Raising a child is demanding – their emotions and personality trait can change frequently. As a parent, how can you tell if your child’s behaviour is part of growing up or a cause for concern?
Child psychologists at Promises, Tan Su-Lynn and SC Anbarasu speak to the editorial team at ANZA about psychological tests for children and adolescents which help parents better understand the strengths and challenges their child has in areas of cognitive, behavioural, learning and socio-emotional functioning.
Learn more about the types of tests and what goes into one.
As parents, we all want the best for our children. We naturally see the good in them and marvel at their every new development and discovery. However, raising a child can be demanding. Even under the greatest circumstances, their emotions and personality traits can change frequently, and it can be difficult to pinpoint when certain behaviours are typical or might need special attention.
Just like us, children experience a huge range of emotions (some more adorable than others!). They can be sad, anxious, aggressive or irritable. They can be restless, reclusive or downright grumpy. In most cases, these feelings are perfectly healthy, but how can you tell if your child’s mannerisms are a part of growing up or a cause for concern?
Promises Healthcare, Psychiatric & Psychological clinic can help to put your mind at ease with their psychological tests for children and adolescents. Carried out by their expert team of senior child and educational psychologists, these evaluations can help parents to better understand the strengths and challenges their child may have in areas of cognitive, behavioural, learning and socio-emotional functioning.
Tan Su-Lynn, Senior Educational Psychologist at Promises
Why take a psychological test?
While the idea of psychological tests for children might sound daunting, they can be essential in helping parents to make educated choices and implement strategies to ensure a child is getting the right support. “Intelligence – sometimes referred to as the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) – includes cognitive functioning, intellectual ability, aptitude, thinking skills, and general ability,” explains Senior Clinical Psychologist at Promises, S C Anbarasu. “Based on the type of assessments used, trained psychologists can obtain a more in-depth understanding of a child’s challenges. Some potential issues that can be detected include emotional or behavioural problems, or delayed learning with writing, spelling, maths or reading. Testing also helps to identify the presence of autism, ADHD or dyslexia.”
Says Tan Su-Lynn, Senior Educational Psychologist at Promises, “When a child is observed to have difficulties with their learning or behaviour in school or at home, this may suggest the possibility of a learning or behavioural disorder. Severity of the difficulties should also be taken into consideration, such as whether they impact their social, home and/or school functioning. Psychological testing can obtain a profile of a child’s strengths and areas that require support.
Reasons for a psychological test can include:
Learning difficulties or delays (for example, difficulties with spelling, writing, reading)
Emotional or behavioural problems in the classroom or home
Admission to special educational programmes
Increased understanding of a child’s learning style
Concerns regarding possible attentional difficulties
Underachievement
Giftedness
Senior Clinical Psychologist at Promises, S C Anbarasu
What are the tests and how do they work?
Depending on your concerns and your child’s needs, there are two types of psychological tests for children available at Promises to ascertain a child’s profile. “The IQ test measures a range of cognitive abilities and provides a score that is intended to serve as a measure of the child’s intellectual abilities, overall thinking, reasoning skills and potential,” explains Su-Lynn. “Our Academic Testing assesses areas in language, reading, writing, mathematical skills, comprehension and fluency.”
After an initial consultation period, both assessments take place in stages. As each one lasts approximately 6-12 hours, sessions are spaced out to reduce fatigue and distraction. There are no scary school exam style set-ups here: each test involves fun problems, puzzles and questions. “Generally, most children enjoy the testing sessions as it’s an engaging process,” says Anba. “To make sessions as stress-free as possible, we have regular breaks so they can play with their favourite toys. Tasks that involve using hands to construct or fingers to point at pictures appear to appeal the most. Parents are welcome to join their child throughout for support.”
Once completed, a feedback session is arranged to discuss the outcome and provide parents with the opportunity to ask questions. Parents also receive a comprehensive written report with recommendations for home and school settings. Continues Anba, “With psychological tests for children, we can address potential issues early and hopefully prevent the child from feeling demoralised, stressed and anxious in the future.”
When parents and teachers work holistically with Promises, everyone receives a better understanding of the child’s behaviour and game-changing solutions to bring them a brighter and happier future.
While most of us may be familiar with the term ADHD or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, we may be unfamiliar with the challenges and struggles a child diagnosed with ADHD goes through.
Our senior psychologists from the Child and Adolescent team, S. C. Anbarasu and Tan Su-Lynn, spoke to the editorial team at HoneyKids Asia to shed more light on ADHD, how it affects kids, what are the early symptoms, and how parents can support a child with a diagnosis.
