{"id":902,"date":"2020-10-21T11:42:54","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T18:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/?page_id=902"},"modified":"2022-04-25T11:21:54","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T18:21:54","slug":"consent-to-assessment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/consent-to-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Details Regarding Informed Consent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Informed consent is the result of a process of reaching an agreement to work together collaboratively, rather than simply having a consent form signed. In obtaining informed consent, parent and guardians are provided with as much information as a reasonable person would want to know before making a decision or consenting to a psychoeducational assessment or service. Steps should be taken to ensure that all the appropriate information is conveyed in a manner to ensure clear understanding of the assessment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Purpose and Nature of a Psychoeducational Assessment<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The goal of an assessment is to investigate specific and new information to better understand and improve the student\u2019s current functioning or learning. A psychoeducational assessment gathers information about a student\u2019s strengths and weaknesses in various domains [e.g., intelligence (\u201cIQ\u201d tests), achievement, processing, language, and behavior]. The assessment process is driven by individual student need and can include any of the following: interviews, rating scales, observations, file review, testing, curriculum based measurement, history taking and measurement of response to intervention. The assessment process may require the school psychologist to work with the student in a one to one situation outside the regular classroom, but within regular school hours. At the end of the assessment, a report is written and is shared with the parent or guardian and needed school personnel.\u00a0 The report will become part of the student\u2019s confidential file.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Benefits and Risks to Assessment<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Generally, an assessment is organized to answer questions about a student\u2019s learning or behavior. It may help school personnel to gain a better understanding of the child\u2019s learning strengths and challenges. The assessment may help the school staff develop educational programs including insights into beneficial changes as well as develop new strategies, accommodations and adaptations that may be necessary to improve the child\u2019s learning. The assessment may also lead to the student being identified as having special educational needs. Such identification can make it easier for students to access some additional services that may be beneficial.<\/span><\/p>\n

The contents of the results may lead to the child being identified as meeting British Columbia Ministry of Education criteria as a student with special needs, which may be upsetting for you to hear. For example, one possible outcome a parent or guardian could hear is that the child has a learning disability or an intellectual disability. It is important that any concerns or questions that develop over the assessment period be mentioned to the school psychologist promptly, so they can be alleviated or addressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alternatives to Assessment<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The decision to assess the student could be postponed to another time, and the current educational program or placement maintained. A wait and see strategy can be a reasonable choice as other alternatives to a full assessment are implemented and evaluated. Such a strategy might provide new and useful information about the child\u2019s needs and abilities. However, decisions about the educational program of a student should be made with adequate information so the absence of psychoeducational information may limit the effectiveness of other actions or delay the implementation of appropriate interventions. Since the goal of assessment is to better understand and improve a student\u2019s current functioning or learning, then non-action can delay that aspect of the assessment process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mutual Responsibilities<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The parents and teachers will ensure that the child undergoing the assessment is prepared for any change of routine and is made to feel as comfortable as possible regarding the assessment. The school psychologist will ensure that a written copy of the assessment is given to the school in a timely manner. School personnel will be responsible for setting up a meeting to discuss the results with parents, the school psychologist, and the child\u2019s teachers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ongoing Right to Refuse or Rescind Consent<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Consent is not valid if it occurs under the following conditions: coercion, undue influence, misrepresentation, fraud, or duress. Moreover, having the child participate is voluntary and consent can be withdrawn at any time; the right to refuse consent can be invoked at any point during the assessment process by contacting the school psychologist or school principal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Limits to Confidentiality<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

All documents and the written report relating to the assessment are the property of the school district. The information is considered private, confidential and protected by law. Sharing this information with anyone other than authorized employees of the district requires the parent or guardian\u2019s written consent. There are limits on this confidentiality and it may be revoked if:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 the student represents an imminent danger to them self or others;<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 the student is in need of protection and a report must be filed with the appropriate agency;<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 a court orders the disclosure of the records.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some of the above information is from the BC Association of School Psychologists website.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Informed consent is the result of a process of reaching an agreement to work together collaboratively, rather than simply having a consent form signed. In obtaining informed consent, parent and guardians are provided with as much information as a reasonable person would want to know before making a decision or consenting to a psychoeducational assessment…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9981,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/902"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9981"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1499,"href":"https:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/902\/revisions\/1499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/district-psychologists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}