Herman & Associates: College Affiliations
Herman & Associates has developed a close working relationship with a number of local universities (e.g., Caltech, Occidental College, and USC). Along with individual out-patient psychological counseling, ADHD coaching, and parent counseling, we offer a variety assessments for college students. These evaluations are individually designed for each student according to the specific referral question. The information presented below is intended for student review to help them better understand the importance of the evaluation and the testing process. This document discusses our multidisciplinary model, the types of assessments commonly administered to Caltech students, the legal implications of these assessment reports, the time investment required of each student and student scholarships.
General Information about our assessments for college students:
Multidisciplinary Team Model
For the purpose of all evaluations, Herman & Associates employs a multidisciplinary diagnostic team for a comprehensive evaluation. The assessment team is individually configured based on the characteristics of each case. The make-up of the team will include Dr. Herman and a other professionals. The other professionals may include licensed psychologists, educational specialists, speech and language therapists, psychology assistants and/or independent contractors. Dr. Herman usually conducts the initial intake meeting with the student to determine if an assessment is warranted. He will fully informing the student of the assessment process, review the informed consent, discuss the limits of confidentiality, and complete any releases to allow the assessment team to have professional consultations with the referring clinician.
Patricia Sullivan, the Director of Herman & Associates, manages the assessment team. Following the administration and scoring of the assessment, the assessment team meets for an internal case conference to shares their results, formulate diagnostic impressions, and discusses recommendations and accommodations, as warranted for that individual case. The referring clinician (if applicable) is frequently invited to the case conference to share the information they have gathered to date. Herman & Associates attempts to include all the professionals who are involved in the case on the assessment team.
Types of Assessments:
There are many different types of assessments that are available to students that are specifically designed to help with diagnosis, referral questions and treatment planning. While each assessment is individually designed to meet the needs of the student and referring clinician, the most common types of assessments are:
- Psychoeducational Assessments designed to investigate the possibility of an underlying learning disability.
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Evaluations, which examine whether there is a previously undiagnosed attention disorder.
- Psychodiagnostic Evaluations that investigate underlying developmental disorders (e.g., Asperger's Syndrome, Autism) and/or major Axis I/II disorders.
The Assessment Report is a Legal Document
It is important to note that the assessment report is a legal document that may be used to qualify students for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities act of 1990. Our full psychoeducational assessments meet or exceed the minimum requirements for accommodations at most universities and on standardized testing (e.g., GRE, LSAT, MCAT, Bar Exam). Currently, Herman & Associates uses the protocols suggested and accepted by three different professional resources: (1) the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) derived in 1997, (2) Educational Testing Service (1999; 2008), and (3) the California State University Guidelines for the Assessment and Verification of Students with Learning Disabilities.
Time Investment
In order to provide the quality of assessments that meet the standard protocols described above, there is a significant time investment by both the student and Herman & Associates. While the exact time investment varies depending on the individually prescribed assessment, the typical battery would require 8-16 hours of direct testing. Dr. Herman will give an estimate of the expected time requirements during the initial interview.
It is important to note that when appointments are made with clinicians from Herman & Associates, we set aside an agreed upon block of time (usually 3-5 hours) to work individually with the student. Please consider this a commitment on the student's part. Since this is typically a large block of time, it usually can not be filled in should the student need to late cancel. As a result, it is our policy that appointments may only be cancelled or rescheduled with one week's advance notice. If the student is sick the day of the appointment, then please give us a call to reschedule the appointment. There will be no charge for illness. Unauthorized late cancels, no-shows, late arrivals and inadequate sleep may all result in a reasonable service charge to the student.
Please come in on time and well rested
Since we are all invested in ensuring that the assessment produces valid and reliable results, it is important to get plenty of sleep and food prior to each assessment appointment. Students may want to bring a snack with them for longer appointments. Please make sure to avoid caffeine 24 hours prior to the continuous performance tests. Students who arrive late, or without adequate sleep are subject to the service charge.
Partial Student Scholarships
Assessment may be partially covered under the student's current medical insurance plan. Herman & Associates can provide economically disadvantaged students with partial scholarships to offset some of the costs usually assigned to the student under their medical benefit plan.
