What to Expect

Once you have entered the waiting room, please help yourself to a selection of teas and coffees for the Keurig coffee maker and make yourself comfortable. Someone will be with you at your scheduled appointment time. What happens next will vary depending on whether your appointment is for therapy or for a Psychoeducational Assessment.

Therapy:

Many people are understandably a little nervous for their first therapy appointment, primarily because they do not know what to expect or how they should prepare. Let me assure you, there is nothing you need to do to prepare for your first appointment. The first appointment is typically where I find out what has prompted your call, and I will help you tell your story in a way that is comfortable for you. The good news is, there is no wrong way to do this, so you do not need to worry about being “mentally prepared” for the appointment. At the end of the appointment, I will summarize what we have talked about and discuss treatment plan options with you. Further appointments are booked only if you are comfortable and confident that is what you would like to do.

Assessment:

Our Psychoeducational Assessments are tailored to determine whether your child meets the criteria for a BC Ministry of Education “designation” (similar to a “diagnosis”) as a Student with Special Needs (e.g., Learning Disability). The Ministry criteria is based on fairly strict numbers associated with various standardized test scores, and if your child meets the criteria and a designation is granted, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be developed and updated yearly with parental input. The IEP is helpful in that teachers will be aware of the student’s individual learning challenges, and during later grades the student may qualify for certain “adaptations” while writing provincial exams (e.g., text and/or voice recognition software). Even if your child does not technically qualify for a designation, the assessment will provide valuable information regarding their specific learning style, as well as relative strengths and weaknesses.

There are many reasons for academic difficulties, but the vast majority are due to two reasons:

1. The student has a Learning Disability (e.g., dyslexia). By definition, the student is of Average to Above Average intelligence, but is nonetheless having difficulty learning in certain areas. If the gap between intelligence and academic performance in any given area(s) is large enough, a Learning Disability can be diagnosed, and the student should qualify for a designation.
2. The student has lower than average intellectual reasoning abilities and is therefore having difficulty with general comprehension and with acquiring academic skills. When intelligence is at or below the 2nd percentile (lower than 98% of peers) an “Intellectual Disability” is often diagnosed, and the student should also qualify for a Ministry designation. Students whose reasoning/intellectual skills are between the 5th and 24th percentiles may not technically fit into any given BC Ministry of Education category, but still be struggling considerably with academic performance. Nonetheless, it is important that this is identified so that expectations can be realistically set for all concerned.

Like with many human attributes (e.g., height, athleticism, singing ability) Learning and Intellectual Disabilities are lifelong issues and unfortunately there is no “cure” for either of these conditions. There will certainly be recommendations offered in the assessment report and these can help to maximize academic functioning, albeit within the constraints of the learning problem. The primary goal of a Psychoeducational Assessment is the identification versus the treatment of a given problem. Nonetheless, appropriate resources and tools will be included and reviewed in detail.