the criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD or a learning disability?

Does my child present with symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder?

What academic interventions, modifications, and/or accommodations are most appropriate for my child?

What is the most appropriate type of academic setting for my child?

Are referrals to other professionals warranted, such as occupational therapy, counseling, speech and language evaluation/therapy, psychiatric consultation, Dyslexia Therapy, Executive Function coaching?

Does my child qualify for accommodations for SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE testing, such as extended time?

Do I or my child qualify for accommodations or special services in the college setting?

How long will the psychoeducational evaluation take?

The evaluation typically takes eight hours of individually administered testing given across two days. However, if your child needs frequent breaks due to anxiety, sensory issues, or significant difficulty sustaining their attention; or is very gifted; additional time may be required. However, I work hard to develop a rapport with your child in order to to motivate them, make them laugh, and help reduce their anxiety so that extra time is not needed. My testing sessions are very relaxed and fun and I often have children, adolescents, and young adults who want to come back for more testing!

What age range do you evaluate?

Ages 4 to young adult who are in college, grad school, medical school, law school, or other professional schools.

What specfiically is measured in a comprehensive psychoeducational evaulation?

Background History

Review of school records and previous testing

Teacher Report

Fluid Reasoning Ability

Language Ability

Cognitive Processing Speed

Visual-Spatial Ability

Visual-Motor Integration

Fine Motor Coordination

Cognitive Efficiency

Auditory Attention

Visual Attention

Impulse Control

Executive Functioning Skills – (planning, organization, time management, working memory, metacognition, response inhibition, self-regulation (behavior & emotions), task initiation, flexibility, goal-directed persistence)

Working Memory

Long-term Retrieval

Phonological Processing Ability – (phonemic awareness, phonological memory, rapid naming ability)

Orthographic Processing

Evaluation of Academic Achievement – (word decoding skills; reading rate, reading accuracy, reading fluency, reading comprehension; spelling; written expression; writing fluency, math calculation, math fluency, applied math)

Social Functioning

Emotional Functioning

Behavioral Functioning

Adaptive Behavior

Sensory Processing History

What happens after testing is completed?

My goal is to get the results and recommendations to you quickly, so that any needed interventions may be put into place as soon as possible. Typically, two to three weeks after all rating forms are returned to me, you will attend a ninety-minute feedback session (summary session) and receive a report which includes:

Results

Interpretations

Comprehensive and individualized recommendations for:

academic interventions

social/emotional/behavioral interventions

classroom or testing accommodations/modifications

referrals to the following if warranted – physician, counselor or therapist, academic therapist, dyslexia therapist, executive function coach, speech/language therapist, occupational therapist, etc.

*Consultation with school/medical/other professionals, if needed, will be billed at my hourly rate of $150.

*I do not offer parent advocate services, which includes 504 Plan or IEP meetings, however, I can refer you to an excellent parent advocate if needed.

Do you take insurance?

I do not file insurance, however, I can provide you with a “Superbill” that you may submit to your insurance company following the completion of the evaluation. I advise you to call your insurance company before scheduling an evaluation to see if they will provide you with any reimbursement for these services.

What should my child bring to the evaulation?

You may bring snacks and/or lunch for your child. We will be taking breaks and he/she will be allowed to eat when they are hungry. Dress them comfortably and appropriate for the weather, as we may take a breaks playing outside. Your child may also bring anything that provides comfort to them if desired. Please do not send in with them any electronic devises other than a cell phone.

*As a resident of Charleston County, your child (pre-school through grade 12) may be eligible for a psychoeducational evaluation at no expense to you. These are provided by the School Psychologist assigned to the public school your child attends or by the School Psychologist at Child Find (843.937.6532) if your child does not attend a public school.

Reviews

Dot Mishoe

Julie is perhaps, one of the top educational specialists in the greater Charleston area. Her expertise of various learning disabilities is unequivocal to many in the area. Her reports are some of the most comprehensive I have read during my 18 years of working with students with disabilities. I have lived in Charleston for the past 22 years, thus having worked in this field for 90% of that time, I know a great many educational specialists. She is thorough in her testing, therefore her evaluations are extraordinary and easy to read and navigate. I have referred her to many parents without hesitation, and assured them that they will receive not only possible answers to their questions, but come away with an understanding of what and where the learning issues lie. Even though I have made a transition to Duke University as the Director of the Student Disability Access Office, I will refer her whenever the opportunity presents itself, as she would be the person I would choose if my child ever needed to be tested for ADHD/Learning Disabilities.

Page Stroup

We live in Charlotte, NC and traveled to Mt. Pleasant, SC to have our child evaluated on two separate occasions – once in elementary school and once at the beginning of high school. Julie Wood and her team conduct in depth and extensive evaluations. Julie has a wonderful rapport with the child during testing as well as when she skillfully articulates the findings with the child and parents. What sets Breakwater Associates apart are their willingness to delve deep into a suspected deficiency during testing in order to make a correct diagnosis and the ability to provide a course of action to help your child. In fact, our pediatrician and an admissions counselor at one of the top ranked private schools in NC both remarked that they had never read such a thorough evaluation and report. On our recommendation, many other Charlotte, NC families have traveled to Breakwater Associates for testing and all have had the same positive experience.

Diana Garrett

We choose Breakwater for our son’s evaluation after they were highly recommended by several trusted friends who had had a wonderful experience there. I am so glad we did. Julie was so thorough and informative, and took the time to really get to know our son and us beyond basic testing. I was so impressed with her knowledge and expertise, especially in the area of dyslexia. Julie and Meg are beyond professional and knowledgeable and truly care about each individual child. I could not recommend Breakwater more.

Tiffany Rooney

Professional, and comprehensive care. Our experience with Julie at Breakwater was exceptional. She created a comfortable environment during evaluation and follow up for our son and family. Her background expertise as well as her customized care helped us through a process that gave us direction and hope! Grateful to have providers in our community like her…highly recommend her skills at Breakwater Associates

Shannon Gregg

Julie came to speak to our homeschool support group several years ago. Many of the things she said rang true for our experiences with our son… Julie spent a great deal of time with him testing, and building a good rapport. He performed well with her and seemed to enjoy his time there. He worked for longer than I expected, and I left there thinking maybe SHE should be his teacher! Our son was diagnosed with dyslexia. While we were sorry he had this to battle, we were so relieved to have answers to his struggles! Julie took a lot of time to go over the testing results with us, she was, and continues to be very supportive and helped point me in the right direction to improve his reading skills…

Peter W.D. Wright, Esq.

I recently reviewed a child’s file and read an evaluation you did on a youngster with severe dyslexia. I was really really impressed. I began practicing special education law in 1978. As a result, I have read hundreds of evaluations, perhaps more. Your evaluation of the youngster was one of the best I have ever read. I was impressed with the selection and depth of the tests you administered, your explanation about the tests and the child’s scores, and, most important, what they needed to turn things around for the youngster. Your comprehensive report was written in a clear understandable manner and was absolutely superb. Great job! Again, thanks for being at the Wrightslaw training and participating in the panel at the end of the day. South Carolinians are fortunate to have you as a resource.

Tiffany Mitchell

Julie was amazing with my child!
“Julie Wood is a very caring, highly intelligent and insightful educational psychologist in Mount Pleasant. She assessed my son when he was struggling in school. Julie’s workup was rigorous, complete and extremely informative and helpful. Her assessment and recommendations were critical in guiding our family’s decision for next steps in my child’s educational journey. Those steps have proved life-changing –I am incredibly grateful for Julie’s astute insights and her consummate professionalism.”

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