"The Ones that matter most are the Children.
They are True Human Beings."
"The Ones that matter most are the Children.
They are True Human Beings."
Consultation/ Screening
Sometimes as a caregiver 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. At Spinnaker Psychological Services we offer consultation from a professional in child learning and development to help you determine the best plan for your family. We can offer information on when an assessment may be helpful, what type of assessment, strategies, or when an alternate plan may help. It might be helpful for your child to participate in a brief screening or evaluation of general skills (e.g., early learning skills, social skills) to evaluate if your child is on track, and better direct the next steps. This is not therapy or counselling which would typically be for several sessions to work on a particular area of concern. If therapy is advised, either for your or your child, we might suggest and direct you about this, as we currently are not providing therapy services. We can put you in touch with community resources and publicly funded programs depending on your child's and family's needs. Make a list of all your concerns and questions and bring them in for us to go through together!
Sometimes as a caregiver 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. At Spinnaker Psychological Services we offer consultation from a professional in child learning and development to help you determine the best plan for your family. We can offer information on when an assessment may be helpful, what type of assessment, strategies, or when an alternate plan may help. It might be helpful for your child to participate in a brief screening or evaluation of general skills (e.g., early learning skills, social skills) to evaluate if your child is on track, and better direct the next steps. This is not therapy or counselling which would typically be for several sessions to work on a particular area of concern. If therapy is advised, either for your or your child, we might suggest and direct you about this, as we currently are not providing therapy services. We can put you in touch with community resources and publicly funded programs depending on your child's and family's needs. Make a list of all your concerns and questions and bring them in for us to go through together!
"We don't have to do it all alone. We were never meant to."
- Brene Brown
- Brene Brown
Developmental Assessment
A developmental assessment is a specialized evaluation where the goal is to learn more about a child's developmental profile. Through this process, you will learn more about your child's developmental strengths and needs in areas such as: cognitive and language, motor skills, play development, social skills, behaviour, executive and adaptive functioning and early learning. The professionals at Spinnaker Psychological Services have specialized training in early child development and in assessing developmental and intellectual disabilities. The assessment involves an interview of caregivers to understand their concerns and to gather information about prenatal, birth and early years history. It may be important to interview or gather information from other important adults in the child's life (e.g. educators). Direct testing of the child will be completed with the psychological professional and indirect testing will involve rating scales to gather information about how the child presents in typical contexts.This assessment may result in your child receiving a developmental diagnosis and/or a formulation outlining your child's profile. A report will be written and recommendations specific to your child will be provided and reviewed with you.
A developmental assessment is a specialized evaluation where the goal is to learn more about a child's developmental profile. Through this process, you will learn more about your child's developmental strengths and needs in areas such as: cognitive and language, motor skills, play development, social skills, behaviour, executive and adaptive functioning and early learning. The professionals at Spinnaker Psychological Services have specialized training in early child development and in assessing developmental and intellectual disabilities. The assessment involves an interview of caregivers to understand their concerns and to gather information about prenatal, birth and early years history. It may be important to interview or gather information from other important adults in the child's life (e.g. educators). Direct testing of the child will be completed with the psychological professional and indirect testing will involve rating scales to gather information about how the child presents in typical contexts.This assessment may result in your child receiving a developmental diagnosis and/or a formulation outlining your child's profile. A report will be written and recommendations specific to your child will be provided and reviewed with you.
Psychoeducational / Psychological Assessment
Understanding how a child learns can reveal the strategies necessary to maximize success. A psychoeducational assessment is a comprehensive process to discover more about how a child thinks, feels, behaves, and learns. When concerns extend beyond development and learning, a more thorough psychological assessment may be helpful, to provide a complete evaluation of a child’s development, cognitive, learning and socio-emotional, behavioural and clinical concerns, such as anxiety, mood, developmental trauma and other concerns regarding mental health.
The professionals at Spinnaker Psychological Services have specialized training in child development, learning processes, memory, executive functioning, social-emotional development and behavioural issues, as well as developmental trauma and mental health. We will work with you to develop an assessment plan based upon the primary concerns at home and/or at school as part of a thorough interview. Based upon this collaboration we will recommend an assessment plan. The assessment involves an in-depth interview of caregivers to understand their concerns and to gather information about prenatal, birth and early years history. It may be important to interview or gather information from other important adults in the child's life (e.g. educators). Direct one-on-one testing of the child will be completed with the psychological professional and indirect testing will involve rating scales to gather information about how the child presents in typical contexts.
