Why Get An Assessment
Why an Individual Would Get an Assessment in Adulthood
Adults seek psychological assessments for numerous reasons, often after years of navigating challenges without clear understanding:
Self-Understanding: Many adults pursue assessments to make sense of lifelong patterns that have impacted their relationships, career, and wellbeing. This is particularly common for neurodivergent adults whose traits were missed in childhood, especially women and high-masking individuals.
Diagnostic Clarification: When symptoms persist despite treatment efforts, an assessment can identify underlying conditions like ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, or mental health conditions that require different interventions.
Workplace Accommodations: Formal assessment reports provide necessary documentation for requesting accommodations in educational or workplace settings, ensuring legal protections and appropriate support.
Life Transitions: Major changes like returning to school, starting a new career, or becoming a parent can highlight challenges that prompt assessment for better support strategies.
Family Planning: Adults seeking assessment often want to understand their own neurodevelopmental profile as they consider parenting, recognizing potential hereditary factors.
Why Parents Would Choose to Have Their Child Assessed
Parents pursue assessments for their children to better understand and support their development:
Academic Concerns: When children struggle with learning, demonstrate uneven academic performance, or show significant discrepancies between ability and achievement, parents seek assessments to identify learning disabilities or giftedness.
Behavioral Challenges: Assessment helps parents understand the root causes of persistent behavioral difficulties, emotional dysregulation, or social challenges that impact functioning at home and school.
Access to Support: Formal assessment reports are often required to access specialized educational services, accommodations, therapies, or funding through schools and healthcare systems.
Early Intervention: Early identification of developmental differences allows for timely support when interventions are most effective, preventing secondary challenges like low self-esteem or academic disengagement.
Family Understanding: Assessment results help parents, siblings, and extended family understand a child's unique profile, fostering more supportive home environments and realistic expectations.
Despite these risks, most people who undergo assessment report that the benefits of self-understanding and appropriate support far outweigh the potential downsides. Careful consideration of timing, motivation, and assessor expertise can help mitigate many of the risks while maximizing benefits.
The Assessment Process: A Step-by-Step Guide.
Understanding what to expect during a psychological assessment can reduce anxiety and help you prepare effectively. Our assessment process is designed to be thorough, collaborative, and tailored to your specific questions and concerns.
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The assessment journey begins with an initial meeting where we:
Clarify Referral Questions: Identify your specific concerns, what you hope to learn from the assessment, and what questions need answering
Gather Background Information: Collect relevant personal, medical, educational, and developmental history
Discuss the Process: Explain what to expect, determine which assessment tools will be used, and establish a timeline
Address Logistics: Review fees, scheduling, and any preparation needed (such as bringing school records or previous evaluations)
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Based on your referral questions, we develop a customized assessment plan that may include:
Selection of Assessment Tools: Choosing appropriate standardized tests, questionnaires, and observation methods
Information Gathering: Identifying who might provide additional information (with your permission)
Scheduling Assessment Sessions: Planning adequate time for testing, which may require multiple sessions
Special Considerations: Determining if any accommodations are needed during the assessment process
The Scientific Rationale
Maintaining Test Standardization
Assessment tools are standardized with specific administration procedures that don't include parent observation
Normative data against which your child's performance is compared was collected without parents present
This ensures your child is evaluated under the same conditions as the standardized sample
Preserving Assessment Validity
Parent presence can create natural anxiety or performance pressure that affects results
Children may look to parents for reassurance rather than attempting tasks independently
Some children perform differently (either better or worse) with parents present, which doesn't reflect their typical functioning
Capturing True Independent Functioning
We need to understand how your child performs when navigating challenges on their own
This allows us to identify specific support needs rather than what can be accomplished with parental help
Independent performance provides more accurate information for educational planning
When Parent Presence Is Required
While most assessments require parent observation from a separate area, there are specific situations where parent presence is part of the standardized procedure:
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS): Requires structured parent-child interaction for specific modules
Behavioral Observations: Some evaluations require observing how a child relates to caregivers
Language Assessments: May involve parent-child conversation to assess natural communication patterns
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During the testing sessions, you or your child will engage in various activities designed to measure different aspects of functioning:
Standardized Testing: Completing structured tasks that measure cognitive abilities, academic skills, or other specific areas
Questionnaires and Rating Scales: Responding to standardized questions about behaviors, emotions, or daily functioning
Interview Components: Answering specific questions about experiences, thoughts, and feelings
Observation: The assessor will observe approaches to tasks, attention, persistence, and interactions
Testing sessions typically range from 1-3 hours each, with breaks as needed. For children, sessions are often shorter and may include play-based components.
