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Assessments
Click on the links below to learn more about the Assessments that we offer. For further information and/or to learn of availability, please call or email or use the Contact Us page.
Psychological
What is a Psychological Assessment?
This assessment can be performed for adults or children. It is an evaluation of a person’s cognitive abilities and emotional functioning.
The assessment involves a series of tests with the person in order to create a comprehensive understanding of how they think, feel, learn and behave.
For children, the assessment may include clinical interviews, observations made in our offices and sometimes at the child’s school or daycare, formal testing, parent and teacher questionnaires and consultation with any other professionals involved in your child’s care.
Testing includes an oral component, pencil and paper tasks, puzzles, drawing, social interactions and games, with plenty of breaks. Often, parents and teachers are asked to complete questionnaires addressing study habits, day-to-day functioning, behaviour, emotional functioning, social skills and developmental issues.
After the assessment is completed we score, interpret the results and then produce a detailed report with recommendations. For adults, findings will be discussed with the individual, while for children those findings will be presented to parents and, if beneficial, at a case conference at the child’s school.
Neuropsychological
What is a Neuropsychological Assessment?
This assessment is a comprehensive evaluation that is designed to assess an individual’s cognitive and emotional functioning in order to make diagnoses, understand strengths and weaknesses and develop treatment plans.
The assessment is typically performed for an individual who has sustained a head injury to determine the extent of their cognitive impairment. In other situations, someone who is experiencing memory problems or changes in mood or behavior may also receive an assessment to rule out neurodegenerative conditions, e.g. Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s disease.
The process of a the assessment usually involves completing a variety of tests that assess different cognitive domains such as memory, attention, language, and visuospatial skills. The individual being assessed will also typically be asked to complete self-report measures and questionnaires. After all the data has been collected, the neuropsychologist will interpret the results and provide a comprehensive report with recommendations for diagnosis and treatment.
Psycho-Vocational
What is a Psycho-Vocational Assessment?
This assessment is conducted to determine an individual’s functioning in their career and to inform about future career paths.
The assessment is administered for a number of reasons, including to test the individual’s fitness to return to work after a motor vehile accident (MVA) or a work-related injury. Separately, individuals may request an assessment to provide clarity about their interests and strengths in order to make a career change.
The assessment process includes both testing and interview components. During the testing phase, the individual will complete paper-and-pencil tests that measure abilities, interests and personality traits. The interview portion usually involves discussing the results of the tests as well as exploring the individual’s work history and background. Together, these two components provide a comprehensive picture and valuable insight into an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, to identify potential career paths.
Catastrophic Impairment Determination
What is a Catastrophic Impairment Determination Assessment?
This assessment is performed to determine and assess the severity of a person’s injuries, most often following a motor vehice or work-related accident.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Health, a catastrophic impairment is defined as an impairment that “results in an appreciable disability of an important physical, mental or psychological function” (2016). The definition goes on to state that an impairment must meet one of the following criteria in order to be considered catastrophic:
- it must result in 55% or more impairment of the whole person
- it must cause severe impairment in two or more regions of the body
- it must result in severe impairment of vision or hearing
- it must result in an appreciable limitation in activities of daily living.
Catastrophic impairments have a significant impact on an individual’s ability to function in daily life. As such, they are assessed using a multi-disciplinary approach that takes into account the opinions of several different health care professionals. The assessment process begins with a review of the individual’s medical records and continues with a physical examination and functional assessment. Finally, the team of assessors will review all of the information gathered and make a determination as to whether or not the individual meets the criteria for a catastrophic impairment.
YRPS perform these assessments at the request of insurers and lawyers.
Long Term Disability
What is a Long Term Disability Assessment?
This assessment is conducted to evaluate an individual’s ability to function in work and day-to-day activities on a long-term basis.
The process includes gathering information from a variety of sources, including medical records, interviews with the individual and family members and observations of the individual’s functioning. The goal of the assessment is to identify any functional limitations that may impact the individual’s ability to participate in work and other activities on a long-term basis.
Once the assessment is complete, a report will be produced that includes recommendations for accommodations, therapies and other support services.
Driver Rehabilitation
What is a Driver Rehabilitation Assessment?
This assessment is for individuals who have suffered the consequences of a traumatic motor vehicle accident and is conducted to assess the individual’s driving behaviours and anxieties.
The assessment includes discussing the individual’s unique circumstances and a background history to formulate a treatment plan. Individuals receive cognitive, psychological and in-vehicle testing with a qualified mental health professional and a certified driving instructor trained in treating accident victims.
The program is designed to enable the client to make a prompt return to driving or being a passenger.
Psycho-Educational
What is a Psycho-Educational Assessment?
This assessment is conducted to determine how an individual’s cognitive and academic skillset might be impacting their educational performance. This assessments can be extremely helpful in identifying giftedness, or learning disabilities and other issues, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), emotional problems, low self-esteem, attention issues, stress/anxiety, poor social skills, academic delays, social problems, poor organizational skills and under-achievement.
While a psychological assessment investigates the emotional characteristics of an individual client, the psycho-educational is specifically related to the learning and behavioural characteristics to understand how a student learns and processes information.
There are two major sets of tests; measuring cognitive ability (intelligence) and academic tests (reading, oral reading, writing, math skills and others). On observation during testing or evaluation of those results, additional tests may be administered to look further at auditory processing, learning and memory functions, executive functions, social skills or specific academic skills.
The subsequent report will identify learning difficulties, strengths/weaknesses and any mental disorders, e.g. depression, anxiety, ADHD or autism. The report will also include guidance for parents to seek school accommodations or suggested methods to meet the individual needs of their child.
Gifted
What is a Gifted Assessment?
This assessment is the process of identifying students who demonstrate exceptional abilities or potential in one or more areas. The purpose of this assessment is to provide parents and educators with information that can be used to plan appropriate instructional programs and services for gifted students.
Gifted students generally learn more quickly, deeply, and broadly than their peers, and their ability is comparable to normal children who are significantly older.
Gifted students will typically demonstrate high reasoning ability, a large vocabulary, an excellent memory and, for some, a high degree of creativity. Gifted learners require opportunities, often in a different environment to learn at a faster pace and with their peers to stimulate their intellectual growth and achieve their full potential.
YRPS perform gifted assessments and, based on the outcome, will offer guidance on education plans and learning strategies that meet those strengths and any weaknesses.
Immigration
What is an Immigration assessment?
This assessment is usually conducted for individuals (and family members) that have been identified as living in Canada under inadmissible circumstances, such as having a criminal background , health, secuiry or financial issues or have misinterpreted their true status. Other deportee candidates may have overstayed their a work or student visa or breached conditions of those visas.
The assessment typically involves an interview to understand and document the background of the circumstances, along with a series of psychological tests and questions to evaluate if there is any depression, anxiety, personality or related post-traumatic stress disorder. A report is produced and submitted to the requestor to help with the client’s case.
YRPS works with agencies and lawyers to conduct these assessments that are part of the process to determine whether the individual(s) may be able to lawfully stay in Canada.