Assessment

Through my assessment process I gain relevant information regarding:

• The learner/client’s current challenges (e.g. with academic work, learning, and ‘getting stuff done’);
• Their performance and learning goals to move from ‘Point A’ to ‘Point B” (in others words from where they are to where they would like to be in the future);
• Factors that are preventing them from achieving their goals. This can include (but not limited to) challenges with executive function skills; ineffective thinking and learning skills; environmental factors; social-emotional issues; etc.
• Strengths and positive factors that can help them to achieve their goals.

Other information used in my assessment process

Reports from other professionals as well as information from parents, educators, or other relevant persons are also used.  These documents form part of my assessment for background as required.

Client stories as part of assessment

Getting information from my clients and hearing their stories are more important to me than doing formal assessments.

Listening to my referrals is essential as some children are tired of being assessed.  Often they are also ‘over diagnosed’.  The piles of assessment reports from numerous professionals over many years provide evidence for this.

I prefer an assessment approach that provides hope and offer answers instead of focusing on ‘labels’ or ‘how bad a problem is.’

My Assessment Approach is linked to a Functional Medicine Approach

Let me first biefly explain the difference between conventional medicine and a functional medicine approach.

In medicine, health refers to the sum total of the health of different systems in the body such as the cardiovascular system, the nervous system, the gastrointestinal system, etc.

Conventional medicine focus mainly on the treatment of disease.

Functional Medicine (FM) on the other hand shows a shift from the disease-centred approach of medical care to a more patient-centred approach.  Identifying the root causes of a disease is very important in FM.  Practitioners therefore spend time with their patients to listen to their histories (stories).  They explore the interactions among genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that may influence long-term health and chronic disease.

I hence make an effort to listen to the stories of my clients and to also talk to them about lifestyle factors such as:

• Eating habits
• Sleep
• Exercise
• Stress management
• Unhealthy habits, etc.

These factors can’t be ignored. Often learners and parents are unaware of the important role of these factors for optimal brain and learning health. In my intervention approach I thus address this.