When one has to live with debilitating chronic conditions or even degenerative disorders, it is natural that we place emphasis on seeing that the afflicted recover and receive the appropriate management. As our society rapidly ages, the number of elderly living with medical conditions or dementia is also increasing exponentially. However, the care should extend beyond the patients themselves. More often than not, there are other individuals involved, including family members and friends dedicated to supporting their recovery. Is it time we acknowledge their efforts and ensure they are coping well?
Caregiving can be exceptionally draining – both physically and emotionally – when a family member becomes a patient at home. Needless to say, we are unable to predict such unfortunate circumstances, and caregivers are often thrown into their roles without prior knowledge and preparation. This leaves them with no choice but to adapt and pick up new skills in order to commit to their caregiving responsibilities. However, this can take a toll on the primary caregiver as well as family relationships.
With a large part of their time allocated to caring for another person, caregivers are much more susceptible to fatigue and prolonged stress, with little or no time for self-care. It can be a big problem if the caregiver feels that there’s no support – family and social relationships can be compromised, thereby further reducing any support network that a caregiver can receive. This can lead to burnout and immense feelings of helplessness.
A survey by the Singapore Management University (SMU) with the support of Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL), Enable Asia and the Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH), reveals that 3 in 4 caregivers are tired and exhausted caring for a person with mental health issues. Furthermore, the Family Caregiver Alliance estimates that close to 20 percent of family caregivers suffer from some form of depression. In addition, mental health disorders are even more common among dementia caregivers. A study conducted on mental health issues in those caring for Alzheimer’s patients found that the prevalence of depression was an alarming 34 percent, anxiety was 43.6 percent, and the use of psychotropic drugs was 27.2 percent.
Some other common problems that caregivers face include (but are not limited to):
Mental health concerns
Physical health concerns
Secondary Stressors
Depression
Anxiety
High rates of negative affect including guilt, sadness, dread, irritation and worry
Ambivalence about care
Witnessing the suffering of relatives
Feeling isolated or abandoned by others
Anticipatory grief
Fatigue
Sleep problems
Risk of illness, injury, mortality
Adverse changes in health status
Dysregulation of stress hormones
Work/employment (e.g., reduction in work hours, family to work spillover, and work to family spillover)
Financial strains
Relationship stress
Loss of time for self-care
Reduced quality of life
This is where family therapy comes in. Families might find therapy useful when they are adapting to a major change in the family such as dealing with a chronic illness or death in the family, or conflicts between family members in the caregiving process. Family therapy is a method to engage family caregivers in active and focused problem-solving approaches related to family caregiving to improve the quality of care, reduce burden and improve family functioning. Family therapy for caregivers, in particular, encompasses six core processes – naming the problem, structuring care, role structuring, role reverberations, caregiver self-care and widening the lens. Therapy is conducted in a way that is tailored to each household. Depending on the needs that caregivers and their families must address, the aspects that are challenging them will become the focus of intervention. Not covering all six areas doesn’t mean that the therapist isn’t taking a comprehensive approach – the core processes simply act as a guideline, and do not imply a rigid prescription of intervention work.
Conflicts and resentment often arise for anyone in the role of family caregiver, and these are exacerbated when trying to share tasks with siblings or other members of the family. Many a time, caregivers tend to bottle up their feelings and put up a positive front so as to avoid passing on any negative feelings to their care recipients. However, this can be extremely detrimental to their own mental and physical health in the long run. The main part of family therapy for caregivers, therefore, involves helping the caregiver and family members sort through challenging emotions and reach resolutions. Speaking about your feelings can help you find comfort, and allows you to gain further insight and through the guidance of the therapists, various emotional-coping strategies. Implementing them will certainly take some weight off your shoulders, and perhaps give you some enlightenment with regards to discovering new problem-solving strategies.
Undeniably, caregivers will benefit tremendously from any assistance in their caregiving responsibilities from family members. Family therapy is extremely beneficial in helping to improve the interactions and support network among family members, especially in providing new perspectives on problems that are seemingly unmanageable (part of which involves building trust, mutual respect and openness). This hence reduces the level of stress within the family and the level of caregiver burden, on top of enhancing communication skills and boosting a positive sense of empowerment.
Family therapy is focused on achieving precisely what is best for the whole family and its cohesiveness, and sorting out obstacles or issues challenging the family dynamics. It is important that you take the important step toward seeking help from professionals in order to achieve a better quality of life for yourself and your family.
While face-to-face consultations are the norm, we understand that as caregivers, you may be faced with time constraints or other concerns. Thankfully, with technological advancement, virtual consultations are also becoming increasingly popular. They are equally effective and allow for more individuals to connect with their family therapists with greater ease. Of course, the decision is entirely yours to make. If you find yourself struggling, or simply feel that you need a trustworthy individual to speak to, feel free to get in contact with us.
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Tan Su-Lynn, Senior Educational Psychologist at Promises