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With your consent, we may seek additional information from:
Parents/Guardians: For child assessments, detailed information about developmental history and current functioning
Teachers/Educators: Questionnaires about academic performance, behavior, and social skills in school settings
Healthcare Providers: Relevant medical or developmental information
Previous Assessments: Review of any prior evaluations to understand changes over time
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After testing is complete, the psychologist:
Scores Standardized Measures: Converting raw scores to standardized scores for comparison with age peers
Analyzes Patterns: Looking for consistent patterns across different measures and information sources
Synthesizes Information: Integrating all collected data into a comprehensive understanding of functioning
Formulates Impressions: Developing answers to the referral questions based on the collected evidence
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The assessment process culminates in a feedback session where we:
Review Results: Explain assessment findings in understandable terms, avoiding technical jargon
Discuss Implications: Address what the results mean for daily functioning, learning, or wellbeing
Provide Recommendations: Offer specific, practical suggestions for support, accommodations, or interventions
Answer Questions: Address any concerns or questions about the results or next steps
Discuss Next Steps: Plan for implementation of recommendations and any needed follow-up
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Following the feedback session, you'll receive a comprehensive written report that includes:
Background Information: Summary of relevant history and concerns
Assessment Procedures: Description of methods used in the evaluation
Results: Detailed findings from all assessment measures
Summary and Conclusions: Integration of results to address referral questions
Recommendations: Specific, individualized suggestions for support and intervention
This report can be shared with schools, healthcare providers, or other relevant parties to help implement recommendations and access services.
Frequently Asked Questions
"How long does the entire assessment process take?"
The direct assessment process is dependent on scheduling of the client and informants for collateral, and prompt submission of questionnaires or required historical documentation
The review session is generally scheduled within two weeks of the last session, however, may be rescheduled if required information is outstanding
We aim to have your report/letter completed and forwarded to you within 4 weeks, and will discuss with you if it will be delayed for any reason
"Will I get a diagnosis?"
There is no guarantee of a diagnosis. Clinical decisions required adherence to the DSM-5-TR criteria, and some individuals do not receive a diagnosis if they do not meet the criteria. There may be additional or different diagnoses which are appropriate, and it is also possible that previous diagnoses may be changed. For instance, an informal diagnosis of anxiety may in fact be removed or updated after comprehensive evaluation if it is determined it does not properly identify the clinical presentation and treatment needs.
"How are results shared with schools or other professionals?"
As a rule, we do not share any formal documentation with anyone except our clients or their guardians. It is important to discuss with your psychologist who should be provided with the documentation ahead of time to understand why it is important or if there are any possible risks in doing so. We encourage sharing this information with professionals who are involved in supporting the individual, including other clinicians, school personnel, and employers. This is ultimately at the discretion of the client or their caregiver.
At times, a third party (i.e., insurance, CRA) may require the report is shared directly with them. This will be discussed with you at the outset, or when it becomes relevant in your care. If the process is initiated with this understanding, it is important to ensure you understand what to expect regarding the release of your documentation and personal health information as part of the consent process. This will be addressed directly in discussion and affirmed in signed consent, however, questions are welcome at any stage in the process.
To schedule, please contact us to arrange a consultation call. Assessments are not bookable online.
Asseessments require a 48 hour cancellation policy. Please email julia@rocklandpsychology.ca in the event you need to move or cancel your assessment time.
