Learning Disability, ADHD, & Psych-Ed Assessment in Halifax, Nova ScotiaI offer comprehensive psycho-educational assessments for children, adolescents, and adults and specialize in assessments for school-age children and university students.
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Is an assessment more than a diagnosis?
In addition to offering counselling and therapy for a host of psychological and emotional issues, I take great pride in providing psycho-educational, academic, and psycho-diagnostic adult / child assessments with clear, practical, and helpful recommendations (i.e., not just a diagnosis).
These types of assessments can usually be completed in just one day and can test for the presence and impact of various learning disorders (e.g., Reading Disorder, Mathematics Disorder, Disorder of Written Expression, Dyslexia), attention difficulties (e.g., ADD, ADHD), and social / emotional problems.
And yes, I am happy to offer a free, 30-minute, no-commitment consultation to any parents or individuals who are interested in a psycho-educational assessment.
Simply use the confidential contact form below to start the process.
In addition to offering counselling and therapy for a host of psychological and emotional issues, I take great pride in providing psycho-educational, academic, and psycho-diagnostic adult / child assessments with clear, practical, and helpful recommendations (i.e., not just a diagnosis).
These types of assessments can usually be completed in just one day and can test for the presence and impact of various learning disorders (e.g., Reading Disorder, Mathematics Disorder, Disorder of Written Expression, Dyslexia), attention difficulties (e.g., ADD, ADHD), and social / emotional problems.
And yes, I am happy to offer a free, 30-minute, no-commitment consultation to any parents or individuals who are interested in a psycho-educational assessment.
Simply use the confidential contact form below to start the process.
What is a psych-ed assessment?
The main goal of a psycho-educational assessment is to identify a child's, teen's, or adult's academic and cognitive / intellectual strengths and weaknesses using a variety of standardized evaluation measures.
This includes tests of reading, writing, verbal ability, mathematics, spelling, phonological skills, memory, cognitive processing speed, visual-spatial ability, verbal comprehension, reasoning and logic abilities, etc.
Additionally, it is important to determine an individual's unique learning style (we all have one) so that specific recommendations can be made to improve learning at school, at home, or at work.
Psycho-educational assessments are most often initiated by parents who notice that their children are struggling at school. They can also be very helpful for college or university students who may have an undiagnosed learning disability.
Understandably, parents are sometimes reluctant to have their children tested...no one wants to hear that there is something "wrong" with their child.
The good news is that you will not hear this from me.
People with learning disabilities are often quite intelligent but have not been able to fully demonstrate this intelligence in school due to a learning style that may not match the typical teaching and testing approaches in school.
Identifying this style, determining cognitive strengths and weakness, and getting the necessary support following a diagnosis can make a huge difference in a child's academic performance and yes, even their enjoyment of school!
What types of assessments do I provide?
I offer child, adolescent, and adult assessments for:
Learning Disabilities / Psych-Ed
More about Learning Disability assessment...
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ADHD
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Academic / IQ / Gifted
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What is my approach during an assessment?
Regardless of whether I am working with children or adults, I place great importance on making an assessment as comfortable and as low-stress as possible.
I do not believe that an assessment has to be unpleasant or anxiety-provoking, and should actually be enjoyable (imagine that!).
Especially with children, I am very relaxed and easy-going and try to make the day a positive experience. Yes, laughing and joking is encouraged and my goal is to send everyone home feeling better than when they came in.
You can also expect flexibility on my part and consideration for those who may not be able to complete testing in just one day.
Rather than simply push people onward if they are feeling tired or mentally fatigued, I would rather stop and book another appointment to complete testing. The goal is to determine someone’s optimal performance - not how well they do when they are stressed and someone is pressuring them to work!
What does a typical day of testing look like?
No assessment will be exactly the same as another, but for the purpose of this example, let's consider what a full psycho-educational assessment with an older adolescent on a single day may look like.
Three points to note:
- An adult assessment would be fairly similar but without the addition of a parent interview
- A child psych-ed assessment would very likely be completed over two half-days, rather than one full day
- An ADHD-only assessment requires significantly less time (and also has a lower fee)
9:00 - 10:30
Interview with parent(s) and adolescent
10:30 - 12:00
Intellectual testing
12:00 - 1:00
Lunch break
1:00 - 2:30
Academic testing
2:30 - 4:00
Any additional testing which may be appropriate such as Memory, Attention & Concentration, Executive Functioning, Motor Skills, Mental Health Measures, or Neurological Screening.
4:00 - 4:15
Meeting with parents to discuss the day of testing and initial impressions.
After the assessment day
In the following days, parents will be asked to complete additional questionnaires at home. They may also be asked to have their child's teacher complete several measures or feedback forms. As soon as the final report is complete, I will arrange a one-hour in-person feedback appointment to discuss the results and recommendations.
How does the free consultation work?
As you can probably tell, a proper assessment for learning disabilities, intellectual ability, ADHD, academic functioning, or giftedness can be quite an investment of time and energy.
Therefore, I am happy to offer a free 30 minute consultation appointment to anyone who is considering a full assessment.
This appointment can be used to determine if further testing is necessary, to answer any questions you may have, and to make sure that you feel comfortable with the process.
Please note that you must specifically request the free 30 minute minute consultation if you are interested in this service.
What are the fees for an assessment?
The current rate for assessment is $220 per hour of service. As is standard practice for psychologists, this rate applies to interviews, testing, scoring, report writing, and feedback sessions. There are no additional taxes.
Depending on the type of assessment and the time needed to complete necessary testing, the total cost of an assessment can range from $500 to $3235. I will also send you an estimate after you submit a request and will not exceed this estimate even if testing takes longer than anticipated.
Keep in mind that your insurance may cover most or even all of this cost, we can usually split fees between parents and children (doubling or tripling your insurance coverage), I can direct bill many insurance policies, and that the fees for Nova Scotia psychologists are tax deductible.
For more information, see Fees and Payment Options.
Are weekend and evening appointments available?
I understand that many people must work or go to school during normal weekday hours. Therefore, I am happy to offer evening and weekend appointments for psych-ed assessments.
Please submit your request below for available times.
What is my philosophy on reports, results, and recommendations?
I take pride in providing detailed, clearly written reports which directly address the referral question(s) you were seeking answers for.
Following an assessment, you will not receive vague, less than informative comments that are often seen on report cards these days (such as "meeting expectations" or "not yet meeting expectations").
Instead, you will be provided with actual performance and achievement scores, grade equivalents, specific areas of strength and weakness, percentile ranks, and anything else I can offer to clarify the results of testing and the diagnoses.
I also understand that most people are not simply interested in how they did or whether or not they meet the diagnostic criteria for a particular problem.
Rather, they want to know what they should actually do with this information and how they can use it. Therefore, I will always provide detailed advice and specific recommendations on how you can address the issue(s) which initiated the assessment.
I can provide my initial impressions on the same day of the assessment, immediately after testing is complete. If you wish, I can also provide more detailed verbal feedback over the phone after a closer look at the results.
After the final report is complete, I will personally sit down with you, explain all the findings, review recommendations, and answer any questions you may have.
*IMPORTANT*
After you submit the form, I will definitely get back to you. However, my replies are often filtered into junk mail folders. To prevent this from happening, please check your spam folder if you don't receive a reply within 24 hours.
After you submit the form, I will definitely get back to you. However, my replies are often filtered into junk mail folders. To prevent this from happening, please check your spam folder if you don't receive a reply within 24 hours.