FAQs About Types of Psychological Assessments
What is a Psychoeducational Assessment? |
Psychoeducational evaluations are often useful when a student is experiencing academic difficulties, and one wishes to know why and how best to help. This type of assessment is also used to evaluate gifted status. The results provide a better understanding of the student's cognitive abilities, and help to provide an action plan for addressing the student's educational needs.
Psychoeducational testing draws upon research about brain function in order to inform educational interventions (everything from school placement to what type of reading instruction will be effective). The recommendations from psychoeducational testing are informed by the science of learning, brain development, and educational interventions. I combine neuropsychological depth with evidence-based educational recommendations to ensure that my reports are both comprehensive and useful.
Psychoeducational testing is often recommended for:
Most importantly, test data are used to create an evidence-based action plan and recommendations.
How is a psychoeducational assessment different to a neuropsychological assessment?
Compared to a neuropsychological assessment, a psychoeducational assessment typically focuses on intellectual
and academic functioning. A psychoeducational assessment is usually requested if a learning disability or attention problem is suspected, and there is a goal of knowing whether the student qualifies for accommodations and resources.
Psychoeducational testing draws upon research about brain function in order to inform educational interventions (everything from school placement to what type of reading instruction will be effective). The recommendations from psychoeducational testing are informed by the science of learning, brain development, and educational interventions. I combine neuropsychological depth with evidence-based educational recommendations to ensure that my reports are both comprehensive and useful.
Psychoeducational testing is often recommended for:
- Testing for Learning Disabilities
- Testing for ADHD
- Testing for Autistic Spectrum Disorders
- Eligibility for Special Education (testing for an IEP, for LSAT, GRE, MCAT accommodations, and for College accommodations)
- Special education decisions
- School placement, including admissions testing, or finding the right school for your child
- Testing to understand behavioral concerns/uncooperative behavior
- Determining why a child is not achieving at his or her potential
- Transition Planning (for career training and services such as Community Living BC)
Most importantly, test data are used to create an evidence-based action plan and recommendations.
How is a psychoeducational assessment different to a neuropsychological assessment?
Compared to a neuropsychological assessment, a psychoeducational assessment typically focuses on intellectual
and academic functioning. A psychoeducational assessment is usually requested if a learning disability or attention problem is suspected, and there is a goal of knowing whether the student qualifies for accommodations and resources.
What is a Section 211 Assessment?A Section 211 (custody and access) assessment is prepared by an expert, called an evaluator or an assessor, to help you and your ex-partner and/or the court make decisions about custody (parenting responsibilities) and access (parenting time). A s. 211 assessment gives the judge independent evidence about what is in the best interests of your child. The evaluator speaks with you, your ex-partner, your child, and potentially some other important adults in your child's life such as teachers, doctors, new partners, and relatives. They read documents that are relevant to understanding you, your ex-partner, and your child. They observe how your child interacts with you and your ex-partner. They interact with and interview your child (depending on your child's age). They put all this information into a report and make a recommendation on what they think is best for your child. This report can be used as evidence in your court case.
Section 211 assessments are often requested because one or both parents raise concerns about the other. Sometimes, concerns are raised about the child and what it would be like for them living with one of the parents. Often neither parent believes that the other should have much contact with the child(ren), or one parent believes that the parents should share equal parenting time and responsibilities, while the other party believes that they should be the sole parent. These types of situations generate divisive issues regarding parental rights and developmentally appropriate access and care of children. They require the careful assessment of parental fitness, the family circumstances, and the needs of the child. |
What is a Views of the Child Assessment?A Views of the Child assessment is prepared by an expert, called an evaluator or an assessor, to help you and your ex-partner and/or the court make decisions about custody (parenting responsibilities) and access (parenting time). Unlike a Section 211 assessment, which is comprehensive and considers parental fitness, family circumstances, and needs of the children, a Views of the Child assessment only considers the views and wishes of your child. The purpose of the assessment is to give your child an opportunity to have their voice heard before any final decisions are made.
A Views of the Child assessor will speak with your child, most often on two occasions. Usually, you and your ex-partner take turns dropping off and picking up your child from the assessor's office, or a neutral, third-person will drop off and/or pick up your child from the assessor's office. You and your ex-partner will not be interviewed. In a Views of the Child Report, a psychological expert obtains and present a child's views, and, to the extent possible, they opine on the strength and consistency of the child’s views and/or the likelihood that the child’s expressed views reflect the child’s actual views (versus views that have been influenced by external factors). What is a Voice of the Child / Hear the Child Assessment?A Voice of / Hear the Child Report is identical to a Views of the Child assessment in all but one way: in a Voice of/Hear the Child assessment, a psychological expert obtains and presents a child's views without offering any opinion about what the child has said.
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What is a Parenting Capacity Assessment?
Usually Parenting Capacity Assessments (PCA’s) are requested by a Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) social worker when concerns arise in regards to parenting. The MCFD social worker asks a psychological expert who is neutral and independent to provide an objective opinion regarding an individual's parenting competence.
The purpose of a PCA is to provide information about:
PCAs also typically provide information about how best to support a parent to address any weaknesses that are present in their parenting.
The information collected and summarized in a PCA report is designed to help the MCFD and/or the court make decisions about a child's future, including whether the child should live with their parent and/or how much time the child should spend with their parent.
The purpose of a PCA is to provide information about:
- a parent's strengths and weaknesses (i.e., their abilities as a parent);
- a child's needs (e.g., developmental, emotional, cognitive, physical, material, special medical or psychological needs); and,
- the fit between a parent's ability and a child's needs.
PCAs also typically provide information about how best to support a parent to address any weaknesses that are present in their parenting.
The information collected and summarized in a PCA report is designed to help the MCFD and/or the court make decisions about a child's future, including whether the child should live with their parent and/or how much time the child should spend with their parent.
Signs of Adult Autism
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What is Autism?The answer to this question depends on one's point of view.
The medical perspective sees autism as a disorder (that is why the formal label used within the medical community is that of 'autism spectrum disorder'). In the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5), autism spectrum disorder is described as a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by difficulties in social communication and interaction, as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. The psychological perspective is similar to the medical perspective in that it views autism as a disorder. However, the psychological model posits that multiple factors contribute to the development of a disorder (in contrast, medical models often identify only biological factors). These factors include biological (e.g., physiology, neurology, genetics), psychological (e.g., ways of thinking), and social (e.g., the environment). The neurodivergent perspective defines autism as a genetically-based human neurological variant (i.e., 'a difference' like those we see in sexual orientation). More detailed definitions can be found here: https://neurocosmopolitanism.com/what-is-autism/ https://autisticadvocacy.org/about-asan/about-autism/ https://neuroclastic.com/2019/10/11/a-communal-definition-of-autism/ If a disability is associated with autism, the medical model sees that disability as arising directly as a result of neurological differences (e.g., relationship difficulties, wandering). In contrast, the neurodivergent community proposes a social model of disability where autistic people and others with neurocognitive differences are primarily disadvantaged by a society that wasn’t designed for them (other issues are usually seen as co-occuring difficulties - e.g., wandering). |
