Psychologist
What is a Psycho-educational Assessment?
A psycho-educational assessment is the systematic investigation of a student’s strengths and challenges in various domains and can determine:
- the unique ways your child’s brain processes information,
- the strengths and challenges of your child’s memory and attention skills
- the strengths and challenges of your child’s core skills, such as reading, writing. and math
What is the purpose of the psycho-educational assessment?
The purpose is to answer the referral questions(s). The school psychologist hopes to be able to provide further insight into the child’s learning difficulties to complement information already known about the child. It is hoped that the information reported by the school psychologist will be of benefit to parents and teachers in the educational planning and programming process.
When is a Psycho-educational Assessment performed?
The SBT process helps to determine whether a student will be referred for a psycho-educational assessment.
Why does my child need a psycho-ed assessment?
Your child may need a psycho-ed assessment because:
- they are achieving significantly above or below other children their age in areas of academics, social skills, behaviour, memory or attention
- school-based Interventions have not been successful.
- they require reassessment to qualify for Community Living BC (CLBC) support in adulthood
What else can a psycho-ed tell me?
In some situations, an underlying issue, such as stress, anxiety or an attention difficulty may be mistaken for a learning disability.
Psychologists are trained to look at your child from multiple perspectives (e.g., medical history, family connections, social behaviour) to help get to the root of the problem. They will then work with you, the school team and your child to develop a clear plan to move forward.
As a parent/guardian, what will I need to do for the psycho-ed assessment?
To support the psychologist in understanding your child, parents/guardians can:
- take part in the parent interview either in writing, in-person or by phone
- provide doctor letters or past reports
- complete and hand in checklists or questionnaires required by the psychologist
- ask questions to avoid any conflict or misunderstanding
- be patient, sometimes assessments take longer than expected
Who will work with my child?
A psycho-ed assessment is administered by a registered or school psychologist. The psychologist will gather information from:
- standardized tests
- interviews with the parent, student and school staff
- past medical and educational assessments
- observations of the student in different settings
- school records
This information can help the psychologist understand your child’s academic, social/emotional and cognitive strengths and challenges.
What will a psycho-ed tell me?
A psycho-ed will identify:
- your child’s strengths and challenges in relation to other children their age in the areas of academics, social skills, attention, memory and behaviour.
- whether your child meets diagnostic criteria for a learning or intellectual disability.
What will my child have to do in the assessment?
- The assessment is different depending on the child’s age.
- The assessment is completed at the school.
- The assessment is generally completed in one day but may take more time.
Some of the things your child may do include:
- pencil and paper activities,
- verbal responses,
- motor-skills activities
- and/or
- checklists or questionnaires.
What are the next steps after the psycho-ed?
- The psychologist will provide confidential reports to the school and the parent/guardian. Parents and guardians are allowed to ask questions and to make suggestions about the report at that time. The report will contain strategies, interventions, accommodations and recommended resources to support your child. The report becomes part of the student’s confidential file.
- The psycho-educational report will indicate whether your child meets the criteria for a learning or intellectual disability. With this information, the school then determines whether your child is eligible for a designation as determined by the Ministry of Education criteria. Using the recommendations in the psycho-ed report, the school team will design an individualized educational program (IEP) to accommodate your child’s needs, helping your child to achieve their full potential.
Benefits of Assessment
- Generally, assessment seeks to answer questions about a student’s learning or behaviour and may:
- Develop insights into new strategies, accommodations, and adaptations that may be necessary to improve student success.
- Help school personnel better understand a student’s learning strengths and challenges.
- Develop educational interventions and programs to improve students’ academic success.
- Lead, in part, to a student meeting the assessment component of the education code criteria, assisting school personnel in the process of accessing additional services that might benefit the student.
Psycho-Educational Assessment Prioritization and Planning
School District 91 has access to approximately 35 psycho-educational assessments per school year allocated across the district.