our waitlist is currently closed- We are not accepting new clients at this time.

919-608-4483

Strong Start Psychological Services, PLLC
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    • Welcome
    • About
      • Providers
      • Our Office
      • Insurance
      • Blog
      • FAQs
    • Testing Services
      • Comprehensive Testing
      • Autism Testing
      • Psychoeducational Testing
      • Early K Testing
    • Parenting Services
    • Contact
      • Contact Form
      • Location
    • Client Portal

919-608-4483

Strong Start Psychological Services, PLLC

Signed in as:

filler@godaddy.com

  • Welcome
  • About
    • Providers
    • Our Office
    • Insurance
    • Blog
    • FAQs
  • Testing Services
    • Comprehensive Testing
    • Autism Testing
    • Psychoeducational Testing
    • Early K Testing
  • Parenting Services
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Location
  • Client Portal

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Comprehensive Developmental & Psychological Testing

Children sitting on a wall together, smiling

Strong Start Psychological Services is a specialty early childhood psychology practice that offers Comprehensive Developmental & Psychological Testing to young children birth through age six for the early identification of neurodevelopmental and behavioral health concerns. The goal of completing comprehensive testing with young children is to identify a child’s individual strengths and areas of need, and to provide diagnostic clarity and appropriate recommendations to support parent(s)/caregiver(s) in fostering their child’s ongoing growth and development. Our Comprehensive Developmental & Psychological Testing service assesses across the following:


Neurodevelopmental Concerns: 

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • Developmental Delay
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)


Behavioral Health Concerns:

  • Anxiety concerns
  • Mood concerns
  • Aggressive and/or non-compliant behavior 
  • Sleep concerns
  • Feeding concerns
  • Elimination/toileting delay or difficulties
  • Trauma/stress/adjustment challenges
  • Relationship/attachment issues

Our Approach

Young boy laying spread out on the ground surround by blocks, smiling.

Our approach to psychological testing is to provide an individualized, excellent experience for each child and family. We tailor our testing based on presenting concern, age, and special needs of each child. While we offer expertise in early childhood development and mental health, we highlight caregivers as the foremost experts of their children and work closely with each family throughout the testing process to gather the fullest picture of every child’s strengths and areas of need.


We believe that comprehensive developmental and psychological testing to assess across related concerns (e.g., testing for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), challenging behavior, anxiety, etc.), rather than disorder-specific testing (e.g., 'Autism Testing') is critical for both “ruling-in” and “ruling-out” diagnoses. This approach provides diagnostic clarity, informs your child’s individual needs and recommendations, and highlights your child's strengths. Because we specialize in the assessment of young children, our service includes both developmental testing and psychological testing, assessing across all relevant domains of a young child’s development (e.g., cognitive skills, communication skills, motor skills, adaptive skills, social-emotional skills, behavioral functioning, emotional functioning, relationships, early academic skills). We consider the whole child and family, and utilize “gold standard” standardized assessment measures and tools (e.g., ADOS-II, WPPSI-IV, Bayley-IV). We are committed to ensuring that families fully understand all testing results and specific research-based recommendations, taking time to thoroughly answer all questions.

At what age can my child complete testing?

The earlier a child's strengths and areas of need are identified, the sooner they can be connected with appropriate supports and services. But just how early can concerns be reliably evaluated and identified? 


Below is an outline of what concerns we typically complete developmental and psychological testing for based on your child's age (e.g., age for testing for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)). Note, this list is not exhaustive nor set in stone. Children typically demonstrate symptoms of diagnoses prior to meeting criteria for a diagnosis, particularly behavioral health concerns. Therefore, if concerns are caught early, we can support a prevention approach. In those cases, you may be interested in attending one of our Prevention Series Parenting Workshops. Regardless, if you have a concern and are not sure if we can help- please ask! 

