If you or your child has a psychological or psychoeducational evaluation coming up at a Philadelphia-area practice, you might be wondering what you can actually do to prepare. The short answer: more than you think, and most of it is straightforward.
Testing results are most useful when they reflect how you or your child actually function day to day. That means showing up well-rested, fed, and as close to baseline as possible. It does not mean cramming, practicing, or trying to perform. In fact, attempting to prep for the test itself is one of the most common mistakes families make, and it can actually work against you.
This guide walks through everything you need to know leading up to your evaluation at Daisy + Co. Therapy in Center City Philadelphia, from the week before your first session through the morning of.
Why Preparation Matters for Psychological Evaluations in Philadelphia and Beyond
Psychological and psychoeducational evaluations involve a battery of standardized instruments designed to capture how your brain processes information, manages attention, regulates emotion, and makes sense of language, memory, and social cues. The results are compared against norms for your age group.
What that means practically: your score is meaningful only in the context of how you typically function. A person who slept two hours and skipped breakfast before a cognitive assessment will not perform the way they normally would. And because evaluations are clinical documents used to make real decisions about diagnosis, accommodations, and treatment, accuracy matters.
Preparation is not about boosting scores. It is about removing obstacles to accuracy.
The Week Before Your Evaluation
Get your paperwork in order.
If your evaluation is at Daisy + Co. Therapy, all consent documentation must be completed at least 48 hours before your first testing session. Do not wait until the night before. Getting paperwork done early means one less thing on your mind as the appointment approaches.
Review any rating scales or questionnaires sent to you.
Many evaluations include parent, teacher, or self-report rating scales completed before testing begins. If you have not received these or are unsure what is expected of you, reach out to the admin team. Completing these forms thoughtfully, and in advance, gives your evaluator richer context before you even walk in the door.
Talk to your child.
If the evaluation is for your child, a brief age-appropriate conversation can make a significant difference. You do not need to over-explain, but letting them know what to expect, that there are no right or wrong answers, that they will not be graded, and that the goal is just to learn how their brain works best, can lower anxiety considerably.
Ask your evaluator about medications.
This one is important enough to address on its own. If you or your child takes stimulant medication for ADHD, talk to your evaluator before your first testing session about whether to take it as usual. The answer depends on what your evaluation is designed to capture. Your evaluator needs to weigh in on this directly. Do not make a medication change without that conversation.
Plan your logistics.
Daisy + Co. Therapy is located in Center City Philadelphia at 1518 Walnut Street, Suite 305. Parking in Center City can be challenging, especially during peak hours. Build in at least 15 extra minutes if you are driving. The nearest parking garage is at 1500 Walnut Street, approximately a 4-minute walk. If you are taking public transit, the closest bus stops are at 16th and Walnut (3-minute walk) and Broad and Walnut (2-minute walk). The 15th Street Trolley Station is about a 9-minute walk.
The Night Before Your Evaluation
Prioritize sleep above everything else.
This is not a suggestion. Cognitive testing is acutely sensitive to sleep deprivation. Poor sleep affects processing speed, working memory, sustained attention, and emotional regulation, which are often the exact domains being assessed. A full night of sleep is one of the highest-impact things you can do.
For children, keep the evening calm and screen-light. A low-stimulation wind-down routine makes a meaningful difference, especially for kids who already struggle with sleep or anxiety.
Avoid alcohol.
If you have any concerns that changes to your typical routine could affect your results, including this one, contact the practice ahead of time so your evaluator can advise based on your specific situation.
Eat a real dinner and stay hydrated.
Do not arrive at testing on empty. A proper meal the night before sets you up for a better morning and helps regulate mood and energy going into the session.
Lay out what you need.
Testing sessions run three hours or longer. Pack a water bottle and a snack, especially if you or your child tends to hit a wall mid-morning. Have everything ready the night before so the morning is not rushed.
Limit screens before bed.
For children especially, scrolling before sleep delays the onset of restorative sleep. This is worth enforcing the night before testing even if it is not a usual rule.
The Day of Your Psychological Evaluation in Philadelphia
Eat before you come in.
Do not skip breakfast. A solid meal before your session supports energy, focus, and emotional regulation throughout testing. For children who tend to lose steam or get dysregulated when hungry, a snack in your bag is a reasonable backup plan.
Take medications as usual.
Unless your evaluator has specifically instructed otherwise, take all medications on your or your child’s regular schedule. If you have not already had the conversation about stimulant medications and whether to take them before testing, reach out before the morning of your session. That question belongs in a conversation with your evaluator, not decided at the last minute.
Keep caffeine to your normal amount.
More caffeine than usual can increase anxiety and affect attention regulation in ways that do not reflect your typical functioning. If you normally have coffee in the morning, have it. If you do not, skip it.
Keep the morning low-key.
Avoid overscheduling or stressful activities before the appointment. This applies especially to children. A calm morning significantly affects how settled a person is when they sit down to start testing.
Arrive a few minutes early.
Coming in rushed and dysregulated right before testing is one of the easiest variables to control. Plan to arrive a few minutes before your scheduled session time.
Wear comfortable clothing.
Testing sessions are long. Comfort matters more than appearance.
Tell your evaluator if something is off.
If you or your child did not sleep well, are coming in sick, are having an unusually hard day, or if anything about your normal routine was different leading up to the session, tell your evaluator at the start. This is exactly the kind of context that belongs in the clinical record and helps your evaluator interpret results accurately. It does not disqualify your results. It makes them more meaningful.
What Not to Do Before a Psychological Evaluation
Do not try to practice or research the tests.
This is worth stating directly. Many families arrive wanting to know what kinds of tasks are involved so they can prepare. The answer is that preparation changes your score in ways that make the results less accurate, not more. Standardized testing instruments are normed against people who are encountering them for the first time. Your evaluator needs to see your baseline, not your rehearsed performance.
Do not coach your child on how to answer.
For ADHD, ASD, or other diagnostic evaluations, it can be tempting to prime your child with what to say or how to respond. This can distort the picture significantly, particularly on behavioral and social-communication measures. Trust the process.
Do not over-explain the stakes.
Children pick up on adult anxiety. If a parent conveys that this evaluation is very important and that the child needs to try their absolute hardest, it often produces exactly the kind of performance anxiety that gets in the way of natural, representative responding. Let the evaluator set the tone once you are in the room.
What Happens at Daisy + Co. Therapy After Testing
Once all required testing sessions are complete, your evaluator will analyze your results and prepare a comprehensive written report. Private pay clients can expect their report within three weeks of the final testing session.
Your report will include background and history, behavioral observations from testing, full test results with scores and plain-language explanations, clinical interpretation, a diagnosis or diagnostic impression, and specific actionable recommendations.
After your report is ready, you will be scheduled for a feedback session to walk through every finding in detail with your evaluator. This is a dedicated appointment, not a brief handoff. You will have time to ask questions and discuss next steps.
Ready to Get Started?
Daisy + Co. Therapy offers psychological and psychoeducational evaluations for children and adults in Center City Philadelphia, with a range of evaluation types including ADHD assessments, ASD evaluations, cognitive and IQ testing, and more.
If you have questions about whether an evaluation is right for you or your child, or if you would like to learn more about the process before committing, we are happy to help. Reach us at hello@daisyandcotherapy.com or call/text 267-219-8242.
Daisy + Co. Therapy is located at 1518 Walnut Street, Suite 305, Philadelphia, PA 19102. We serve clients throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding region.