The Assessment Process
You may have concerns regarding your child's development, but you don't know where to start in terms of getting help, or deciding which action plan to follow. I value the opportunity to consult with parents about their concerns before engaging in assessment. All of my work with clients begins with a no-fee telephone consultation regarding your concerns to ensure that the psychoeducational assessment you are inquiring about is the best course of action. Sometimes, psychoeducational assessment is not the best place to start, depending on your child's age, development, and presenting needs. If I feel that your child and your family will be best served by accessing a different type of service, I will let you know.
If we collectively decide that a psychoeducational assessment is the best next-step for your child, the assessment proceeds through four or five phases, depending upon the referral question.
Clinical Interview
Every Assessment I undertake begins with a comprehensive, developmental interview with parents. This provides me with information about your child's development from pregnancy until current to provide context around your child's presentation, and to get a sense of them through your eyes.
Rating Scales
If your referral question, and the assessment we are undertaking, involves questions about your child's behavioural, emotional, or adaptive skills, there will be a series of rating scales administered to key caregivers in your child's life. This phase takes place in a more comprehensive assessment, such as those examining ADHD, or mood/behavioural disorders.
Standardized Assessment
The assessment phase involves direct, one-on-one work with your child, and is the core assessment included in any assessment type. In these sessions, I interview your child on their school, social, and emotional experience, and collect information regarding their cognitive and academic development. This allows me to develop a profile of strengths and needs to inform educational programming.
Analysis and Report Preparation
All assessment types involve the analysis of the collected data and the development of a Psychoeducational Assessment Report. This document summarizes the important historical information to know about your child, my observations during testing, details of assessment outcomes, strategies to support their growth, as well as any diagnostic conclusions based upon the outcomes of the assessment.
Assessment Debrief
All assessment types include a review meeting with me to discuss the outcomes of your child's assessment. I will review the interview information, my observations, walk you through the statistics of standardized testing (and rating scales if administered), and summarize any diagnostic conclusions as a result of the assessment.
A copy of the Psychoeducational Report is released to you after a final edit, and after all service fees have been settled. Once provided, this document belongs to you, and you can choose to share this with other professionals involved in your child's care.