Diagnostic and Adaptive Assessments

Dr. Freeman follows the BC Provincial Standards and Guidelines for diagnostic assessments of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Young children require a pediatrician consultation, a speech/language evaluation, and a diagnostic/developmental assessment by a psychologist. Parents provide Dr. Freeman with their consultation reports and the results are integrated into the final diagnosis.

Assessments are usually completed in three appointments:

• A parent interview: this is a detailed, 2-hour interview about your child’s developmental, medical, and mental health history, as well as a standardized interview with questions about your child’s social skills, communication skills, and specific behaviours.
• Child’s assessment: this is done over a 3-hour session, which includes plenty of time for breaks. This appointment covers both the developmental assessment (like an intelligence test) and the diagnostic testing (this is a play-based interaction that measures the three key symptoms of ASD)
• The parent feedback meeting: we go over the results, talk about recommendations and answer your questions.. You receive a copy of the report at this meeting

Dr Freeman follows the BC Provincial Standards and Guidelines for diagnostic assessments of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Older children (over 6 years) only need a diagnostic assessment, although sometimes a psycho-educational assessment is also helpful.

Assessments are usually completed in two appointments (the parent and child appointments are often booked in the same day):

• A parent interview: this is a detailed, 2-hour interview about your child’s developmental, medical, and mental health history, as well as a standardized interview, with questions about your child’s social skills, communication skills, and specific behaviours during the preschool years.
• Child assessment: This is a 1.5 hour play-based interview that assesses the three key features of ASD. Your child will experience this as a lot of questions about feelings and thoughts about friendship, as well as some interactive play.
• The final appointment is the parent feedback meeting. We go over the results, talk about recommendations, and answer your questions. You receive a copy of the report at this meeting.

What is involved:

• A detailed parent interview about your child’s independence, communication, self-care, problem-solving, and social skills.  This is sometimes done through a detailed online form plus a brief interview.
• Parents receive a brief report, summarizing their child’s strengths and weaknesses, and includes information required by CLBC

What is involved:

• A detailed interview with parents about their concerns, as well as questions about their child’s developmental, mental health, and medical history. Often, there is also an interview with the child about their current experiences, concerns, and areas of difficulty.
• Forms are completed by parents, the child, and sometimes the teacher, about relevant symptoms and how these impact the child’s daily functioning.
• Parents receive a letter or summary report, outlining the results and recommendations for supporting your child’s needs