The purpose of a psychoeducational evaluation is to uncover the student’s profile of abilities and determine how it affects her/his learning. A comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation includes background information, behavioral observations, direct testing of cognitive processes, academic, socio-emotional functioning, and information from parents and teachers. All the information is then integrated into diagnostic conclusions, and recommendations follow from these conclusions.

Gifted testing is an evaluation conducted for the sole purpose of determining eligibility for gifted placement in a public, or at times private, school. It includes a School Board-approved measure of intelligence, which provides an IQ score.

Description of the psychoeducational evaluation process

The evaluation process unfolds in different steps, which involve the collection of historical, qualitative, and quantitative data and the analysis and synthesis of the information and observations collected into a comprehensive and individualized report.

Intake Interview
The first step is an intake interview with the parent(s) or the adult client. This initial encounter is the opportunity to collect background information, including information about the development and living environment of the student, and his/her medical, school, and social histories. Its aim is to begin to understand the parents' or student's perceptions of his/her difficulties. This is why we encourage clients to bring up to this initial interview any information they believe could enlighten the understanding of their or their child's current difficulties. This includes past evaluations and treatment reports, relevant medical records, school records and/or grade reports, and/or referral letters from other professionals. At the end of this initial intake, we give the parents or client various questionnaires and inventories to be completed by them and other informants (e.g.,  the child's teacher(s), the client's partner). These questionnaires cover various aspects of the child's or adult's behavioral, social, and emotional functioning.

Direct Testing
The next step includes a series of direct testing sessions with the child or adult client. We generally see younger children in shorter sessions and only in the morning, while we see school-age children and adults in longer sessions. The testing phase includes:

• Cognitive testing, which covers the various cognitive abilities that define intelligence.
• Academic achievement testing, which consists of assessing performance in various academic areas, including reading, written language, and mathematics. For example, we examine the child’s ability to decode words, read fluently, and understand text. 
• Attention and executive functions. Executive functions include self-regulation of physical and mental energy, set maintenance (staying on task or switching tasks), selective inhibition of verbal and nonverbal responses, cognitive flexibility, planning, and organization of time, space and output efficiency.
• Depending on the results of the basic measures described above, we may feel the need to investigate different aspects of cognitive and/or academic skills (e.g., pragmatic language, knowledge of quantitative concepts). In children, supplemental neuropsychological assessment may be conducted to better identify and describe the cognitive deficits affecting their behavior and/or academic performance (e.g., poor planning and organizational skills, deficit in working memory). This specific type of testing is usually requested by a neurologist and is recommended for any case in which brain-based impairment in cognitive function or behavior is suspected.
• The child completes an inventory of behavioral and emotional functioning and a depression screener. Depending on the client, we may need to expand our evaluation in this area, such as administering tests of personality.

Summarizing & Conceptualizing Results
and Report Writing
After completion of testing, all information is integrated and summarized in an extensive report that provides diagnostic conclusions as well as individualized recommendations to help the student’s identified weaknesses and/or deficits at school and at home. Our recommendations are tailored to respond to the student's unique profile and needs and offer practical suggestions to be applied at school, at home, and during private tutoring sessions. They also include specific referrals to various specialists when necessary (e.g., speech and language pathologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist). Finally, we provide a variety of recommendations of reading materials (i.e., books, Internet resources) and contact information of useful organizations specializing in your child’s areas of difficulty.

Feedback Session
A feedback session is then scheduled to review and discuss the results of the evaluation. We pride ourselves about the quick turnaround of our reports, as they are usually ready within ten working days of the last testing session. During the feedback session, we provide you with a written guide to better understand the evaluation report as a supportive guideline while further reviewing the report on your own, once back home. Of course, we remain at your disposal for further explanations and clarification whenever needed.