Assessments, Testing, & Evaluations
Comprehensive Assessments at the SMart Center
At the SMart Center, assessments go beyond identifying a diagnosis. Our goal is to understand the whole person and the WHYs behind their challenges.
We provide individualized assessments for children, teens, and adults with Selective Mutism, anxiety, ADHD, Autism, learning disorders, dyslexia, speech and language concerns, executive-functioning difficulties, and other developmental or emotional concerns.
Specialized Expertise in Selective Mutism
Traditional testing may not accurately reflect the abilities of someone with Selective Mutism. Our clinicians understand how SM can overlap with or mask other conditions and adapt assessments to reduce communication pressure and help individuals demonstrate what they truly know and can do.
The result is a clearer understanding of strengths, challenges, diagnoses, and co-occurring conditions, with recommendations to guide treatment, school supports, and next steps.
Schedule Testing Today! OR Book an Exploratory Call to Discuss!
Types of Assessments & Evaluations Offered
- Selective Mutism*
- Speech & Language Evaluation
- Autism Assessment and Diagnosis (ADOS-2 & ADI-R)
- ADHD, Behavior, Developmental, & Early Childhood Assessments
- Psychoeducational Testing
- Psychological Assessments
- School Accommodations, Learning Styles, Test Anxiety, Academic Achievement, I.Q. Testing, Gifted Program Evaluations, Private School Admission
- Dyslexia/Dysgraphia
- IEE – Independent Educational Evaluation
Descriptions below
Why Consider Assessment Services for Your Loved One?
- Mutism
- Academics
- Behavior
- Attention and focus
- Staying on task
- Organization
- Memory
- Learning letter names and sounds
- Communication
- Social relationships
- Transitions or changes
- School anxiety/avoidance
- Regulating mood/emotions
*Our research and 20+ years of clinical experience tells us that there are factors that contribute to the development of an individual’s Selective Mutism and/or social communication difficulties. In most cases these factors continue or minimally improve without accurate assessment and treatment. To help an individual overcome Selective Mutism and social communication difficulties, we need to fully understand him/her. We know it can be hard to accurately assess those individuals who aren’t comfortable verbalizing to just anyone. Our specialists will uncover the underlying contributing factors to your loved one’s social communication challenges so we can tackle them together. Most professionals find it challenging to test a person who “doesn’t talk” or who does not participate in testing. If these professionals are unable to test an individual, how can it be determined if the individual is suffering with additional and/or contributing challenges to a his/her mutism? We understand; that is our specialty.
Descriptions of Assessments & Evaluations
Full Psychological Assessment for Selective Mutism
A full psychological assessment is a comprehensive evaluation designed to understand the whole person behind the Selective Mutism.
Time for testing: 4-6 hours.
Selective Mutism (SM) is often more complex than an inability to speak in certain settings. Children, teens, and adults with SM can have differences in anxiety, attention, executive functioning, processing, learning, language, sensory regulation, social communication, or development that influence when, where, why, and with whom communication becomes difficult.
At the SMart Center, a comprehensive psychological assessment helps us look beyond the diagnosis of Selective Mutism to better understand the “WHYs” behind an individual’s social communication challenges.
Why is this child able to communicate comfortably in one setting but not another? Why are they progressing in treatment but continuing to struggle at school? Why do they have difficulty responding even when they appear comfortable? Why do they struggle to initiate, elaborate, complete work, process questions, interact with peers, or communicate independently?
Understanding these factors can be critical to developing an effective treatment and educational plan.
Looking Beyond the Selective Mutism Diagnosis
Many individuals with Selective Mutism have co-occurring challenges that can affect communication and functioning.
For example, a child who does not respond to a teacher may certainly be experiencing social communication anxiety. But there may also be difficulties with:
- Processing speed
- Working memory
- Attention and executive functioning
- Language formulation or retrieval
- Learning
- Social understanding
- Sensory processing
- Cognitive flexibility
- Autism-related social communication differences
- Fear of making mistakes
- Perfectionism
- Emotional regulation
These factors can sometimes look like anxiety or Selective Mutism on the surface. In other cases, they occur alongside SM and make communication more difficult.
