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A comprehensive, mental health practice in Northern Virginia specializing in Social Skills Group Therapy, as well as Individual, Couples, Family Counseling, and Psycho-Educational testing services.

Therapy Groups > Education Services

Supportive Educational Advocacy

Staff from In Step, skilled in the area of IEP and 504 development, will work with parents and school staff in developing these documents to insure that students' needs are being appropriately met and monitored within the school system. The following services are available:

participating in eligibility meetings for special education services
reviewing special education records to insure they accurately reflect the needs of the child
participating in the development or review of IEP or 504 plans
participating in meetings for appropriate educational placement of children
participating in parent/teacher administrative meetings to address parent and/or school concerns

Psychological Assessment

Is your child:

not working up to his/her potential in school?
exhibiting behavioral difficulties (i.e., impulsivity, distractibility, inattention) at home and/or school?
having trouble focusing?
experiencing emotional difficulties (i.e., depression, anxiety, etc...)

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, a psychological assessment may be recommended. We evaluate individuals 4 years - adulthood. Evaluations are performed by one of our experienced, licensed clinical psychologists. An assessment can address the following issues:

behavioral issues (ADHD)
emotional issues (depression, anxiety, etc...)
learning disabilities
kindergarten readiness
educational placement issues
gifted and talented appropriateness
private school admission

Each child is different and evaluations are tailored to the specific referral question. However, the following is a list of the most common evaluations that we perform:

Private School Admissions Testing: We provide the cognitive (WPPSI) testing that many children are required to have in order to apply for Kindergarten at area private schools.

Cognitive Evaluation: A cognitive evaluation is typically a standardized IQ test (i.e., WISC, WPPSI, WAIS).IQ tests are used to assess a person's intellectual aptitude or potential.

Psycho-educational Evaluation: A psycho-educational evaluation typically includes the cognitive evaluation and an achievement test. This is a more comprehensive evaluation that explores how the individual learns, remembers and retrieves information. This evaluation is usually completed when a learning disability is suspected.

Social-Emotional Evaluation: A social-emotional evaluation typically consists of both projective and objective measures designed to help understand how an individual is thinking and feeling about him/herself. This type of evaluation may be used to differentiate between ADHD, anxiety or depression or to explore self-esteem issues and interpersonal concerns. It is typically used in conjunction with psycho-educational evaluation.

ADHD/Full psychological evaluation: These evaluations are a combination of the psycho-educational and social emotional evaluations. Additional specialized measures will be included depending on the nature of the referral question.

Pre-School Services

A growing number of pre-school aged children are being referred to us to address both behavioral concerns and social skills development. We provide consultation to pre-school programs upon request. Staff skilled in working with pre-school aged children are able to provide the following services:

classroom observation
consultation with pre-school teachers
development of a behavioral program with parents and school staff to address individual children's behavioral difficulties