Psychoeducational Assessments

Most parents who contact us about an assessment have been considering it for a while. They may be tired of the long waitlists in school and are hoping for answers sooner.

Maybe a teacher pulled you aside and said your child is capable but not producing. Maybe homework takes three hours and ends in tears for both of you. Maybe your kid is the one who reads well but cannot get a single sentence onto the page. Maybe they have been called lazy, or distracted, or "not applying themselves" for so long that they have started believing it.

You have probably already tried the obvious things. Tutoring. Charts. Taking away the iPad. Adding the iPad back because at least it bought you twenty minutes. And the pattern keeps repeating.

A psychoeducational assessment can give you more information.

What is a Psychoeducational Assessment?

Everyone has things they are good at and things they find hard. Sometimes the hard things get in the way enough that trying harder stops working.

A psychoeducational assessment is a structured evaluation of how a person learns. It looks at reasoning, memory, processing speed, attention, executive functioning, and academic skills in reading, writing, and math. It also looks at how anxiety, mood, and behaviour are affecting school or work, since those change how someone performs.

The point is to explain the pattern. Why a kid who reads well freezes when asked to write a paragraph. Why an adult who is good at their job needs three times as long to get through a report. Why homework takes two hours when the teacher says it should take twenty minutes.

Once you know how someone learns, you can stop guessing at what will help. You know what to ask the school for and what to change at home.

No waitlist.

If you have been searching for a psychoeducational assessment near me, you have probably run into waitlists.

Not here. Tri Lotus Psychotherapy offers private psychoeducational assessments, which means you book directly with us and we get started. No referral, and no waiting to find out whether you qualify to be seen.

This applies to adults too. Assessment is not something you age out of, and there is no school pathway to wait on once you have left school.

Who we assess

We assess children, teens, and adults from age 6 onward.

Children and teens.

Most families come to us after a teacher has raised something, or when school has turned into a nightly fight, or when a capable kid is bringing home work that does not match what you know they can do. Some come because of what is happening around the schoolwork rather than the schoolwork itself: the shutdowns, the outbursts, the friendships that are not going well, the refusal to go at all. Whatever the results show, you get a clear picture of how your child is learning and functioning, and recommendations the school can build accommodations or an IPP around. Where a diagnosis applies, it is included.

Adults.

A lot of people reach adulthood without ever being assessed. They manage with extra hours, workarounds, and effort nobody else sees, until something shifts and that stops working. A harder program. A promotion. A job with more paperwork. An assessment tells you what you are working with, and it may be what post-secondary disability services and workplaces ask for.

What we look for

• Learning disabilities in reading, writing, and math, including dyslexia and dysgraphia

• ADHD, including the inattentive presentation that may have been missed in the past

• Cognitive and intellectual functioning, including giftedness

• Memory, processing speed, and executive functioning

• Academic achievement compared to same-age peers

• Emotional, social, and behavioural factors affecting learning and daily functioning

Anxiety and learning difficulties often look the same from the outside, and each one can cause the other. We look at both, so you can ensure that you're receiving support for the right concern.

What can you Expect with the Psychoeducational Assessment Process?

What to expect

Our psychoeducational assessments are comprehensive and personalized. Here is how the process usually runs.

1. Initial consultation
A free 20-minute call to talk about what you are noticing and what you want to find out. We will tell you if an assessment is the right next step.

2. Clinical interview and history
We go through developmental, educational, medical, and where relevant occupational history, and how learning, attention, and executive functioning are showing up day to day. When the person being assessed is a minor, this interview is done with parents or guardians. With your consent we may also gather information from a teacher or someone else of your choosing.

3. Standardized measures
In-person testing using standardized measures of cognitive ability, academic achievement, attention, memory, and executive functioning. Sessions are scheduled around stamina rather than our calendar, with breaks as needed. Most kids find this part easier than they expected.

4. School observation, when it applies
Depending on what we are looking at, an in-school observation may be included. Watching how a child works in their own classroom, with the noise and the pace and the other 25 kids, often tells us more than testing alone.

5. Report and feedback
You get a written report covering strengths, difficulties, any diagnoses that apply, and specific recommendations for school, work, and home. We go through the results with you and talk about what comes next, which might be therapy, school accommodations, or a referral for medical consultation. Feedback sessions can be in person or online.

*Not every assessment results in a diagnosis. Either way you leave with a detailed profile of how you or your child is functioning, and specific recommendations to work from.

Find a Psychoeducational Assessment Therapist

Supports Adults and Teens (16+)

Frequently Asked Questions about Psychoeducational Assessments

Land Acknowledgment: I gratefully acknowledge and honour that where I live, work and play is within the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai First Nations) as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Nations); and Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. The traditional Blackfoot name of this place is “Mohkinstsis”, which is also known now as Calgary.

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