A comprehensive assessment helps us tease apart these overlapping factors.
What Is Included in a Full Psychological Assessment?
The specific testing battery is individualized based on age, developmental history, current concerns, treatment progress, school functioning, and the questions the family is hoping to answer.
Cognitive & Intellectual Functioning
Evaluates patterns of cognitive strengths and challenges, including verbal reasoning, visual-spatial reasoning, fluid reasoning, working memory, processing speed, problem-solving, and other aspects of intellectual functioning.
For an individual with SM, understanding these areas can help determine whether difficulties responding, completing tasks, following directions, or communicating efficiently may involve more than anxiety alone.
Attention, Executive Functioning & ADHD
Examines attention, distractibility, impulse control, working memory, organization, planning, task initiation and completion, cognitive flexibility, time management, and self-monitoring.
This can be especially important for individuals with SM who may appear disengaged, slow to respond, dependent on prompting, or reluctant to initiate. Assessment can help determine whether anxiety, ADHD, executive-function challenges, or a combination of factors may be contributing.
Learning & Academic Skills
When indicated, testing may evaluate reading, reading comprehension, written expression, spelling, mathematics, academic fluency, and related processing abilities.
A child with SM may not readily communicate when they do not understand something or may be unable to ask for help. As a result, learning difficulties can sometimes remain hidden or be mistakenly attributed to Selective Mutism.
Memory & Information Processing
Assesses how information is learned, organized, stored, and retrieved, including verbal and visual memory, immediate and delayed recall, working memory, and processing efficiency.
For some individuals with SM, difficulty answering quickly or elaborating may reflect not only anxiety but also the amount of time needed to process information, formulate a response, retrieve information, and communicate it.
Social & Developmental Functioning / Autism Spectrum Disorder
When appropriate, the evaluation examines social communication, reciprocal interaction, social understanding, flexibility, restricted or repetitive patterns, interests, sensory features, and developmental history.
This can help distinguish behaviors primarily related to social communication anxiety from broader social-developmental differences and determine whether Selective Mutism and Autism Spectrum Disorder or other developmental differences may coexist.
Emotional & Psychological Functioning
Evaluates anxiety, social anxiety, fears and phobias, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depression, mood, perfectionism, stress, emotional regulation, self-esteem, and related concerns.
Because Selective Mutism is closely associated with anxiety, understanding the individual’s broader emotional profile can help clarify what may be maintaining avoidance or interfering with communication and treatment progress.
Behavioral & Adaptive Functioning
Examines how the individual functions in everyday life, including independence, communication, socialization, daily living skills, behavioral regulation, and functioning across home, school, work, and community settings.
This is particularly valuable in SM because functioning can look dramatically different depending on the person, place, and situation.
Social Communication & Selective Mutism
The evaluation examines the individual’s social communication patterns across different people, places, and situations.
Assessment may explore:
- Verbal and nonverbal communication
- Initiation versus responding
- Communication with adults versus peers
- Communication at home, school, and in the community
- Social engagement and reciprocity
- Comfort and connection with others
- Social communication anxiety
- Communication independence
- The impact of anxiety on language and performance
- Factors that facilitate or inhibit communication
The goal is not simply to determine whether Selective Mutism is present. It is to understand how the individual’s unique cognitive, emotional, developmental, learning, and social profile may be contributing to their Selective Mutism and overall functioning.
The Evaluation Process
A full psychological assessment typically includes a detailed clinical and developmental interview, review of relevant medical, developmental, educational, and treatment history, standardized psychological testing, behavioral observations, and questionnaires completed by the individual and/or parents, teachers, partners, or other relevant individuals.
For children and teens with Selective Mutism, information from multiple environments is particularly important.
A child may appear completely different at home, at school, with friends, during treatment, or with unfamiliar adults. Understanding these differences provides important information about the child’s social communication profile.
Testing is therefore individualized rather than using the exact same battery for every person.
What Can a Comprehensive Psychological Evaluation Identify?
