Temperament describes the way a person perceives and responds to his or her environment; it is constitutionally and biologically based. Children of different temperaments will respond differently, some times radically differently, to the same situation. In order for parenting to be effective, parents must interact with children in a way that fits with a child’s temperament; and in order for a child to be successful in a particular environment or endeavor, he or she needs to have the temperamental resources to required to do so.
We often use a temperament assessment to understand how traits such as adaptability, sensitivity, intensity, and preferences regarding new people and places conditions a particular child’s tendencies regarding sleep, discipline, separations, social skills and communication. The assessment process involves parents filling out a short behavioral questionnaire and returning it by fax or email. The results of the assessment give us a much richer understanding of the internal influences on a child’s behavior and allow for more accurate and individually specific interventions. Parents find that the insight available through the lens of temperament allows them to parent more effectively. They are able to begin to predict and avoid many problems, rather than trying to solve problems after they create a disruption. Once parents have a basic understanding of their child’s temperament, it is easily applied to future issues.
Temperament evaluations can be done in conjunction with any consultation service, an additional 15 minutes will be billed to cover time required to score the assessment.
