Bilingual Evaluation Services at MPG
At Manhattan Psychology Group (MPG), we are committed to providing accessible, high-quality evaluations for all children and families we serve. We are proud to offer bilingual neuropsychological and psychological evaluations, conducted in-house by our experienced testing clinician, Dr. Merav Hasler.
This service is available at our Westchester location.
Dr. Merav Hasler is certified in New York to provide evaluations in Hebrew and has completed a bilingual specialization extension during her doctoral training. This additional training ensures that she approaches testing with a strong foundation in cultural and linguistic considerations, allowing for accurate, meaningful, and fair assessments for bilingual children and adolescents.
Why Bilingual Evaluations Matter
Language and culture can significantly influence cognitive and psychological testing. Bilingual evaluations allow us to:
- Select culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment tools
- Make clinically sound decisions with bilingual perspectives in mind
- Provide timely evaluations without the need to refer out, ensuring families receive the support they need efficiently
By conducting these evaluations in-house, MPG ensures that bilingual families have direct access to high-quality services, tailored to their unique needs.
Neuropsychological Evaluations
Our neuropsychological evaluations assess a child’s cognitive functioning, learning, memory, attention, executive functioning, and emotional processing. With bilingual Hebrew evaluations, we are able to accurately understand each child’s strengths and challenges in a way that honors their linguistic and cultural background.
These evaluations can help identify:
- Learning differences and attention challenges
- Memory, processing speed, and executive functioning strengths and weaknesses
- Neurodevelopmental or cognitive conditions that may require targeted intervention and support
Our approach considers the child’s linguistic background and cultural context, resulting in more accurate and meaningful findings.
Neuropsychological Testing Process:
Neuropsychological testing is a comprehensive process that requires specialized training and experience. This process includes:
- Parent Intake: The evaluation starts with an in-depth interview with the parents or guardians to gather a complete history.
- Collateral Information: The evaluator often talks with other providers and school staff (counselors and teachers).
- Observation: The child would be placed in their natural environment and observed, which may include school or after-school activities.
- Record Review: Medical records and prior testing reports are reviewed.
- Test Selection and Administration: A battery of tests is selected and administered to assess various cognitive functions.
- Scoring and Interpretation: The results are scored and interpreted to form a comprehensive understanding of the child’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Feedback: The results and recommendations are provided to parents, teachers, and any other relevant parties.
- Report writing: A detailed report summarizes the evaluation’s findings and recommendations.
The testing process usually takes up to a few months from start to finish. During the actual testing, different types of tasks are administered, some enjoyable and some more challenging. With younger children, rewards and frequent breaks may be used to maintain engagement. Although these services are typically not covered by insurance, receipts are provided for potential out-of-network reimbursement. To learn more about Neuropsychological Evaluations & Testingclick here.
Psychological and Psychoeducational Evaluations
In addition to neuropsychological testing, Dr. Hasler provides psychological and psychoeducational evaluations in Hebrew. These assessments focus on emotional, behavioral, and social functioning, as well as academic achievement and learning profiles.
Bilingual testing allows us to:
- Accurately reflect the child’s abilities in both Hebrew and English
- Develop personalized recommendations for school, therapy, and home settings
- Provide families with actionable guidance to support academic and emotional success
Psychological/Psychoeducational Testing Process:
Psychological and psychoeducational testing serves a range of vital functions and benefits, including:
- Securing Special Accommodations: The results of these evaluations can be instrumental in securing special classroom arrangements, testing accommodations, or specific school placements, such as 504 plans, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), placement in special education schools, or extended time on standardized tests.
- Identifying Learning Disabilities: These evaluations can uncover learning disabilities like dyslexia or developmental delays, such as Autism, which may be negatively affecting a student's academic performance.
- Assessing Strengths and Weaknesses: These tests help identify a person’s strengths and areas where they may need improvement. This assessment covers various domains, including cognitive/intelligence, academic/achievement, language/communication, learning/memory, visual-spatial skills, fine and gross motor skills, social-emotional skills, play skills, and adaptive functional skills.
- Clarifying Diagnostic Questions: Psychological and psychoeducational evaluations can provide clarity with mood, anxiety, social, and behavioral issues, such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or Depression.
- Uncovering Personality Factors: It can reveal personality traits or factors that can be negatively affecting an individual’s learning and overall functioning.
- Evaluating the impact of interventions: By comparing the current test results and comparing them to previous evaluations, it’s possible to assess the effectiveness of interventions and treatments.
Psychological and psychoeducational evaluations involve various evidence-based tests and questionnaires (also referred to as measures or rating scales). Since there are numerous available tests and measures, it’s crucial to collaborate with a psychologist to select the ones most appropriate for your specific questions. Most evaluations include cognitive testing or IQ testing, along with measures to assess emotional and behavioral difficulties. An achievement test can also be used to determine the learning straights and needs. In addition, the psychologist may request input from other professionals, doctors, or teachers. To learn more about Psychological and psychoeducational evaluations click here.
Who Can Benefit
Hebrew bilingual evaluations may be particularly valuable for children and adolescents who:
- Are experiencing learning or academic difficulties
- Are demonstrating behavioral or emotional challenges
- Need evaluations to support IEPs, school accommodations, or therapeutic planning
- Require culturally and linguistically appropriate assessments for a clearer understanding of their needs