Depending on the referral concerns, an evaluation may help identify or clarify:
- Selective Mutism and social communication anxiety
- Social anxiety and other anxiety disorders
- ADHD and executive-function challenges
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Learning disorders
- Language-related or processing concerns
- Working-memory difficulties
- Processing-speed differences
- OCD and related symptoms
- Depression and mood concerns
- Emotional and behavioral regulation difficulties
- Social-communication differences
- Developmental differences
- Adaptive-functioning challenges
- Cognitive strengths and weaknesses
- Giftedness or advanced cognitive abilities
- Multiple overlapping or co-occurring conditions
Understanding the “WHYs” Behind Selective Mutism
Perhaps the most important question a comprehensive assessment can help answer is:
Why is this individual struggling?
Two children with the same diagnosis of Selective Mutism may have very different underlying profiles and therefore require very different supports.
One child may primarily struggle with social anxiety.
Another may have social anxiety plus ADHD and significant executive-function challenges.
Another may have slow processing speed and working-memory weaknesses that make answering questions especially difficult under pressure.
Another may have learning or language difficulties and avoid speaking because they fear giving the wrong answer.
Another may have sensory or developmental differences that affect comfort, engagement, flexibility, and social communication.
And for many individuals, several of these factors may be interacting at the same time.
Identifying these differences helps move treatment beyond simply asking, “How do we get this person talking?”
Instead, we can ask:
“What is making communication difficult for this particular person, and what supports will help them progress?”
What You Receive
Following the assessment, findings are integrated into a comprehensive picture of the individual’s functioning.
Families generally receive a feedback session and detailed written report that includes:
- Explanation of assessment findings
- Cognitive and psychological profile
- Strengths and areas of need
- Diagnostic impressions when appropriate
- Identification of co-occurring conditions
- Individualized treatment recommendations
- Selective Mutism and social communication recommendations
- School accommodations and intervention recommendations
- IEP or 504 Plan considerations when appropriate
- Academic and learning supports
- Executive-function supports
- Social and communication supports
- Recommendations for additional services when indicated
- College or workplace accommodations when appropriate
For children and teens, the findings can provide families, clinicians, and schools with a much clearer roadmap for supporting the child academically, emotionally, socially, behaviorally, and communicatively.
For adults, assessment can provide diagnostic clarification and practical recommendations for treatment, college, employment, relationships, communication, and everyday functioning.
The Goal: Understand the Whole Person
At the SMart Center, we do not want to stop at the diagnosis of Selective Mutism.
We want to understand the individual behind the diagnosis.
By identifying strengths, challenges, co-occurring conditions, and the “WHYs” contributing to social communication difficulties, a comprehensive psychological assessment can help guide more individualized treatment, more appropriate school or workplace supports, and a clearer path forward.
The SMart Center provides effective and evidence-based assessments and treatment recommendations for individuals who may have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). And since many of our clients have Selective Mutism. We can accurately differentiate between SM, ASD and determine if a client has both SM and ASD. Our expertise in SM, allows us to accommodate the individuals mutism to get more accurate testing results.
Our team performs comprehensive evaluations to better understand the person’s functioning, build upon their strengths and provide them with the appropriate supports. The Clinicians at the SMart Center utilize the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 (ADOS-2) as well as the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R) which are considered to be the ‘gold standard’ for diagnosing Autism. The ASD testing consists of two sessions: 1) Session One is a 2 ½-3 hour interview with the adult requesting testing or the client’s caregiver (specifically someone who is able to provide information about the client’s first 5 years of development), 2) Session Two is an hour long assessment with the child/adolescent/adult. At the conclusion of the testing, the evaluator will develop a comprehensive report based upon the findings from the testing period. The evaluator will schedule a feedback session with the caregiver and the client which will review the results of the testing, diagnostic information, and specific-individualized recommendations that will provide the child/adolescent with the most effective strategies and resources for support.
Comprehensive Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Evaluation
Children, Teens & Adults
A comprehensive Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) evaluation is designed to determine whether a child, teen, or adult meets diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder and to develop a deeper understanding of the individual’s social communication, social interaction, behavior, developmental history, strengths, and areas of challenge.
