A psychoeducational assessment helps determine an individual’s unique learning strengths, challenges, needs, and individual learning style. Assessments can be a helpful tool for individual’s experiencing difficulties in school, attention and focus challenges, and emotional or behavioural concerns. Academic, learning, and attention issues often manifest in behaviours that rarely match the underlying issue. Psychoeducational assessments can be a part of the detective work to help understand the meaning behind the behaviour, and identify what an individual needs from their environment and others to succeed. How we make sense of an individual’s behaviour can have a big impact on how we respond and support them. It is important to understand all pieces of the puzzle, so the right supports and accommodations can be selected and implemented.

Psychoeducational assessments typically include standardized measures of intellectual functioning, academic achievement, and social/emotional functioning. Depending on the reasons for the referral, other measures related to memory, attention, language, fine motor skills, or other relevant areas of functioning may also be evaluated. Information is gathered through interviews, review of documents (e.g., IPPs, report cards, previous assessment reports including speech-language and occupational therapy reports), formal testing, and completion of rating scales and questionnaires. All of the information collected is compiled into a comprehensive report, which provides individual recommendations and resources to support the individual in thriving across environments. Assessment reports are often required to access certain services funded by the province and Alberta Education (e.g., FSCD, individualized programming, assistive technology, extra time, access to specialized services).