Testing, Tutoring, and Counseling

We have three main programs:

Child & Adult Evaluations

Child Evaluations

TLC has offered comprehensive psychological and educational evaluations for children and adults for over 25 years. Utilizing a team approach, we determine the contributing factors to learning difficulties. Our program identifies and helps children, adults, parents, and teachers understand and manage a variety of challenges that affect functioning at home, work, and school due to:

• Learning differences
• Autism 
• Executive functioning or attentional difficulties (such as ADHD)
• Social-emotional difficulties
• Adaptive functioning (independent life skills)

Our Comprehensive Assessments include:

• Reading, Math, ADHD, and Autism Screenings
• In one hour, our team will briefly assess for these concerns and recommend additional testing if necessary.

Psychoeducational Evaluation

TLC has a long history of providing comprehensive evaluations designed to fully examine an individual’s intellectual, academic, and information processing skills to gain a more complete understanding of strengths and needs.

Educational Neuropsychological Evaluations

For complex questions, our neuropsychological evaluation connects mental processes with academic functioning to better understand how our foundational skills, cognitive processing, and acquired knowledge impacts learning.  

Autism Evaluation

This comprehensive evaluation is designed to thoroughly assess not only the presence of symptoms seen in individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but also to fully examine processing strengths and weaknesses to provide families with individualized recommendations.

Executive Functioning and Attention Evaluation

Utilizing a battery of tests created to evaluate cognitive, behavioral, and executive functioning concerns, TLC’s team identifies issues related to ADHD such as inattention and impulse control.

Developmental Evaluation 

This is a comprehensive evaluation for preschool children designed to assess all areas of a child’s development to determine if their development is progressing at an expected rate.

Admissions Testing

An individually administered intellectual assessment for a child as part of the admission process required for many private or independent schools.

Adult Evaluations

At TLC, our Evaluation team conducts assessments to provide useful information and recommendations for adults as they pursue their academic and occupational goals.

TLC’s Comprehensive Assessments include:

Psychoeducational Evaluation

TLC has a long history of providing comprehensive evaluations designed to fully examine an individual’s intellectual, academic and information processing skills to gain a more complete understanding of strengths and needs.

Evaluations for College transitioning

Testing and/or college accommodations is often the goal of those who have struggled academically for years but have never been evaluated to better understand their difficulties and receive needed support.

Cognitive and Adaptive Functioning 

For individuals who need an evaluation as part of their application process for DDA, SSI, or SSDI, our tailored evaluation is designed to understand the strengths and needs of individuals who need support in their daily living. 

ADHD and Autism Evaluations

We also provide ADHD and autism evaluations for adults who are concerned and have questions about these diagnoses.

Counseling

Who do we serve?

TLC is able to work with and treat a range of concerns including:

• Autism
• ADHD
• Depression
• Anxiety
• OCD
• Family stress and conflict

What do we do?

• Individual and family counseling for children, parents, and families. 
• Social and emotional groups to help children manage anxiety or anger, increase flexibility, and improve interactions with peers and family members.
• Parent coaching and parent groups to help parents meet their children’s needs and improve their functioning at home. 

Tutoring (Child, Adolescent & Adult)

Why TLC for Tutoring? 

• Students of all ages and abilities can benefit from our one-on-one tutoring in a variety of academic areas.  
• We specialize in working with students who have learning differences or who have been diagnosed with a specific learning disability. 
• TLC’s individualized one-on-one tutoring can be adapted to provide help and strategies for a wide range of academic needs
• We provide remedial instruction, enrichment, or support schoolwork to provide extra instruction in areas of need, including reading, spelling writing, math or study skills.
• Students work with a tutor consistently, who is carefully selected to meet their needs, who provides written goals to address those needs, and who monitors progress.

For elementary school students, we work on basic reading, writing, or math skills. 

