"How long will this take?" is one of the first questions parents ask us, and it deserves a straight answer. Most families complete the full assessment process, from the first phone call to the final written report, in several weeks to a couple of months. Here is what fills that time and why each piece matters.
The Short Answer
The actual face-to-face testing is a small slice of the process. Depending on the question we're answering, testing itself runs anywhere from 2 to 9 hours, split across appointments. A focused ADHD evaluation involves around 2 to 4 hours of in-office testing, while a full psychoeducational assessment ranges from roughly 3 to 9 hours, scaled to your child's age and the concerns you bring us.
The rest of the timeline is made up of the steps around the testing: an initial consultation, a parent interview, record review, sometimes a school observation, scoring and report writing, and a feedback session where we walk you through everything we found.
What Happens at Each Step
The process starts with a free 15-minute consultation. This is a phone or video call where you describe what you're seeing and we map out which type of assessment fits, what it involves, and what the timeline will look like for your specific situation.
Next comes the parent interview, usually 1 to 2 hours over video. For a psychoeducational assessment it runs closer to 2 hours, because your child's developmental history, school experience, and home life all shape how we interpret the test data. Before this session, we review any records you send: past evaluations, report cards, IEPs or 504 Plans, and medical records.
Then comes the in-office testing, scheduled across one or more sessions at our Monument Avenue office. Kids do their best work in shorter blocks, so we would rather see your child twice for two focused hours than once for a marathon session that produces tired, unreliable results. We schedule these around your family's life, including school days in Henrico County Public Schools, Chesterfield County Public Schools, and Richmond City Schools.
After testing wraps up, Dr. Brinkley scores everything, integrates it with the interview and records, and writes the report. This behind-the-scenes work is where separate data points become one coherent picture of your child.
The process ends with a feedback session, usually 1 to 2 hours over video, where we walk through the results together: strengths, challenges, any diagnosis, and specific recommendations. You then receive the comprehensive written report, which is yours to own and share with your child's school or other providers as you choose.
Why Testing Is Split Across Multiple Appointments
Parents sometimes worry that multiple sessions mean something is wrong or complicated. The opposite is true. Standardized tests measure your child's real abilities only when your child is rested and engaged. A seven-year-old who has been testing for four straight hours stops showing you what she can do and starts showing you how tired she is. Splitting sessions protects the accuracy of the results, and accurate results are the entire point of an assessment.
What Changes the Timeline
A few factors move the timeline in either direction. The scope of the question matters most: a targeted evaluation of attention takes less time than a comprehensive look at learning, attention, memory, and social-emotional functioning together. Your child's age matters too. Evaluations for toddlers are more streamlined by design, so that if a diagnosis like autism is identified, early intervention can begin during the window when it helps most.
School observations, when they're part of the plan, depend on coordinating with your child's teacher and school calendar. And practical scheduling plays a role: families juggling school, work, and activities sometimes spread sessions out further than the assessment itself requires. We work around your calendar, not the other way around.
How to Keep the Process Moving
The single biggest thing you can do is send records early. Past evaluations, IEPs or 504 Plans, report cards, and teacher notes all get reviewed before the parent interview, and having them up front prevents delays later. Booking your testing sessions at the consultation, rather than one at a time, also keeps the timeline tight.
If you're timing an assessment around a school decision, such as an IEP meeting in Henrico County or an admissions deadline at a Richmond-area private school, tell us at the consultation. We'll map the timeline backward from your deadline and tell you honestly whether it's realistic.
- How to Prepare Your Child for Psychological Testing: Advice for Richmond-Area Families - what to say to your child, what to bring, and what testing day actually looks like
- What a Comprehensive Assessment Report Includes - A Guide for Richmond, VA Families - a section-by-section walkthrough of the report you'll receive at the end of the process
