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ASSESSMENTS

Is your child struggling?

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How Does The Screener Assessment Work?

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1. We will have an initial meeting either over the phone or in-person. This will give you an opportunity to ask questions, and to allow me to gain some insight into your child's strengths and weaknesses.

 

2. We'll review of all prior testing reports, educational records, and writing samples. If you'd like, a phone call with your child's teacher can also be scheduled in order to gain their insights.

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3. The assessment appointment is scheduled.

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4. The results are tallied and analyzed, and a full report is written and will be sent to you to review. This report includes the testing results, explanations, and an action plan including accommodations and remediation.

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5. A debrief meeting will be scheduled, and we will go through your report together, answering any questions you have.

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The following areas must be assessed when screening for dyslexia:

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  • Phonological Awareness

  • Phonological or Language-Based Memory

  • Rapid Automatic Naming

  • Phonics Skills

  • Decoding (real and nonsense words)

  • Oral Reading Fluency (single words and paragraphs)

  • Spelling

 

A variety of assessments are used to test all of these areas.

The Comprehensive Dyslexia Screening Vs. a Psycho-educational Assessment

 

 

Comprehensive Dyslexia Screening:

 

  • Will determine if you or your child fits the dyslexia profile, but will not provide a formal diagnosis.

  • Will tell you what kind of interventions should be used that would be best to help your child remediate his/her language difficulties.

  • Will provide you and your child's teacher with accommodations that would best support your child's learning in a classroom or homeschooling environment. (Accommodations can be requested by parents in both public and private school systems, but whether the school decides to follow the accommodations is their decision.)

  • The report will often allow your child to qualify for an IPP (Individual Program Plan) in the private school system, but the choice to accept the results is up to the school.

  • Will help parents know how to approach teaching their child.

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You should seek a full psycho-educational assessment by an educational psychologist if:

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  •  You require testing to have your child receive a diagnosis of a learning disability.

  •  Your child is in the public school system and documentation is required for your child to qualify a student for an IPP (Individualized Program Plan).

  •  Your child requires accommodations at work or university (this requires a formal diagnosis).

  •  Your child has completed an initial consultation with me and I have recommended a psycho-educational assessment.

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Since psycho-educational assessments must include academic and cognitive assessment measures, they must be conducted by a registered psychologist. Fees for private assessments in Alberta range from $1800 to over $3000. We're happy to recommend some psychologists in our community. It's helpful to check into your extended health plan if you have one, as some extended health plans cover some or all of the costs of a private assessment. 

 

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Informal Academic Assessments

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If you choose to sign your child up for ongoing tutoring sessions, we will use the first session to complete a skills-based informal assessment. This assessment, along with any other formal assessment that have been done, will help to determine the appropriate level your child is working at, and will guide intervention planning and progress monitoring.

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Comprehensive Dyslexia Screener

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If your child is struggling, and has not yet had a formal assessment done, we recommend having a comprehensive dyslexia screener done. This assessment is more in-depth and will help to determine the source and the nature of the reading, spelling and/or writing difficulty.

 

This testing would involve your child's educational history and any prior testing, as well as a series of standardized and informal tests used to assess a variety of areas. The tests we use are well researched and require graduate level training and level B testing certification.

 

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