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Preparing Your Child for Assessment

Preparing your child can reduce anxiety and encourage cooperation. The assessment is a positive act, aimed to assess the child’s strengths and areas that are in need of support.

Tips:

• Explain the assessment in a way that wont worry your child. For example, using the word ‘test’ can sometimes cause children to worry excessively.

• Explain to your child the steps for experience- discussion with the parents, and then the psychologist conducts a series of tasks/activities with the child. Following this some guidance and advice will be given to the parents.

• Try to schedule the assessment during the time of day when your child functions best.

• Arrive on time to ensure that you and your child are not feeling stressed.

• Try to ensure your child is well rested on the day before the assessment and has eaten well on that day.

• If things get tough, acknowledge that your child is doing their best and that you are proud of them.

• Always aim to encourage your child

ASK provide independent psycho-educational assessment services with well known and highly qualified educational psychologists and specialists in their specific fields.

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The educational assessment report can help to guide a plan of action at home and at school or at times of transition planning when a move from one school to another may be considered.

  1. There are a range of different assessments available. Fees are available on request.

  2. Pre-assessment questionnaire

    Assessments involve the prior gathering of background information, including the completion of parent questionnaire and if necessary, teacher’s input will also be requested. See each assessor’s individual requirements.

  3. ASK aims to create a comfortable and safe environment for your child’s assessment Assessments involve the prior gathering of background information, including the completion of parent questionnaire and if necessary, teacher’s input will also be requested. See each assessor’s individual requirements.

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  • A comprehensive assessment can play a vital role in diagnosing learning, movement, attention and behavioural problems, and can assist with developing action plans to address those problems, and monitoring progress.

  • The assessment should be an encouraging process seeking out strengths and planning for the future. Some of the time will be spent gathering information from the parent and this is usually done without the child present, so that the parent can freely talk about any concerns they may have. It is useful to have a second parent or carer there while this is happening so your child is not left alone. Bring along a game to play or a book to occupy the child so they are not bored while this is happening. This may take up a quarter of the assessment time.

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    Nicolas Dumolin, Muséum d’histoire naturelle (MHN)

    J’ai eu énormément de plaisir à recevoir Elias au Museum d’histoire naturelle de Genève, durant quelques semaine. Son enthousiasme et son intérêt à découvrir le métier de la surveillance et de la sécurité m’ont donné beaucoup de joie. Toute l’équipe de la sécurité garde un bon souvenir d’Elias. L’équipe d’encadrement ainsi que le coach étaient super et bien veillant, nous avons eu beaucoup de plaisir à partager cette expérience avec eux.

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    Dr David Claivaz, IIL

    I am deeply impressed with the generous and sincere engagement of ASK in favor of kids with Special Education Needs, as well as the neurotypical ones.

    I wrote an IIL Blog Post called “The Essence of Learning”. Google the title to find out more.

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    Parent

    It was very helpful to have so much positive feedback on the idea of James going into a special school as I was not sure that it was the best thing for him, but it looks like it is a very good option. It’s important to have a group where you can say almost anything and not feel judged or criticised to get the feedback, support and ideas from others and be able to off load a bit of the pressure !

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Assessment Caveats

No single definitive test exists to diagnose a learning difficulty or difference with 100% accuracy. A diagnosis results from the convergence of many tests and may require other health professionals to be involved to gain a full picture of your child’s strengths and difficulties. Often, observations of a child’s behaviour and social skills assist the identification process. Some children, however, have multiple problems which may make it harder to make a definitive diagnosis.

Contact us

Assessors

Dr. Gilda Palti

Educational Psychologist

(Due to Covid, offering only online assessment via zoom)

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Ioli N. Soroula

Chartered Educational Psychologist

(Geneva based, by appointment only)

READ MORE

Deborah Schneider

Psychoeducational evaluator

(Geneva based, by appointment only)

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Dr Gilda Palti

Dr. Gilda Palti is a Chartered Child and Educational Psychologist who specialises in assessments of individuals of all ages for a range of learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ASD, ADHD.
She is registered as a member of the British Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC); an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPS); a Member of the Division of Child and Educational Psychology of the British Psychological Society, and holds a Certificate for Family and Child Therapy.
Her BA (with distinction) and MA degrees are in Psychology, concentrating on resilient children.
Gilda completed the Doctor of Education Degree at the University of Bristol, UK in 1988.
Her research focused on the social and emotional aspects of dyslexia.
Her practical work includes individual therapy, consultancy and psycho-educational assessments in the UK, various European countries, the Middle East and the Far East.
She worked as a Locum Psychologist at the Child and Adolescent Services (NHS Trust UK).
Gilda provides assessments and consultancy services to the Helen Arkell Centre, one of the leading centres for specific learning difficulties in the UK.
Gilda was also a member of the Professional Advisory Board of Ginger Software, a contextual spell and grammar checker designed specifically for dyslexic individuals.
She is trained in the application of a computerized ADHD evaluation.

Research Experience

  • “A study of the Socio-Emotional Aspect of Educationally Resilient Dyslexic Pupils”
  • “Personality and Social Portrait of the Invulnerable Child”.