For individuals with Selective Mutism (SM), this type of evaluation can be especially important.
Selective Mutism affects social communication, but not every social or communication difficulty experienced by an individual with SM is necessarily caused by anxiety or Selective Mutism.
Some children, teens, and adults with SM also demonstrate differences in social reciprocity, pragmatic language, flexibility, sensory processing, understanding social cues, peer relationships, executive functioning, or other areas of development.
The important question becomes:
Is this Selective Mutism? Autism? Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder? Anxiety? Or are several factors occurring together?
At the SMart Center, our goal is to understand the “WHYs” behind an individual’s social communication challenges, rather than assuming that every difficulty is simply part of Selective Mutism.
Selective Mutism and Autism Can Look Similar
There can be significant overlap in how Selective Mutism, social anxiety, and Autism Spectrum Disorder appear on the surface.
For example, an individual with SM may:
- Avoid or have difficulty with eye contact
- Have limited verbal interaction with unfamiliar people
- Struggle to initiate conversation
- Give brief or limited responses
- Have difficulty joining peers or groups
- Appear socially withdrawn
- Depend on familiar people to facilitate interaction
- Have difficulty demonstrating reciprocal conversation
- Become overwhelmed in busy social environments
- Have sensory sensitivities
- Prefer predictability and familiar routines
- Have difficulty communicating when social demands increase
However, the reason behind these behaviors matters.
A child with SM may have strong age-appropriate social understanding and reciprocity when comfortable but be unable to demonstrate these abilities when anxious.
Another child may become verbal when comfortable, yet still have difficulty with conversational reciprocity, perspective-taking, understanding social cues, flexibility, or navigating peer relationships.
And some individuals may have both Selective Mutism and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
This is why careful differential diagnosis is so important.
Looking at the Child Beyond Whether They Speak
One of the challenges in evaluating an individual with Selective Mutism is that limited speech during an assessment can make it difficult to determine what the person truly understands and is capable of doing socially.
Therefore, we do not evaluate autism simply by asking:
“Did this child talk during the evaluation?”
We look much deeper.
We examine how the individual:
- Connects and engages with others
- Initiates interaction
- Responds socially, verbally and nonverbally
- Shares enjoyment and interests
- Uses gestures, facial expressions, and body language
- Demonstrates social reciprocity
- Understands social cues
- Navigates conversational give-and-take
- Understands another person’s perspective
- Develops and maintains relationships
- Adjusts communication according to the person and situation
- Demonstrates flexibility
- Responds to changes and unexpected situations
- Experiences sensory input
- Functions when comfortable compared with when anxious
Understanding the difference between “can’t demonstrate this because of anxiety” and “has an underlying difficulty with this skill” can be essential.
Gold-Standard Autism Assessment Measures
Our comprehensive ASD evaluations incorporate two of the most widely recognized and extensively studied diagnostic instruments in autism assessment: the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and, when appropriate, the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised (ADI-R).
These measures provide complementary information.
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)
The ADOS provides structured opportunities for the evaluator to directly observe social communication, interaction, reciprocity, verbal and nonverbal communication, shared enjoyment, flexibility, imagination, and behaviors associated with autism.
For an individual with Selective Mutism, ADOS findings must be interpreted within the context of the person’s anxiety and communication level during the assessment.
Limited speech alone does not indicate autism.
The evaluator considers how the individual communicates and connects, including nonverbal communication, social engagement, reciprocity, gestures, facial expression, shared enjoyment, and other behaviors that can be observed even when verbal communication is limited.
Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised (ADI-R)
The ADI-R provides an in-depth developmental history, generally through an interview with a parent or caregiver familiar with the individual’s early development.
For individuals with SM, developmental history is particularly valuable because it allows us to look beyond what happens during an anxiety-provoking evaluation.
We can ask:
What does this person look like when they are comfortable?
How have they historically interacted with family members, peers, and familiar adults?
Were social-communication differences present before the Selective Mutism became apparent?
Do social difficulties remain even in environments where the individual is comfortable and verbal?
This information can be extremely helpful when differentiating anxiety-based communication inhibition from broader developmental social-communication differences.
