Assessments
Jellybean Family Psychology offers multiple assessments to support the development and functioning of your child.
Early diagnosis is the first step towards creating positive change and sustainable strategies to help your child lead a fulfilling, happy life.
We are happy to offer all assessments to clients ranging from 2 to 99 years old.
Adaptive Functioning
Adaptive functioning is how well a person handles common demands in life and how independent they are compared to others of a similar age and background.
Autism Spectrum
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition that involves persistent challenges in social interaction, speech and nonverbal communication, and restricted/repetitive behaviours.
Gifted and Talented
Gifted assessments indicate your child’s complex abilities and prospects.
Learning Disorders
Learning disabilities are when an individual has unexpected and persistent difficulties in specific areas of achievement such as reading, writing, or maths.
Neuropsychological
Designed to evaluate the brain functions to better understand how developmental, psychological, and neurological conditions affect an individual's thinking skills, emotions, and behaviour.
Adaptive Functioning Assessments
Adaptive functioning is how well a person handles common demands in life and how independent they are compared to others of a similar age and background. In other words, adaptive behaviours are the social and practical skills people learn over time to function in everyday life. These behaviours include motor skills, communication skills, personal care, and social behaviours.
When you bring your child in for an assessment, we will assess these adaptive behaviours and determine if these behaviours would benefit for a continued treatment plan with ourselves, or refer to other specialists who may be better equipped for the individual’s needs. Our aim is to help your child develop the skills they need for a happy and functional life.
The assessment takes about 1-1.5 hours. We ask that parents and guardians accompany their child to the appointment but they will not be present for the assessment, in order to better evaluate your child’s behaviour. Please contact the office if you have any questions or want to schedule an appointment.
Autism Spectrum Assessments
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition that involves persistent challenges in social interaction, speech and nonverbal communication, and restricted/repetitive behaviours. The effects of ASD and the severity of symptoms are different in each person. Autism is defined by three levels of severity:
Level 1 – requiring support
Level 2 – requiring substantial support
Level 3 – requiring very substantial support
Children with autism spectrum disorder is called so as it is quite literally a spectrum and can vary from individual to individual. Symptoms can include:
A desire and insistence on sameness and show a distinct inflexibility with routine
Have highly fixed interests with an abnormal level of intensity
Experience repetitive movements or unusual behaviours such as flapping arms or rocking side to side
Indifference or intense reactions to sensory input or sensory aspects of their environment
A lack social affect and have difficulty creating, maintaining and understanding relationships with other people.
Autism Spectrum Assessments can take between three to five hours, as it depends on the age and participation level of your child. I can assess individuals as young as 18 months, right up to adulthood.
Our assessment is tailored to be appropriate to the individual’s age and developmental level. We ask that parents and guardians are prepared to accompany their child, with snacks or any other tools of encouragement they feel will help keep the individual motivated during the session. During this first session, we will also work together to fill out questionnaires and gather information on the child’s background history and symptoms. This assessment aims to determine where the individual sits on the spectrum and the level of support they require.
Please contact the office if you have any questions or want to schedule an appointment.
Gifted and Talented Assessments
Gifted and talented assessments indicate your child’s complex abilities and prospects. This assessment can provide valuable information to assist you and your child navigate their present and future needs. Gifted assessments can also provide important information to help enhance your child’s well-being.
A gifted and talented assessment is IQ testing available by request, it may be requested by either a parent or guardian, or via the child’s school to learn more about how to better developmentally support the individual as they mature.
Please contact the office if you have any questions or want to schedule an appointment.
Learning Disorder Assessments
Learning disabilities are when an individual has unexpected and persistent difficulties in specific areas of achievement such as reading, writing, or maths. If you think your child has a learning disability, it’s important to get them assessed and provide support as early as you can.
It should be noted that a learning disability is very different from an intellectual disability. Intellectual disabilities affect every aspect of how the brain learns and understands, whereas learning disabilities affect only a specific area of learning.
At Jellybean Family Psychology, we are well versed with all types of learning disorders such as:
Dyslexia: issues with reading, spelling, and written language
Dysgraphia: difficulties with written expression, including spelling, handwriting, and written composition
Dyscalculia: problems understanding mathematics and quantitative thinking
During the assessment, we will work to differentiate between expressive and receptive language difficulties, as well as evaluating any disorders that may impact academic performance such as intellectual disability disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other behavioural disorders.
Both cognitive functioning and academic achievement are assessed to determine the pattern of strengths and weaknesses that are indicative of learning disorders. The assessment will take between four to six hours and we ask that parents or guardians bring snacks and water for their children, plus be prepared to provide background history prior to the evaluation.
Please contact the office if you have any questions or want to schedule an appointment.
Neuropsychological Assessments
A neuropsychological assessment is designed to evaluate the brain functions with a variety of scenarios to better understand how developmental, psychological, and neurological conditions affect an individual's thinking skills, emotions, and behaviour.
These assessment sessions consist of an interview and a series of performance-based tests and questionnaires. The tests performed are typically paper and pencil, with some requiring verbal responses.
This assessment is divided into three sections:
The interview - involves us asking questions about symptoms and other relevant background information.
Psychological testing - this section is where we look for personality and mental health disorders. Disorders can contribute to impaired cognitive functioning and sometimes imitate neurological or medical conditions. If these disorders are present, we can then determine the impact they might have upon cognitive functioning.
Neurocognitive testing - here we measure the levels of functionality of the brain in areas such as attention span, memory, visual-spatial reasoning, language, processing speed, and fine motor skills. The purpose of this evaluation is to assess how the brain responds when asked to perform in various ways. These results determine the course of medical or mental health treatment that may be required to live a functional, and independent life.
Neurological Assessments can take between four to eight hours to complete, so we ask that parents or guardians bring snacks, water, plus anything they think will be helpful for the child during their evaluation.
Please contact the office if you have any questions or want to schedule an appointment.