• Reading Decoding -we have tutors who are trained in research-based programs,
• Reading Comprehension – we teach specific strategies to help children understand and remember what they read.
• Writing can be a complicated process We help break the process down into small steps to improve their confidence.
• Math – we review or re-teach the basics, explaining the processes in a way that addresses the student’s learning style or break it down into smaller steps to increase a student’s confidence.

Middle school students sometimes have many of the same needs as elementary students—just at a higher level. 

• We use many of the same methods and strategies.
• We use the schoolwork/homework to help diagnose the area of need, teach the student a strategy to help in that area, and then show the student how to apply that strategy to his or her other schoolwork.

We also teach organization/study skills at this level to help students understand their learning style and apply organizational strategies that will help them the most. The focus on organizational skills is especially helpful for students with ADD, ADHD, or Executive Dysfunction.

For high school and college students, tutoring often focuses on a particular subject. 

We use the student’s schoolwork:

• To help diagnose the difficulty
• Teach strategies to facilitate the successful completion of assignments
• Help the student to practice and apply the strategies to his or her schoolwork

These strategies could include: 

• Using a graphic organizer to plan an essay
• Taking notes or outlining a reading assignment
• Or applying a memory strategy to a math process

Tutoring in organizational skills, methods to complete homework more efficiently, and methods to prepare for different kinds of tests can also be helpful for high school and college students.

• We work with adults with disabilities in basic reading, writing, and math skills. Adults with dyslexia or difficulties with English-as-a-Second Language have made good progress in reading decoding and fluency using the Wilson Reading System.
• We have also worked on business writing skills with young adults who have dyslexia or ADHD. Our tutors have worked with adults who are successful in their jobs but need help with writing organization or editing to advance in their careers.

TLC Online Plus Tutoring is a unique program that provides individualized tutoring services. If you or a family member needs skilled tutoring but struggles to find the time to drive to a tutoring center, TLC Online Plus Tutoring will provide an integrated approach to tutoring while offering convenience and accessibility. We know that one size does not fit all, and this provides a convenient option for our tutoring students and their families.

We provide:

• Local, skilled tutors with experienced supervision. Our tutors have a broad range of educational credentials including state certification, special education expertise, and years of experience. We match expertise to each individual student’s needs.
• Our tutors work as a team with the student’s family, teachers, and other key individuals as appropriate. We offer individualized, differentiated lessons with ongoing written feedback.
• Flexibility in learning is key! We are available online and in person depending on your child’s needs.
• We believe in lifelong learning not only for our students, but also for our tutors. Our tutors use research-based practices, and our tutoring team is led by an experienced supervisor.
• We set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely.

You provide:

• A computer with internet access, a camera, and a microphone (headphones are recommended).
• A quiet, distraction-free environment for the lesson.
• A commitment to the agreed-upon schedule and payment method.

Getting Started For Tutoring and Coaching

• We will discuss your tutoring/coaching needs and answer any questions you may have. 
• You will be asked specific questions about your student’s learning style and the type of help you or your child needs. 
• We will ask you what times and days are possible for the tutoring in order to fit your child into our tutoring schedule.
• We do not require testing before beginning tutoring. Our tutors may do informal assessments and adjust teaching strategies as they go along. However, any information you can provide is helpful. If you or your child has been tested at TLC, we have access to those report in our file. If you or your child has a testing report from another source, or an individualized education plan (IEP) from school, we may ask you to send in or bring copies.

What kind of background do TLC tutors have?

Our tutors are required to have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree; many have a Masters and are current or former teachers. 

• They all have teaching and tutoring experience as well as training and experience in working with children with learning disabilities. 
• All tutors at TLC receive tutor training courses and/or other professional development courses to prepare them to best serve client needs.

How long will a student need tutoring?

The duration of tutoring programs varies greatly with the student and the area of difficulty. 

• Our tutors give individualized advice based on their work with each student and usually design teaching goals to last a semester (four to five months) at a time. 
• However, it is up to the student and family to decide how long to continue. 
• We have some students who continue for several years with the same tutor, adjusting their goals as their skills improve. 
• Other students come for a boost in a specific area and are at TLC for a shorter period of time.

