School Neuropsychology
Psychological Testing and Assessments Toronto

Dr. O'Connor, a Toronto psychologist offers in depth, comprehensive Psychological Testing and Assessment services. Her assessments incorporate her post doctoral training in School Neuropsychology, and integrate a brain/behaviour focus to assess the young person's functioning levels across a range of concerns. This includes an exploration of the young person's strengths and weaknesses across various neurocognitive domains, and how this pattern impacts learning, and/or the young person's  social, emotional and behavioral functioning.

Dr. O'Connor's comprehensive, in depth  psychological testing and assessment services increase understanding of the psychological challenges that present in the young people you care about and/or work with, and lead to evidence based interventions to help.  Dr. O'Connor's psychological assessments help get "to the root" of the psychological concerns in a young person that worry you. You will learn what is contributing to and maintaining these concerns and how to address them. You will learn where the young person's strengths lie, what his needs are and what  evidence based interventions might help.  

Dr. O'Connor takes referrals from educational personnel, physicians, pediatricians, personal injury and family lawyers, mental health professionals and organizations. She also provides services to clients in the Ontario Simcoe and York regions.

Dr. O'Connor's in depth comprehensive psychological testing and assessment services get "beneath the surface." Dr. O'Connor's assessments increase understanding of what is contributing to and maintaining the issues of concern. They also address the young person's needs, lead to evidence based interventions to help and address his/her strengths and particular talents?  

Dr. O'Connor's psychological testing and assessments explore a range of psychological concerns that may present in a child, an adolescent or young adult.

These include:

• learning and academic problems (e.g., learning disabilities & developmental delays)
• social, emotional and behavioral concerns (e.g.,anxiety and/or depression)
• traumatic brain injury/concussion
• trauma based issues (acute and/or ongoing chronic stressors)
  

The above concerns frequently interconnect.  A young person, for example, who is showing learning problems may also show symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, or trauma symptoms and/or suffer from a brain injury

Dr. O'Connor also supports young adults who require psychological testing and assessment services to explore learning issues, such as a learning disability in order to pursue appropriate support at the college or university level, or when writing post graduate admission exams. She works with young adults who are struggling with a post-secondary school program, and/or with other issues such as behavioral and emotional concerns?

Dr. O'Connor's School Neuropsychological Assessments Can Help

Dr. O'Connor holds a diplomate in school neuropsychology with the American Board of School Neuropsychology. She offers school neuropsychological assessments to help you, help the children, adolescents and young adults you care about and work with.  Children, adolescents and young adults can suffer from a range of neuropsychological concerns, from the relatively benign to the more serious. Their families, and the professionals who work with them are searching for help to support them.

Dr. O'Connor's Psychological Assessments increase understanding of adolescent and child problems and how to help.

• Find out what is contributing to and maintaining the adolescent and child problems that worry you. 
  
• Find out how a young person  is doing in specific areas of child development - the social, emotional, behavioural and cognitive/academic.
• Find out about a young person's needs and how to help.
• Assess a young persons strengths and build on where "things are working" and going well.
• Learn how a child is coping with specific challenges or concerns (e.g. divorce, parental addiction, social concerns, trauma related issues,) and what you can do to help.
• Find out where you need to intervene to address a young person's needs, and where to build positive coping strategies and enhance the his/her competence, psychological well being and resilience.
  

Following the assessment, Dr. O'Connor may refer you to community resources or relevant books and other resources to address the young person's needs. If applicable, Dr. O'Connor will provide a diagnosis or diagnoses, as well as evidence based interventions to help the young person cope with specific problems and concerns.

Click Here to Learn More about Dr. O'Connor's psychological testing and assessment services. 

School Neuropsychological Assessments

The young people Dr. O'Connor works with typically require comprehensive, in depth school-neuropsychological assessments to get to the root of the psychological/learning issues that plague them. The traditional psychoeducational assessment does not provide the in depth, comprehensive assessment and analysis that her young clients frequently require.

School neuropsychological assessments are comprehensive, in depth assessments that increase understanding of the brain-behaviour relationships that underlie the psychological and learning challenges that present in young people. This applies specifically to the underlying neuropsychological processing concerns that young people with learning and other psycholological problems often exhibit. The comprehensive, in depth analysis the school neuropsychological assessment offers leads to the development of evidence based, targeted interventions tailored to the individual needs of the young person.

The young people Dr. O'Connor works with typically require comprehensive, in depth school-neuropsychological assessments to get to the root of the psychological/learning issues that plague them. 

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What About Psycheducational Assessments?

Dr. O'Connor includes the components of a psychoeducational assessment within the school neuropsychological assessments she provides.  These include measures of cognitive abilities, academic achievement and screeners to explore social and emotional functions. Dr. O'Connor includes these measures during the initial assessment session, and then proceeds to the more fulsome school neuropsychological assessment if required. 

From the School Neuropsychology Institute: 

In a recent posting "Under Strength Based School Neuropsychology Report Writing" it states the following: "A school neuropsychological evaluation conducted by a clinical or school psychologist with advanced training in school neuropsychology is typically a time-intensive, complex assessment with a student who is suspected of having significant challenges that would benefit from a more comprehensive assessment than a traditional psychoeducational evaluation (Martin, 2021). "