Social Communication & Social Pragmatics
An important part of the evaluation is examining not simply whether an individual speaks, but how they use communication socially when they are able to communicate.
Assessment may examine:
- Initiating and maintaining conversations
- Reciprocal conversation
- Staying on topic
- Asking follow-up questions
- Conversational give-and-take
- Adjusting communication for different people and situations
- Understanding implied or nonliteral language
- Recognizing social cues
- Perspective-taking
- Understanding others’ intentions
- Using and interpreting facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, and body language
- Developing and maintaining peer relationships
- Joining groups
- Understanding unwritten social expectations
This distinction is especially important in Selective Mutism.
An individual may become fully verbal with a familiar person yet continue to demonstrate significant difficulty with the social use of language.
Conversely, another individual may demonstrate excellent social reciprocity, humor, perspective-taking, and conversational skills when comfortable but lose access to those abilities when anxiety becomes too high.
These are very different clinical pictures.
Autism vs. Selective Mutism vs. Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
Differential diagnosis is an important component of the evaluation.
Selective Mutism
With SM, social communication is significantly affected by anxiety and varies according to the person, place, and situation. The individual may demonstrate substantially stronger communication and social abilities when comfortable.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
With ASD, social-communication and social-interaction differences are broader developmental characteristics and are accompanied by restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, activities, or sensory features required for the diagnosis.
Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
An individual with Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder may demonstrate significant difficulty with reciprocal communication, conversation, social understanding, and the social use of language without demonstrating the restricted or repetitive behavior pattern required for an autism diagnosis.
And Sometimes They Coexist
These conditions are not always mutually exclusive.
An individual may have Selective Mutism and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
They may have Selective Mutism with ADHD or executive-function challenges.
They may have SM with language, learning, processing, or social-pragmatic difficulties.
They may have several interacting factors affecting social communication.
The purpose of the evaluation is to determine the combination of factors that best explains the individual’s presentation.
Understanding the “WHYs” Behind Social Communication
At the SMart Center, one of our primary goals is to understand why communication is difficult for this particular person.
Consider two children who both remain silent in the classroom.
One child may desperately want to participate and have strong social understanding but become unable to speak because of overwhelming social communication anxiety.
Another may have SM but also struggle to recognize when to enter a conversation, understand peer dynamics, maintain reciprocal interaction, or know what to say.
Another may become verbal once comfortable but continue to remain on the outskirts of peer interactions.
Another may have sensory sensitivities, rigid thinking, executive-function challenges, or difficulty coping with unpredictable social situations.
They may all appear “quiet” at school.
But they do not necessarily have the same WHY.
And therefore, they should not necessarily have the same treatment plan.
Considering Co-Occurring Conditions
A comprehensive evaluation also considers conditions that may occur alongside or contribute to the individual’s presentation, including:
- Selective Mutism
- Social anxiety and other anxiety disorders
- ADHD
- Executive-functioning difficulties
- Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
- Language differences
- Learning differences
- Sensory differences
- Other developmental or psychological conditions
This is particularly important for individuals with Selective Mutism because anxiety, attention, processing, sensory, developmental, and social-pragmatic differences can interact and influence how an individual communicates.
What You Receive
Following the evaluation, all information is integrated to develop a comprehensive picture of the individual rather than relying on a single test, score, or observation.
The evaluation typically includes a detailed feedback session and comprehensive written report outlining:
- ADOS findings and interpretation
- ADI-R developmental findings, when administered
- Social-communication and pragmatic-language profile
- Selective Mutism and anxiety considerations
- Behavioral and developmental observations
- Individual strengths and areas of need
- Diagnostic impressions, when appropriate
- Clarification of ASD, Selective Mutism, Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder, and other relevant conditions
- Identification of co-occurring conditions
- Individualized treatment recommendations
- Selective Mutism treatment considerations
- School, college, workplace, or community recommendations
- Social-communication interventions
- Recommendations for therapy and supportive services
- IEP/504 Plan and accommodation recommendations when appropriate
For children and adolescents, results can help families, clinicians, and schools understand not simply whether the child communicates, but what may be interfering with communication, learning, social engagement, independence, and progress.