What is Coaching?

Executive Functioning coaching can be very helpful for middle schoolers, high schools, and college students to learn organizational and planning skills. 

• The coach and client establish specific goals and objectives. 
• Sessions are solution- and action-oriented, and focus on developing strategies for success. Coaches provide support, encouragement, and structure with an emphasis on accountability throughout the process. 
• The frequency and length of sessions are decided jointly by the coach and client, based on the client’s needs. 
• Appointments may occur in person, online, or a combination of these as determined by the coach and client.

Online Plus Tutoring

Is this an online-only tutoring service?

TLC’s Online Plus Tutoring provides a combination of in-person and online tutoring to meet your child’s needs. We can create plans in which the child comes in intermittently or only as needed. This is a great option for students who can learn on an online platform, and who need the convenience of tutoring where they are.

What if I need to cancel because my student is sick?

We understand and require four-hour notice to cancel the session with no charge.

What if we experience technical difficulties during the session?

If you and/or your tutor experience technical difficulties you will only be charged for teachable lesson time.

What if I have questions about the session?

Call or email your tutor for more information.

Educational Neuropsychological Evaluations

Psychoeducational vs. Neuropsych Educational Evaluations
A psychoeducational evaluation is used to understand and explain learning and attentional concerns. 
Neuropsych is a more complex evaluation provided by a psychologist with specialized training. It is a more comprehensive psychological evaluation, providing a more detailed assessment related to more complex issues. It provides more details.

Considerations for a psychologist consider when recommending a psychoeducational evaluation:

• Concerns with keeping up with peers in the classroom and remembering what they learned
• Difficulties with reading, writing, or math
• Struggling to stay focused or organized
• Doesn’t like school and gets upset during homework

Considerations for a psychologist when recommending a neuropsychological evaluation:

• The same concerns stated above in the psychoeducational
• Complex medical history
• Early childhood delays
• Significant concerns in interacting with others in their environments.
• A combination of factors that are impacting life at home and school.

Example 1
Amara has been struggling in school with her reading. Even at 3rd grade, the words jumble together and don’t make sense. After making an appointment, Amara’s parents sat down with a psychologist to talk about their child. The psychologist recommended a psychoeducational evaluation. Amara met with a psychologist over 3 appointments, completing tasks and answering questions. Later, Amara’s parents met with the psychologist to discuss her strengths and needs. Amara’s parents learned that their child has dyslexia and was really good at visual puzzles and patterns. Amara’s parents took this information, along with multiple recommendations, to their school to help Amara get the right interventions to improve her reading.

Example 2Jackson was born prematurely and has a history of seizures. He’s received early intervention services and has an education plan at his school. Still, his parents are concerned that his needs haven’t been fully addressed. Jackson’s parents meet with a psychologist to talk about their son’s history as well as their concerns. The psychologist recommends a neuropsychological educational evaluation. Jackson meets with the psychologist over four appointments, completing tasks and answering questions. Afterward, Jackson’s parents have a meeting with the psychologist to discuss his strengths and needs. The psychologist discusses how Jackson’s seizures might continue to affect his learning and what parents and teachers can do. In addition, the psychologist was able to observe the weaknesses in Jackson’s social skills and make recommendations for improved social interaction. The psychologist also highlights Jackson’s strong visual-spatial skills which will make a drawing, constructing projects for school, and working on geometry easier for him. Parents go back to his pediatrician and school, share the results of the evaluation, and start working on the recommendations the psychologist provided.

• Once an initial evaluation has been completed, follow-up evaluations are most helpful during transitional periods (move to middle, high school, college), or when decreased functioning is observed.
• There is no one-size-fits-all “roadmap” for evaluations. Parents should meet with a psychologist to discuss their individual child and specific next steps to aid in their future success.