How a Child's Differential Diagnostic Assessment Works

A child's differential diagnostic assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of speech, attention, memory, motor skills, and behavior that helps tell one developmental issue apart from another and choose the right path for correction, instead of starting sessions based on guesswork.

The same outward sign — a child talks little, won't sit still, gets irritated often — can have a different underlying cause: speech-related, tied to how the brain works, behavioral, or a mix of these. Differential diagnostics at Skazka Center is carried out jointly by speech therapist-defectologist Evgeniya Romanenko and neuropsychologist Anna Glazyrina, so the child is evaluated from two angles at once, not through a single narrow lens.

What the assessment includes

Step 1: booking and history

Before the visit, the administrator confirms the child's age and the main concern — this helps the specialists prepare materials for the assessment in advance. The developmental questionnaire (pregnancy, birth, early development, past illnesses, and observations from teachers) is filled out by parents ahead of time or at the appointment. The more detailed the answers, the more accurately the specialists can see the picture before the tests begin.

Step 2: the assessment — 60–90 minutes, game-based

The assessment takes place over one or two visits, depending on the child's age and how quickly they tire: for younger children, it's sometimes more comfortable to split the diagnostic session into two shorter sessions. The format is play, not table-based testing: the specialists use cards, toys, and movement-based tasks so the child doesn't experience it as an exam.

During this time, the speech therapist-defectologist evaluates pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, connected speech, and comprehension of directed speech. The neuropsychologist looks at how attention, memory, spatial awareness, motor skills, and self-regulation are working — the functions that learning and behavior depend on. Parents are usually nearby or in an adjacent room during this time; whether they're present depends on the child's age and how they react to a new setting.

Step 3: reviewing the results with parents

After the assessment, there's a separate meeting with adults only — without the child, so everything can be discussed calmly, including more difficult points. The specialists explain what the assessment showed: which functions are developing on schedule and which need attention, and what that might be related to. The report isn't reduced to "everything's fine" or "there's a disorder" — parents get a clear picture of the child's strengths and the areas of development that need support.

Step 4: the path forward

If correction is needed after the assessment, the specialists work with parents to set priorities: what to start first and what can wait. From there, you can book speech therapy sessions or a neurocorrection course, or both in parallel if the speech therapist and neuropsychologist recommend working together. The assessment doesn't obligate you to continue sessions specifically at Skazka — the report and recommendations can be used with other specialists too.

Where the assessment takes place

Differential diagnostics is currently held only at Skazka Center's Bendery branch, at Kalinina St. 45, 2nd floor. This applies to families from Tiraspol too: they come to Bendery for the assessment, and follow-up sessions — speech therapy or neurocorrection — can be held at whichever branch is convenient afterward, including Tiraspol. For details on the branch, address, and booking, see the differential diagnostics in Bendery page. For a general description of the method and indications, see the differential diagnostics page.

How to prepare your child for the visit

• come to the assessment when the child is well-rested and not hungry — fatigue skews the results of attention tests;
• bring records from other doctors or specialist reports, if you have them;
• don't prepare the child specially or coach "correct answers" — the specialists need to see the real picture, not rehearsed responses;
• avoid overloading the child with new activities the day before the visit.

If it's still unclear why differential diagnostics specifically matters and how it differs from a regular consultation with a single specialist, this is explained in detail in the article What Is Differential Diagnostics.