A psychological evaluation is a way to gain a better understanding of problems related to thinking, learning, emotions, or behavior. It starts with an interview designed to learn about the person's background and primary concerns. It also includes psychological testing, which consists of standardized sets of questions and mental tasks that can be used to measure thoughts, emotions, and behaviors more objectively. The ultimate goal of the evaluation is to help a person determine how best to solve whatever problem(s) they are having.

A learning disability is diagnosed when a person who has normal (and sometimes better than normal) ability to learn shows unexpected difficulty with one or more specific types of academic learning. It is akin to a "glitch" that occurs in an otherwise well-designed and effective system. Left undetected, a learning disability can make school more difficult than it needs to be and hold a student back from meeting his full academic potential.

A learning disability can be detected by systematically measuring all facets of a child's academic development and comparing academic skills to expectations based on the child's age, grade level, other cognitive abilities, and overall development. It consists of a clinical interview to obtain a comprehensive, developmental history and a battery of cognitive and academic testing, carefully administered in a one-on-one setting.

An ADHD diagnosis should be based on more than a short conversation and brief questionnaire. Instead, it should be based on a comprehensive understanding of developmental and family history, well-normed measures of behavior, and cognitive tests designed to directly measure sustained attention and other, related mental abilities. By carefully collecting and integrating this information, we are able to objectively measure symptoms and the extent to which those symptoms are interfering with a person's functioning. Through rigorous and scientifically-sound methods, we adopt a conservative approach that minimizes "false positive" diagnoses.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is diagnosed when someone shows consistent and significant impairment in sustained attention and behavioral control, enough that it gets in the way in important areas of life. Because many problems share symptoms with ADHD, it is important to take a cautious and conservative approach to evaluation and diagnosis. At the same time, it is important to avoid missing this diagnosis when it is present because, without treatment, ADHD can be a significant obstacle to daily functioning.