Testing & Support Center

As former teachers, now mental health professionals with children of our own, we have tremendous empathy for families struggling to find their path through the social, emotional, and academic challenges of childhood and adolescent years. These challenges can be especially acute for non-traditional learners. Gifted students, twice-exceptional students, and those with challenges such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, sensory disorder, spectrum disorder or those dealing with overwhelming life events often struggle to find their place. It doesn't have to be this hard. We work with families to provide assessments that identify the cognitive, social-emotional, and psychological barriers to a child's success. If needed, our combined 30 years in education allows us to act as a bridge between school and home, helping parents/caregivers understand and address academic concerns, while helping schools and teachers appreciate students' unique psychosocial and educational needs. OUR FIRST STEP is to sit down with you during a free, 30-minute consultation to hear your story and decide together on assessments that can provide context and a deeper understanding of your child's educational, emotional or behavioral profile. Then, our services are most often like fingerprints, combining a unique selection of tests and assessments based on the young person, family, and educational needs. We also package assessments into "psychoeducational" and "social-emotional" buckets to look broadly at these two important areas of a child's life, with the option to follow up with more focused assessments based on screening results. Clover Learning Center is committed to being a sounding board and compassionate resource for families of all means. We do not directly bill insurance but can generate a superbill for insurance reimbursement. We offer services at our location in Lafayette, Colorado and also offer most assessments remotely. We look forward to working with you to discover your child's strengths while creating strategies to support your child as they grow through their challenges into unique and resilient learners and human beings. Here are examples of the SERVICES WE OFFER: Educational Assessment Full review of cognitive function and performance including a comprehensive evaluation of IQ (WISC-V) to define areas of difference between ability and achievement, with additional screenings for giftedness, dyslexia, dysgraphia, autism-spectrum disorder, learning style, sensory processing disorder, twice-exceptionality. Social-Emotional Evaluation This is a broad review of psychological and social-emotional health with screening for issues including depression, anxiety, PTSD, disruptive behavior disorders and more. IQ Testing Independent of our overall Educational Assessment, we also administer the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) individually, the most comprehensive and precise way to measure cognitive ability across domains. Personality Testing Myers-Briggs personality testing can provide context for decisions on issues such as school choice, gap year planning, college applications and more. Personality testing can also inform learning style and best methods of support. Dyslexia Testing This more focused dyslexia assessment often follows positive screening results or a request for a specific dyslexia assessment. This test is most often paired with cognitive testing. Speech & Language Screener Speech pathologists assess a young person's ability to communicate with words. Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluation This evaluation provides autism-specific evaluations to help diagnose ASD. This in-depth assessment often follows positive screening results from Neuropsychological Evaluation or requested ASD assessment from school or other members of a family's mental health support team. Homeschool Progress Monitoring Evaluation These assessments can identify if a child is meeting age and grade-level expectations. These assessments and recommendations can guide critical curriculum decisions. Kindergarten Readiness These assessments can identify if a child is meeting expectations for Pre-K skills and if there are skills that should be reinforced before Kindergarten. Consultation All assessments include a comprehensive review and interpretation of findings with families. In addition, we are often asked to consult in the following topics /contexts: • Working with schools to design and implement accommodations or learning plans • Consulting with medical & mental health professionals in a family's support team • Offering expert advice based on families' individual needs on topics including school choice, gap-year planning, planning for ongoing student support, student motivation, student support during changing family dynamics ABOUT KRISTI Kristi Pikiewicz, PhD, earned a Bachelor of Science with an Environmental Science Major from Allegheny College, a teaching certificate from Western Washington University, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She completed pre-doctoral practicum at the Nan Tolbert Nurturing Center in Ojai, CA, and postdoctoral Internship at the Boulder Institute for Psychotherapy and Research in Boulder, CO, working with a range of adult, adolescent and child patients. Her PhD dissertation focused on post-traumatic growth in mothers with children experiencing serious or chronic illness. Kristi has been managing editor of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 39 academic journal, InSight, and liaison for the Division's online presence at PsychologyToday.com. She has presented original research at numerous conferences including multiple national APA meetings, and has published psychological and school curriculum through the publishers Teacher Created Materials, Corwin Press, Shell Education, and others. She is a current member of the USA Climbing Medical Task Force, where she collaborates to establish best practices for athlete mental health. Colorado License #LPCC.0020161 ABOUT LIZ Liz Rippey received her BA from Loyola University in Baltimore, MD and her M.Ed from Queens University in Charlotte, NC. With a passion for literacy, Liz furthered her training at Teachers College of Columbia University in NYC and with Orton Gillingham Certified training through The Orton Gillingham Academy. Her love of teaching continues to go beyond the classroom as she has presented at several local and international conferences. She is also a founding faculty member of the Trinity Teaching and Learning Center. In addition to her work at Clover Learning Center, Liz is Director of The Orchard Center, a Mackintosh Academy Center for Gifted Learners with Dyslexia.