For adults, the evaluation can provide diagnostic clarification and recommendations related to treatment, college, employment, relationships, social communication, and independent functioning.
The Goal Is Bigger Than a Diagnosis
The goal of a comprehensive ASD evaluation is not simply to answer:
“Does this individual have autism?”
For individuals with Selective Mutism, we also want to understand:
“What is anxiety? What is Selective Mutism? What reflects an underlying social-communication or developmental difference? And how are these factors interacting?”
Understanding these WHYs allows us to develop a much more individualized roadmap for treatment, social-communication intervention, educational support, and everyday functioning.
Comprehensive ADHD Evaluations for Individuals with Selective Mutism.
Children, Teens & Adults
Individuals with Selective Mutism (SM) may also experience difficulties with attention, executive functioning, organization, task initiation, working memory, impulse control, and emotional regulation. In some individuals, these challenges may be related to co-occurring Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
However, identifying ADHD in someone with Selective Mutism can be complicated.
Anxiety, communication difficulties, social discomfort, processing differences, sensory challenges, and the tendency to become quiet, withdrawn, or “shut down” in certain environments can sometimes look like inattention or executive functioning difficulty. Conversely, true ADHD symptoms may be overlooked because Selective Mutism and anxiety are assumed to explain the individual’s difficulties.
At the SMart Center, our goal is to understand the “why” behind the behavior and determine what is related to Selective Mutism, what may represent ADHD or another co-occurring condition, and how these factors interact.
What Is Included in an ADHD Evaluation?
Every evaluation is individualized based on age, developmental history, communication level, current concerns, and the reason for referral.
Depending on the individual, evaluation may include:
- Comprehensive clinical interview and developmental history
- Assessment of Selective Mutism and social communication functioning
- Standardized cognitive and executive functioning measures
- Attention and concentration assessment
- Behavioral and emotional rating scales
- Parent, teacher, spouse/partner, and/or self-report questionnaires
- Review of school, treatment, and previous evaluation records, when available
- Consideration of functioning across different settings and communication environments
Importantly, testing procedures can be adapted to accommodate Selective Mutism and the individual’s current level of communication so that anxiety and difficulty speaking do not unnecessarily interfere with the assessment process.
Testing time: ~2-3 hours
Areas We Evaluate
Testing may examine:
- Attention and concentration
- Executive functioning
- Working memory
- Processing speed
- Organization and planning
- Task initiation and completion
- Need for prompting or redirection
- Hyperactivity and impulsivity
- Emotional and behavioral functioning
- Social communication and functioning across settings
We also consider how an individual’s performance may change depending on comfort, familiarity, communication demands, anxiety level, environment, and expectations for verbal responding.
ADHD, Selective Mutism—or Both?
This is one of the most important questions our evaluation seeks to answer.
A child who does not begin an assignment, appears distracted, needs frequent redirection, or has difficulty completing work may have ADHD—but there may also be other explanations.
For an individual with Selective Mutism, these behaviors may be influenced by:
- Anxiety or social anxiety
- Fear of making mistakes or being evaluated
- Difficulty asking for help or clarification
- Processing or learning challenges
- Sensory overload
- Social communication or pragmatic language difficulties
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Emotional dysregulation
- Executive functioning weaknesses
- Selective Mutism itself
And, of course, ADHD and Selective Mutism can coexist.
Our goal is to tease apart these possibilities rather than assuming that every difficulty is caused by anxiety or Selective Mutism.
What Can an ADHD Evaluation Diagnose?
A comprehensive evaluation can help determine whether an individual meets criteria for:
- ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Presentation
- ADHD, Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive Presentation
- ADHD, Combined Presentation
Equally important, the evaluation may identify additional developmental, learning, emotional, or social communication concerns that warrant further assessment or intervention.
Why ADHD Testing at a Selective Mutism Specialty Center?
Traditional assessment can be challenging for individuals with Selective Mutism, particularly when testing relies heavily on verbal responding, interaction with an unfamiliar examiner, or observations made in settings where the individual is unable to communicate comfortably.
