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Testing and
Counseling Interview Questions |
When inquiring about services for your
child, it is important to be candid regarding your motives
for seeking professional assistance. It is equally important
that the professional be candid with you by providing
detailed information about his/her services and experience
related to the gifted population.
Below is a list of possible questions
that may assist you in getting a better sense of the testing
and counseling professional's experience, practices and
ability to work with your child. You can review the topic-related
questions by clicking on the links below, or you can review
all of the questions at your leisure. There are no "right"
answers; it is more likely that your conversation with
the professional will be the best indicator as to which
one will work best with your child. Ask as many questions
as necessary to generate the answers that you need.
B. Testing
and Assessment Professionals: Specific Questions
C. Counseling and
Therapy Professionals: Specific Questions
| A.
Testing and Assessment & Counseling and Therapy
Professional Questions |
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1. Tell me about your experience
working with intellectually gifted children.
- How long have you been working
with this population?
- What age(s) do you work with
most often?
- Approximately, how many gifted
youths have you worked with over the past year?
- What method(s) do you use to
determine if a youth is gifted?
- In your experience, how is
working with gifted youths different from working
with other youths?
- Have you ever worked with a
profoundly gifted youth?
- Have you ever worked
with youths with uneven intellectual profiles
[e.g. extremely gifted in some area(s) and learning
disabled (LD) in others?]
2. What are the costs involved
for your services?
- What EXACTLY is included in
this fee?
- What is the billing cycle for
these services?
- Do you offer any kind of sliding
scale or financial assistance?
- Are you aware of any outside
sources of financial assistance that may help
us cover the cost of your services? (e.g. the
state, a school district, insurance)
- Can you assist us with this
process?
- How successful have your
other clients been in pursuing outside sources
of financial assistance?
3. What sort of referrals and
advice do you offer for services that are beyond
your area of expertise?
- What are the circumstances
under which you might refer us to other professionals?
- What criteria do you use when
selecting professionals for the purpose of referrals?
- Do you have certain
colleagues with whom you regularly consult?
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| B.
Testing and Assessment Professional Questions |
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1. Tell me about the process
involved in getting my child tested.
- How long does it take?
- What does the testing process
involve?
- How do you “prepare” the young
people with whom you work?
- How do you determine which
test(s) to administer to your clients?
- Are parents involved in the
process of evaluation? If so, how?
- What happens when you get the
results?
- What kind of a report
will we receive?
2. How will you assist us in
using the results?
- Will you explain the
results directly to the youth, or is this something
that parents are expected to do?
- Do you interface with school
officials to help advocate for your clients? If
so, how? (e.g. write a letter or talk to school
officials)
- Are there additional charges
for helping with advocacy or is this included
in the cost of your services?
- Are you familiar with the eligibility
criteria for gifted programs in public schools
at the state and local levels?
- Are you familiar with the eligibility
criteria for gifted programs organized by private
entities?
- Are you in favor of acceleration?
Why?
3. What sort of difficulties
have your clients encountered when advocating for
their child based on the results?
- How are you able to assist
clients with these difficulties?
- Have you been successful in
overcoming these obstacles?
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| C.
Counseling and Therapy Professional Questions |
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1. In your experience, what
types of psychological or emotional difficulties
are common among highly gifted children?
- Why do such difficulties emerge?
- Are these difficulties unique
to “gifted” children, or are they common among
all children?
- At what age/under what conditions
do these difficulties typically appear?
- Are there strategies
that you use to help the child/family deal with
these kinds of issues?
2. What is your approach to
therapy?
- What is your theoretical approach?
(e.g. behavioral, cognitive, developmental, humanistic,
psychoanalytic, etc.)
- Are there common strategies
or techniques that you use when working with young
people? If so, what are they?
- Tell me a little about how
and why these techniques have worked for you.
How do gifted youths respond to these techniques?
- How are parents involved in
this process?
- What services do you provide
to the families of gifted youths? What is the
cost for these services?
3. How and at what point do
you feel the counseling/therapy has been “successful”?
- How do you define your treatment
goals?
- What is the average range of
time that you consider appropriate for counseling/therapy?
- Do you provide any follow-up
services to your clients? If so, what are they?
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The Institute welcomes
your comments, questions and suggestions!
Please email us at grc@educationaladvancement.org.
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