 

Publications:

  • Milgram N.A. and Palti G. (1993): “Psychosocial Characteristics of Resilient Children”
    Journal of Research in Personality, Volume 27, Issues 3, pp. 207-221 (1993).
  • Palti G. (2001): “Social and Emotional Aspects of Dyslexia” The Dyslexia Handbook 2002.
  • Palti G. (2002): “Reviews on socio-emotive aspects of Dyslexia” Perspective Journal of Orton Society – The International Dyslexia Association.
  • Palti G. (2002): “Dyslexia and Resilience” The Dyslexia Handbook 2003
  • Palti G. (2003): “Dyslexia in Adults and Career Opportunities”. Perspective Journal of Orton Society – The International Dyslexia Association.
  • Palti G. (2010): “Specific Learning Difficulties and Mental Health” The Dyslexia Handbook 2010 and The Australian Dyslexia Learning Difference Handbook 2014.
  • Contributor to the book “Dyslexia and Mental Health: Investigations from Differing Perspectives” 2011
  • Contributing to Spence Anxiety Scale
  • Palti G. (2016): “Approaching Dyslexia and Multiple Languages” published in Multilingualism, Literacy and Dyslexia, Edited by L. Peer and G. Reid
  • Other publications on website: www.spld-matters.com.

Ioli N. Soroula

Chartered Educational Psychologist

Registered with the British Psychological Society and the Association of Greek Psychologists

Email: soroula@hotmail.com

Qualifications

Ιoli Soroula is an educational psychologist, specialised in the diagnosis and remediation of learning disorders, who has been supporting children and their families for more than fourteen years. She is chartered by the Health and Care Professions Council in the United Kingdom (HCPC) and registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as the Association of Greek Psychologists (ΣΕΨ). She holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Applied Educational Psychology from Columbia University, New York.

Areas of Support

Ioli is pleased to provide support in the following areas:

  • standardised assessment of learning skills and identification of learning difficulties(e.g. dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia)
  • screening for emotional and behavioural issues (e.g. low self-esteem, anxiety,aggressiveness) or other mental health issues (e.g. adhd, asd)
  • development of intervention programmes for the students assessed.

 

Being an expert in conducting psychoeducational evaluations of school-aged children (detailed assessments of their cognitive and academic skills), Ioli helps them gain insight as to whether they have a learning difficulty (e.g. dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia) or other weaknesses in areas of cognitive development (e.g. verbal reasoning, working memory, visuo-spatial processing) which could be affecting their school work. She also administers to them screening measures of emotional functioning when their history indicates the presence of behavioural or emotional problems (e.g. anxiety, low self-esteem, aggressiveness) or other mental health issues (e.g. attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autistic spectrum disorder) that could be affecting negatively the quality of their school life.

On the basis of the assessment results, she then designs individualised remediation programmes fine-tuned to the children’s needs, helping them to make use of their strengths, develop their skills, built their confidence and grow. She also offers advice regarding the special accommodations to which they might be entitled.

Experience

Throughout her career, Ioli has been working in the private as well as in the public sector across different countries and in a variety of settings. Among other educational institutions, she has collaborated with the Educational Psychology Service of Reading Borough Council (United Kingdom), the Moraitis School (Greece) and the International School of Geneva – Campus des Nations (Switzerland). Her international professional experience has equipped her with an understanding of dealing with children who come from a wide range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Ioli is based in Geneva and will assess children at ASK offices by appointment only. Please contact ASK at info@allspecialkids.org or call 022 788 2102 if you wish to schedule an assessment for your child.

Deborah Anne Schneider

PhD in Special Education, EdS in Language and Reading, MA in Educational Psychology

Member, American Psychological Association

Member, International Dyslexia Association

Email: deborah@schneiderconsulting.net

Dr Schneider is a full member of the American Psychological Association, the International Dyslexia Association, and the Phi Beta Kappa international honour society. She holds a PhD in Special Education; an EdS in Language, Reading, and Culture; and an MA in Educational Psychology. Dr Schneider has served instructional faculty at the University of Arizona and as an evaluator and research associate on multi-year, federally funded projects in the areas of behavioural intervention and reading remediation. Dr Schneider has extensive experience creating and disseminating multimedia curricula and educational materials, and her work and scholarship have appeared in widely used reading software programs and respected academic journals, encyclopaedias, and handbooks.

Dr Schneider offers a variety of services individually tailored to students’ needs:

Psychoeducational Evaluation in English, including Educational Diagnostics and LD and HP Identification
Educational Therapy and Individual Intervention for learners with Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, ADHD, and Developmental Disabilities (ID, ASDs)
Individual and Small Group Language and Reading Classes for Anglophone learners
Individual and Small Group English-Language Classes for non-Anglophone learners
Professional development and consulting in optimal instructional practices
Deborah is based in Lausanne and will assess children by appointment only. Please contact ASK at info@localhost or call 022 788 2102 if you wish to schedule an assessment for your child.