The Process?

My assessment of children or young people may involve collecting information as follows: observing them in class and on the playground, working with them in a one to one, talking to their teachers or other professionals involved, reading other professionals reports, and talking to parents.

During the one to one work with the child or young person I may use informal activities, a standardised assessment of cognitive skills or of attainments in literacy and numeracy, or a dynamic assessment so I can assess learning potential. I also ask the student for his or her viewpoint.

The psychological report describes the assessment, discusses the student’s performance and makes recommendations which will benefit him or her and help them to achieve in the future. Parents have the opportunity for a telephone discussion subsequent to their interview at the time of the assessment and to make comments on a draft version of the report.

Specialism?

In addition to involvement with mainstream language units I have worked altogether for 11 years on the staff of two specialist schools for speech and language and directly with speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. I have assessed in a one to one as many as 300 children and young people with specific language impairments and autistic spectrum difficulties.

My thesis for my Doctorate in Educational Psychology (DEdPsy) at University College London was on children with specific language impairment and achievement in science and I visited mainstream primary schools in order to collect my data. The research was subsequently published in Child Language Teaching and Therapy with myself as the lead author together with Tony Cline, my Tutor at UCL: Matson G and Cline T (2012) The impact of specific language impairment on performance in science and suggested implications for pedagogy. Child Language Teaching and Therapy 28: (25-37).

Fees?

When you have described your scenario I give quotations only in writing. The fee depends on how long the assessment takes to do and how long the report takes to write. The time spent depends on the age of your child, the nature of their special needs and whether the report is intended only for you and the school, or in addition for the Local Authority or a SEND Tribunal. I have a travel fee for locations outside my own town.