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PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENTS What are they and who should have one?
A Quick Guide to
Psychoeducational Assessment
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What is a psychoeducational assessment?
Simply put, it’s a way for a psychologist to determine whether a child or teenager has developmental and/ or learning challenges, with a view to giving them tools and strategies to help them to learn better. A detailed evaluation assesses your child’s strengths and weaknesses, measures their intellectual and academic abilities and helps to identify how your child learns best. It will also flag up if they have problems with core skills (communication, numeracy, Information and Communication Technology, problem solving and working with others) or if they are struggling emotionally, behaviourally or socially.
What’s involved?
Depending on the age of your child, they’ll use various tools, including drawing, writing, questioning and a motor skill-based activity such as playing with blocks, to assess your child’s developmental progress compared with their peers. If your child is school-aged, they’ll also ask to review their school reports and possibly send a questionnaire to their educators.
How do you know if your child needs one?
Of course, all children are different and progress at different rates, so how do you know if your child is simply taking longer to grasp a concept or if they are showing signs of a learning disability? While it’s not healthy to constantly compare your child to others, there are certain developmental stages that are common to particular aged children and if you notice your child having difficulty with something their peers seem to manage easily, then this could be an indication that they need extra support. Trust your intuition; as a parent you know if something doesn’t feel right, and it can often help to talk it over with family or a trusted friend to see if they’ve noticed anything of concern. Secondly, reach out to your child’s educators. These professionals spend a lot of time with children and are therefore often more attuned to whether something warrants further investigation. They are also perfectly placed to know whether
your child is struggling to keep up with class learning and may be able to suggest who to contact.
At what age should I get my child assessed?
As a parent, you’ll already have some idea of developmental milestones, such as smiling, rolling over and saying their first words, which are generally reached at a predictable rate. Keep in mind that there’s often quite a large window in which these stages are reached. For example, babies usually take their first steps between 11 and 15 months, which, when you’re watching your baby’s movements with bated breath, can seem like quite a long space of time! It also isn’t abnormal if your child learns to walk later than this as long as everything else is progressing as it should. As children get older, these milestones become more complex and it can be harder to pinpoint what is actually going on. While psychoeducational assessments can be carried out from any age, it’s most common for learning difficulties to be diagnosed a few years after children have started school. The best thing to do is to talk to your child’s doctor if you have any concerns.
What comes after a psychoeducational assessment?
The benefit of having a professional assessment is that once you’ve identified any strengths or weaknesses, you are better placed to know how to help your child to thrive. The psychologist will give you strategies on how best to support your child’s learning path, and along with parents and educators, everyone can then work together to help manage your child’s learning journey. If specific learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anxiety, are diagnosed, children will also gain access to special measures including scribing or extra exam time later on in their education.
What will an assessment cost?
You can expect to pay between $7,000 and $25,000 for a comprehensive assessment, including parent consultations and next-step recommendations. To help you decide whether an assessment is right for your child, we’ve listed some useful resources to get you started.
Resources in Hong Kong
The Child Development Centre is an excellent resource, which provides support to those with Special Educational Needs (SEN) issues in both English and Chinese. They work closely with the Social Welfare Department, but you can fill in an enquiry form online to apply for a very reasonably priced private assessment.
www.cdchk.org
The charitable organization, Watchdog specializes in early intervention for children with special educational needs aged from newborn to six. They provide assessments and programmes in both English and Cantonese.
www.watchdog.org.hk
As well as providing psych-ed assessments, Cook and Craigen, specialises in custody and psychological evaluations. They offer a 30-minute pre-assessment, that can be booked online, to discuss which option is right for you.
www.cookandcraigenassessmentservices.org
Sprout in Motion provides a range of educational assessments. Their website also has a wonderful “Resources” section, with a range of articles to increase awareness about learning, emotional and behavioural challenges.
www.sproutinmotion.com
Children’s therapy centre, SPOT provides many different assessments and services, as well as clear information about the most common learning difficulties on their website.
https://spot.com.hk
The Jadis Blurton Family Development Centre offers psychoeducational assessments as well as therapy and counselling. You can contact them on 2869-1962 for a free 20-minute consultation.
www.blurton-fdc.com
Central Health Development Centre provides a comprehensive range of mental health and developmental support services that are individual to the needs of each child and their family. The experiences team creates treatment plans that are both accessible and practical for caregivers and schools, to support and empower the child to fulfil their potential.
