It starts with a phone call...
Have questions about our services, booking times, expected completion times, fees, payments, or something else? Laura, our psychometrist, will be happy to help you with answers. Then, take your time to decide whether you want us to do your assessment. You're not buying a toaster (no offence to toasters!). An assessment is a human-to-human experience, and you want to feel comfortable with the professionals you're working with.
Once you decide to book with us...
Laura will set up your first virtual appointment to explain and obtain your informed consent; this is when she'll explain everything a cautious person should know before agreeing to our services. She'll talk about the benefits and risks of an assessment, how we ensure your privacy and keep your information confidential, and the 7 legal situations in which we will break confidentiality to keep you and others safe. She'll ask if you have any questions and take the time to answer them. When you're satisfied, she will do your intake interview, asking lots of questions - all the way back to prenatal development. Day, evening, and Saturday appointments are available.
After informed consent and the intake interview...
You'll be busy rounding up documents for us to review (report cards, past hearing, speech-language, occupational therapy, and other specialists' reports). We'll likely send you some online questionnaires to do, as well. The next step is booking the in-person testing...
In person-testing...
It's called testing, but it's not the traditional kind you study for and then pass or fail. Think of it like scanning the radio for stations. Some come in loud and clear, others have a bit of static, and then there are the ones that fade in and out, making them unreliable. The in-person session is about checking learning channels that involve various looking-and-doing skills, such as copying, hands-on tasks, and paper-and-pencil math, spelling, and writing tasks. This is your longest session - 2 to 3 hours. We'll meet in a quiet, safe, confidential space.
Virtual (online) testing...
We return to virtual sessions to complete the remaining testing. This means you do need a reliable, high-speed internet connection, a working camera, a microphone, and a safe, quiet, confidential space to work in. We keep these sessions to about an hour each and spread them over several dates. The number of sessions varies because we'll be assessing your thinking and reasoning, a range of memory skills, your planning and organization skills, your reading fluency and comprehension, and math reasoning. Some people need less time, others need more. Because we want you to perform your best, we don't book sessions past 2 PM. The good news - we do offer Saturday appointments.
One your testing is done...
We'll be busy scoring and interpreting all your tests, given what you've told us about yourself, what your documents have said about you, and the questionnaires you've completed. Blending all those pieces into something that is meaningful takes time. Sometimes, we'll find more to explore and want to ask you a few more questions or do a bit more testing. In other words, it may take a month or two, depending on our schedule, to complete our draft report. Once we get to this point, we will send you the bill for our services. Then comes the cool part...
The virtual feedback session...
This is when you'll meet with Dr. Baker, the psychologist. He will have been monitoring your progress through the assessment behind the scenes and providing you with the results. It's a fascinating 1-2 hour discussion about you and how you can use your personal channel guide to dial into your best self and boost the signal where there's some static. By the end, you'll be saying things like "That sounds like me!" "Wow, that really explains..." " No wonder, I've been feeling this way - finally, someone understands my frustration!"
And finally...
We may tweak our draft report to ensure it includes any additional thoughts that came up and were discussed during the feedback session. We will then email you a password-protected .pdf file of your report. Through Canada Post, we'll send 3 printed copies of your report and any other documents that you gave us to review. Once you read the full report, we're happy to answer any further questions. A well-understood report is a valuable tool in helping you develop into your best self.