Frequently Asked Questions

Parents can struggle with the decision to start a psycho-educational, social-emotional and/or behavioural assessment for a child age 2-8. After all, maybe we don't need an assessment because:

• It is just a phase.
• Our child will grow out of his or her difficult behaviour.
• Our child will grow out of problems with school.
• The school does not understand our child.
• Our child has bad friends. 

But on the other hand...maybe, if the assessment is done:

• We will know more about our child.
• We can understand our child's learning challenges better.
• We will know when to ask for more help.
• We can be a better advocate for our child.
• We can work more effectively with our child's teacher.

 
The psychologists at Fish Creek Psychology have extensive experience working with children and families of preschool children and students in the early grades.  A variety of assessment measures are used with children in this younger age category and the early identification of developmental needs will help to provide the necessary interventions and accommodations for your child in school. 

Generally, the process of a psycho-educational assessment includes:

• Cognitive/intelligence testing to assess a child's learning ability, learning potential, and learning style (2 hours).
• Achievement testing to assess a child's reading, writing, and math skills (2 hours).
• Additional testing to further assess specific areas, including phonological processing, memory, attention, executive functioning, and impulsivity  (0.5 hour).
• Attention, social-emotional,  and/or behavioural checklists completed by parents, teachers, and older students.
• Parent, teacher, and student interviews (1 hour).
• Review of previous report cards and any professional documents.
• Scoring, interpretation, and report writing (3.5 hours).
• Meeting with student, parents and/or school to review the assessment results and recommendations, as well as to provide a written report (1.5 hours).

With parental consent, we find obtaining information from teachers via telephone consultation, email, and/or behavioural checklists to be helpful in the assessment process.

The psychologists at Fish Creek Psychology follow the Psychologists' Association of Alberta guidelines of $200/hour. Given the outline provided above, the number of hours for a psycho-educational assessment typically would be 10.5 hours ($2,100)

Generally, the process of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) assessment includes:

• Observation at school or another social setting (1.5 hours).
• Cognitive/intelligence testing (2 hours).
• Administration of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale - Second Edition (ADOS-2) (1 hour).
• Semi-structured parent interview, usually 2-3 hours in length (ADI-R) (2 hours).
• Interview with teacher or daycare provider (0.5 hour).
• Social-emotional, behavioural, and adaptive functioning checklists completed by parents, teachers, and older students.
• Review of previous report cards and any professional documents.
• Scoring, interpretation, and report writing (3.5 hours).
• Meeting with student, parents and/or school to review the assessment results and recommendations, as well as to provide a written report (1.5 hours).

With parental consent, we find obtaining information from teachers via telephone consultation, email, and/or behavioural checklists to be helpful in the assessment process.   ​

The psychologists at Fish Creek Psychology follow the Psychologists' Association of Alberta guidelines of $200/hour.  Given the outline provided above, the number of hours for an autism assessment typically would be 12 hours ($2,400).

Yes, counselling services are available for children, adolescents, adults, and couples.  Our professionals provide counselling services for individuals who may be struggling with:

• Anxiety
• Depression 
• Low Self-Esteem
• Trauma (EMDR Therapy)
• Problems with Relationships
• Problems with Impulse Control and Self-Regulation
• Social and Interpersonal Skill Deficits

Clients are encouraged to check their extended health benefits for coverage of Psychologist or Psychological Services. Clients can also claim psychological assessments and/or counselling services as a medical expense on their income tax.

Payment is accepted by cheque or Interac  e-Transfer.  Some of our professionals also accept debit and credit card payments. 

The professionals at Fish Creek Psychology strive to meet the scheduling demands faced by our clients. Yes, some evening and weekend appointments are available. 

Yes, visitor parking spaces are available next to the building front doors. Clients may also park on the street, as well as at the nearby shopping mall and carwash parking lots.