Children
What Is a Formal Assessment?
A formal assessment provides a snapshot of a person’s current functioning, offering insight into cognitive abilities, learning patterns, and emotional or behavioural needs. Identifying challenges with standardized measures simply clarifies areas where support may be helpful.
At Child Psychological Services & Wellness, we use well-established, evidence-based assessment tools to understand thinking styles, learning profiles, and mental health needs, while recognizing that standardized assessments do not capture the full picture of who a person is. Alongside identifying personal strengths and areas of need, a comprehensive assessment provides clarity about why challenges are occurring, how a child or teen learns best, and what supports will be most effective. This process offers diagnostic clarity, guides treatment planning, identifies next steps for support, facilitates access to school and community resources, and creates clear expectations for the future, allowing families to move forward with confidence, direction, and purpose.
Psycho-educational Assessment
If you have concerns about your child’s learning and academic progress, we can complete a comprehensive learning assessment in order to better understand your child’s cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses.
The assessment process typically includes:
50 minute Intake interview
Two to three 1.5 to 2-hour appointments to administer the standardized measure of intelligence and standardized measures of academic abilities (and other measures if needed)
Teacher questionnaires (if needed)
Parent questionnaires (if needed)
Thorough review of all previous assessments and school records
1 hour follow up meeting to share the results and recommendations with parents.
A comprehensive report
Cost: $3,080
($3,960 if adding a mental health/ADHD assessment)
Gifted Assessment
A gifted assessment will determine an individual’s intellectual strengths, and whether or not your child’s intellectual ability (IQ) meets very specific criteria for access to educational programs dedicated to students who are considered gifted.
The assessment process typically includes:
50 minute Intake interview (if needed)
1 to 2 hour appointment to administer the standardized measure of intelligence
Thorough review of all previous assessments and school records
1 hour follow up meeting to share the results and recommendations.
A comprehensive report
Cost: $1,760
Autism Spectrum Disorder Assessment
An assessment for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex process that involves the evaluation of multiple domains of functioning and behaviour. Given the variability in ASD symptom expression and the similar behaviours that several disorders share (e.g., Social Anxiety Disorder, ADHD, OCD, Social Communication Disorder), an individual can easily be given an incorrect diagnosis. At Child Psychological Services & Wellness, we adhere to the best practices in differential diagnosis and provide the most comprehensive assessment to ensure an accurate diagnosis.
The assessment process typically includes:
50 minute Intake interview
1.5 to 2 hour appointment to administer the cognitive assessment (a measure of intelligence)
3 hour appointment to administer the ADI-R
1.5 to 2 hour appointment to administer the ADOS-2
1.5 to 2 hour additional parent clinical interview (if needed)
One 1.5 to 3 hour clinical interview with child/adolescent (if needed) or a school or home observation if the child is 7 years old or younger (if needed)
Various parent norm-referenced questionnaires
Various teacher nom-referenced questionnaires
Various self-report norm-referenced questionnaires (based on age)
Thorough review of all previous assessments and school records
1 hour follow up meeting to share the results and recommendations.
A comprehensive report
Cost: $4,180
($4,840 if adding an academic assessment)
($3,740 if a cognitive assessment is not required)
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Assessment/Mental Health Assessment
An assessment for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) involves the evaluation of an individual’s cognitive ability, executive functioning, behavioural difficulties, and symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention. Many neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders share similar symptoms with ADHD. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate other related disorders when assessing for ADHD. A mental health assessment is the process of gathering information about one’s mental health and identifying whether someone meets criteria for a mental health diagnosis.
The assessment process typically includes:
50 minute Intake interview
1.5 to 2 hour appointment to administer the standardized measure of intelligence
2 hours to conduct a clinical interview with parent
1.5 to 3 hours to conduct a clinical interview with child/adolescent/young adult or a school or home observation if the child is 7 years old or younger
Various parent norm-referenced questionnaires
Various teacher norm-referenced questionnaires (if needed)
Various self-report norm-referenced questionnaires (based on age)
Thorough review of all previous assessments and school records
1 hour follow up meeting to share the results and recommendations.
A comprehensive report
Cost: $2,860
($2,200 if a cognitive assessment is not required)
Intellectual Disability Assessment
This assessment is focused on evaluating cognitive capacity (IQ level) and adaptive functioning.
The assessment process typically includes:
50 minute Intake interview (if needed)
1 to 2 hour appointment to administer the standardized measure of intelligence
Norm referenced Adaptive Functioning questionnaire
Thorough review of all previous assessments and school records
1 hour follow up meeting to share the results and recommendations.
A comprehensive report
Cost: $1,980