Infant sitting in the grass wearing sunglasses

Birth - Age 6

Birth - Age 6

Birth - Age 6

* Developmental Delay/s

    - Thinking skills

    - Communication skills

    - Motor skills

    - Adaptive skills

    - Social-emotional skills

* Relationship/attachment concerns

Toddler sitting on a decorative structure outside smiling with headphones on

Ages 2-6

Birth - Age 6

Birth - Age 6

*  Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

* Aggressive and/or challenging       behavior  

* Feeding concerns

* Sleep concerns

* Elimination/toileting delay or difficulty

* Trauma/adjustment concerns 

Young girl running through a sprinkler outside with younger brother watching

Ages 3-6

Birth - Age 6

Ages 3-6

* Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

* Anxiety concerns

* Mood concerns

  

What to Expect

Our Waitlist is Closed. For clients already on the Waitlist:

SCHEDULING 

  1. If you have already joined the waitlist for Comprehensive Developmental & Psychological Testing appointment, including autism testing, for your child or if your child was referred by a provider, you will be contacted when the next appointment becomes available. 
  2. Once scheduled, you will be invited to a secure Client Portal where you will be asked to complete intake paperwork prior to the first appointment.  Within the Client Portal, you can communicate with us, access forms and records, and manage appointments. 


INITIAL APPOINTMENT 

  1. The Initial Appointment is a Video Telehealth Appointment. During this appointment, Dr. Kulish-Avery will gather relevant background and clinical information and conduct a brief observation of your child. The appointment duration is about 45 minutes in length.


TESTING APPOINTMENT 

  1. During the Testing Appointment, Dr. Kulish-Avery will gather additional relevant clinical information during a Parent/Caregiver Interview and administer standardized assessment measures with your child. The appointment duration is between 3 and 5 hours including breaks.
  2. The Testing Appointment takes place at our office centrally located for residents of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park. 


FEEDBACK APPOINTMENT 

  1. A Feedback Appointment will be scheduled for 1-2 weeks after the Testing Appointment. During this appointment, Dr. Kulish-Avery will review psychological evaluation results, provide individualized recommendations and resources, and share the psychological evaluation report. 
  2. The Feedback Appointment can take place at our office centrally located for residents of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park or via Telehealth.

Learn More

Our waitlist is currently closed.

Insurance

In-Network

Out-of-Network

Out-of-Network

Comprehensive Developmental & Psychological Testing is a covered service by many insurance carriers. Strong Start Psychological Services is an in-network service provider with the following insurance carriers:


- Aetna

- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina

- Carolina Complete Health

- Healthy Blue of NC

- NC Medicaid Direct (Vaya & Alliance)

- United Healthcare Community Plan of NC

- Wellcare of NC


Prior to confirming a scheduled appointment, we will confirm your child's insurance eligibility. Initial online paperwork will provide you with information about any expected out-of-pocket costs (e.g., copayments, deductible amounts) for the service. Applicable out-of-pocket costs are due at the start of each appointment.


Out-of-Network

Out-of-Network

Out-of-Network

If your child has any other insurance coverage than those listed in our 'In-Network' section, you will be charged the full self-pay amount for testing services. You are responsible for the full payment for the testing services to Strong Start Psychological Services, PLLC, at the first appointment. 


Upon request, we are happy to provide a Superbill (summary of services rendered) for you to submit directly to your child's insurance carrier for your own direct reimbursement from the insurance carrier at the conclusion of services. If you choose to submit to your child's insurance carrier for reimbursement, you are responsible for confirming eligibility for services prior to the Testing Appointment (ALL relevant CPT codes for the comprehensive testing service: 90791, 96136, 96137, 96130, 96131). Your child's insurance may or may not cover services from an out-of-network provider.




Payment

Payment Methods

No Surprises Act & Good Faith Estimate

No Surprises Act & Good Faith Estimate

Strong Start Psychological Services, PLLC, accepts payments for fees for services in the following forms: 

  • Check (payable to: Strong Start Psychological Services, PLLC)
  • Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover, Diners Club)
  • Debit card
  • Flexible Spending Account (FSA) card
  • Health Savings Account (HSA) card 

No Surprises Act & Good Faith Estimate

No Surprises Act & Good Faith Estimate

No Surprises Act & Good Faith Estimate

 In accord with the No Surprises Act, you have a right to a good faith estimate of what your services will cost. 

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Still have questions about our Comprehensive Developmental & Psychological Testing?

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Strong Start Psychological Services, PLLC

2310 S. Miami Blvd., Suite 135, Durham, NC 27703

P: 919-608-4483 F: 919-294-6534

Copyright © 2023 Strong Start Psychological Services, PLLC - All Rights Reserved.

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