This evaluation may include assessment of:
Understanding how a child learns can reveal the strategies necessary to maximize success. A psychoeducational assessment is a comprehensive process to discover more about how a child thinks, feels, behaves, and learns. When concerns extend beyond development and learning, a more thorough psychological assessment may be helpful, to provide a complete evaluation of a child’s development, cognitive, learning and socio-emotional, behavioural and clinical concerns, such as anxiety, mood, developmental trauma and other concerns regarding mental health.
The professionals at Spinnaker Psychological Services have specialized training in child development, learning processes, memory, executive functioning, social-emotional development and behavioural issues, as well as developmental trauma and mental health. We will work with you to develop an assessment plan based upon the primary concerns at home and/or at school as part of a thorough interview. Based upon this collaboration we will recommend an assessment plan. The assessment involves an in-depth interview of caregivers to understand their concerns and to gather information about prenatal, birth and early years history. It may be important to interview or gather information from other important adults in the child's life (e.g. educators). Direct one-on-one testing of the child will be completed with the psychological professional and indirect testing will involve rating scales to gather information about how the child presents in typical contexts.
This evaluation may include assessment of:
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There are several diagnoses that can be assessed in the process of psycho-educational / psychological assessments. The collaborative assessment plan will assist the psychologist in ruling in (making a diagnosis) or ruling out (not making a diagnosis) one or more of the following formulations:
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We will work collaboratively with you to gain the best understanding of your child's cognitive, learning, behavioural and socio-emotional profile. The assessment plan is developed openly with caregivers, and discussed thoroughly before undertaking any direct work with your child. Any recommended adjustments to the assessment plan will be discussed with you. Once the testing portion of the assessment is complete, the psychometrist and psychologist evaluate all of the information gathered, which may include information from interviews with parents, information provided by teachers, testing results, observations, and rating scales, to interpret the testing performance and presentation within the context of the whole child and situation. All of this information is reviewed with parents during a debriefing meeting, including clinical opinions/diagnoses and any recommendations for further evaluation (e.g. medical referral, interventions, etc.). Parents are provided with a report, which they can share with whomever they deem appropriate (e.g. teachers, doctors, etc.).
Autism Assessment
While a psycho-educational assessment looks specifically at a student’s learning profile, and how their learning may be impacted by their unique pattern of strengths and weaknesses, an Autism assessment may include components of a psychoeducational assessment while also looking more in depth at the individual's social communication skills, behaviours, and interests. Typically this involves some direct testing with the child, structured interviewing with the parents regarding their child's early development, as well as observations of the child's social and adaptive behaviour. During the process of assessment, the clinician will look specifically at characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as well as screen for alternate explanations for the child's developmental differences. Upon completion of the diagnostic assessment, you will meet with the psychometrist and psychologist to review the diagnosis (if applicable), discuss an action plan in terms of appropriate resources and programs, as well as to go over recommendations for specific strategies and interventions. A report will be written and recommendations specific to your child will be provided.
While a psycho-educational assessment looks specifically at a student’s learning profile, and how their learning may be impacted by their unique pattern of strengths and weaknesses, an Autism assessment may include components of a psychoeducational assessment while also looking more in depth at the individual's social communication skills, behaviours, and interests. Typically this involves some direct testing with the child, structured interviewing with the parents regarding their child's early development, as well as observations of the child's social and adaptive behaviour. During the process of assessment, the clinician will look specifically at characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as well as screen for alternate explanations for the child's developmental differences. Upon completion of the diagnostic assessment, you will meet with the psychometrist and psychologist to review the diagnosis (if applicable), discuss an action plan in terms of appropriate resources and programs, as well as to go over recommendations for specific strategies and interventions. A report will be written and recommendations specific to your child will be provided.
Psychoeducation and Workshops
The professionals at Spinnaker Psychological Services are happy to speak to your extended family members, school, parent's organization, community group, or at community events to help develop understanding of challenges, diagnoses and various topics, such as social thinking, self-regulation, executive functioning, autism spectrum disorder.
At certain times, we may be offering specific workshops or skill building intervention groups for caregivers and or children/youth and will outline details on this website as they become available.
"Children do well if they can. If they can’t, we adults need to figure out what’s getting in the way, so we can help."
-Ross W. Greene, The Explosive Child
-Ross W. Greene, The Explosive Child
Photos Courtesy of: Arvid Hoidahl. Nordli , Shane Rounce, Andrew Seaman, and Jerry Wang-Unsplash