Our clinicians understand that what an individual demonstrates in one setting may not reflect what they know or are capable of doing in another.
As a specialty center for Selective Mutism, we understand how to:
- Accommodate an individual’s current communication level during testing
- Reduce unnecessary verbal and social demands
- Differentiate anxiety-related behaviors from attention and executive functioning concerns
- Consider how Selective Mutism affects school, testing, and everyday performance
- Integrate findings with the individual’s Selective Mutism treatment needs
- Develop recommendations that address both ADHD-related challenges and social communication anxiety
The goal is to obtain the most accurate picture possible of the whole individual—not simply their performance while anxious or unable to communicate comfortably.
What You’ll Receive
Following the evaluation, families or individuals receive:
- A personalized feedback session
- A comprehensive written report
- Diagnostic impressions, when appropriate
- Individualized treatment recommendations
- Executive functioning and organizational strategies
- School, college, and/or workplace accommodations, when appropriate
- Recommendations specific to Selective Mutism and social communication needs
- Guidance regarding appropriate next steps
For children and adolescents, findings can help inform 504 Plans, IEPs, classroom accommodations, and intervention planning.
For college students and adults, results can help guide academic accommodations, workplace supports, treatment planning, executive functioning strategies, and everyday functioning.
Our Goal: Understanding the “Why”
Our goal is not simply to answer:
“Does this person have ADHD?”
We want to understand:
Why is this individual struggling?
What is related to Selective Mutism or anxiety? What may be related to ADHD? Are processing, learning, sensory, social communication, or other developmental factors contributing?
Most importantly:
What does this individual need to be more successful?
By identifying both strengths and areas of challenge, we can develop more targeted recommendations for treatment, school, home, work, and everyday life.
When Might Additional Testing Be Recommended?
Sometimes an ADHD evaluation identifies concerns that cannot be fully explained by ADHD or Selective Mutism alone.
Additional assessment may be recommended when there are concerns related to:
- Reading, writing, or mathematics
- Learning disabilities, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia
- Cognitive or intellectual functioning
- Processing or memory
- Speech, language, or social-pragmatic communication
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Anxiety, depression, or other emotional concerns
- Broader psychological or neurodevelopmental functioning
When appropriate, a full psychological evaluation, autism evaluation, speech-language evaluation, or other specialized assessment may provide a more comprehensive understanding of the individual’s needs.
At the SMart Center, assessment findings are considered within the context of the individual’s Selective Mutism, social communication functioning, anxiety, developmental profile, and real-world functioning so recommendations can be integrated rather than viewed as separate diagnoses or isolated test scores.
The SMart Center offers comprehensive speech and language evaluations conducted by certified and licensed speech-language pathologists tailored for children with social communication challenges from preschool through high school years.This evaluation includes standardized and informal measures to appropriately assess the oral mechanism, speech sound articulation, speech production during co-articulation, receptive and expressive language (understanding language and expressing oneself at an age-appropriate level involving semantics, syntax, morphology, and/or pragmatic language), voice (pitch, quality, and loudness), and fluency of speech (rate and rhythm). The series of assessment tools vary depending on the individualized needs of the child. All testing is conducted by an ASHA certified and PA licensed speech-language pathologist.The speech-language pathologists at the SMart Center are well qualified to properly assess children’s speech and language skills. They hold a Master’s or Doctoral degree and have many years of experience treating children with speech-language needs, including those with Selective Mutism. All speech-language pathologists at the SMart Center have experience working with children who have selective mutism and know how to evaluate and engage those with social communication disorders. Typically involves 3-4 hours of testing.
We specialize in children with Selective Mutism and have developed a research-based protocol:
Other Ways We Can Help!
Our most popular and successful approach to treating Selective Mutism. Designed for children, teens, and adults.
Intensive Group Treatment and Parent Training & Support Program to help parents, children, and teens (ages 3-17+)
A la carte style virtual play-dates and get-togethers for children and teens (6-18) to reinforce strategies.
Explore our wide array of comprehensive evaluations, assessments, and testing.
(i.e. Autism, ADHD)
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