Beyond Scores™: Seeing the Whole Child, Not Just a Number
Parents seeking an assessment for developmental delays or intellectual disability often share the same fear:
Will my child be reduced to an IQ score instead of truly understood?
At Eckert Psychology & Education Centre, we share that concern—and it shapes how we assess.
This is why our work is guided by the Beyond Scores™ approach and the Eckert Centre Well-Being Model™. These frameworks ensure that assessment is never about a single number or a narrow label, but about understanding how a child learns, adapts, regulates, connects, and functions in the real world.
While standardized testing is an important part of ethical assessment, scores alone do not tell the full story—especially for children with developmental differences. We look at how your child engages with tasks, responds to support, learns over time, and shows strengths that may not appear on a test page.
Our assessments are dynamic and relational, meaning we pay close attention to:
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How learning changes with scaffolding and support
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Where access breaks down—and where it opens
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How cognitive abilities interact with regulation, communication, environment, and relationships
This approach protects children from being underestimated, mischaracterized, or placed into programming that does not truly meet their needs.
At Eckert Centre, assessment is not about defining limits—it is about understanding how to teach, support, and build capacity in ways that honour your child’s dignity and potential.
What This Assessment Is Designed to Understand
A developmental delays or intellectual disability assessment at Eckert Centre is designed to answer questions that matter for your child’s learning, support, and future—not to reduce them to a score or a label.
We work from a neurodiversity-affirming perspective, which means we understand developmental differences as part of human variation—not something to be “fixed,” erased, or defined by limitations alone. Our role is to understand how your child learns and functions best, and what helps them grow with dignity and support.
This assessment helps us understand:
How your child learns and processes information
Including strengths, challenges, and how learning changes when the right teaching approach, pacing, or supports are in place
How your child functions in daily life
Such as communication, independence, problem-solving, and adaptive skills across home, school, and community settings
Where development is delayed—and why
By looking at thinking, learning, adaptive skills, and emotional experience together, rather than in isolation
How stress, safety, and environment affect performance
Because how a child performs in a testing room—or classroom—is deeply influenced by comfort, trust, expectations, and support
What kinds of teaching and support actually help
So recommendations are realistic, respectful, and usable—not generic, restrictive, or based on assumptions
Rather than asking, “What is wrong?” we are asking:
“What helps this child access learning, safety, and growth—and what gets in the way?”
This level of understanding matters when assessment results will influence educational programming, expectations, funding decisions, and how others understand your child.
It is also what allows our recommendations to protect your child’s dignity and identity, while still providing clear, defensible guidance that schools and support systems can rely on.
How We Assess Developmental Delays & Intellectual Disabilities
(And Why Our Process Is Different)
Assessing developmental delays or intellectual disabilities requires more than administering tests. It requires time, senior clinical judgment, and a process designed to understand how a child learns—not just where they struggle.
At Eckert Centre, assessments are led by senior psychologists and unfold across multiple stages to ensure conclusions are accurate, respectful, and genuinely useful for a child’s future.
1. Starting With the Right Question
We begin with a comprehensive intake to understand your child’s developmental history, current functioning, strengths, and the questions you are hoping to answer.
This includes learning, communication, daily living skills, emotional regulation, and family context—so the assessment is tailored to your child, not a generic testing battery.
2. Careful, Developmentally Appropriate Assessment
Your child participates in multiple assessment sessions using tools chosen specifically for their developmental level and needs. We assess areas such as:
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Thinking and problem-solving
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Early learning and academic foundations
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Adaptive functioning (daily life and independence skills)
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Communication and social understanding
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Emotional regulation and stress response
We pay close attention not just to what your child can do, but how they engage, respond to support, and learn over time—because development is dynamic, not fixed.
3. Beyond Scores™: Understanding the Why, Not Just the Score
Many assessments stop at test results—reporting IQ scores, percentiles, and diagnostic labels. While those data matter, they are never enough on their own.
At Eckert Centre, results are interpreted using the Eckert Centre Well-Being Model™, which helps us understand why learning breaks down and what conditions help it re-emerge.
Rather than viewing scores in isolation, we look at how four connected areas of well-being interact:
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Intrapersonal: thinking, regulation, nervous system
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Relational: safety, attachment, co-regulation with others
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Environment: stress load and scaffolding (the supports a child needs to access learning)
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Meaning: how a child experiences themselves and the world
Our Beyond Scores™ approach ensures test results are understood in context—considering effort, responsiveness to support, emotional load, and real-world functioning.
This is especially important for children with developmental delays or intellectual disabilities, because how a child performs with the right support tells us far more than a score alone.
4. Feedback That Protects Dignity and Guides the Future
You receive a comprehensive written report and a dedicated feedback meeting where results are explained clearly and respectfully.
We focus on:
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What your child can do
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Where access to learning breaks down
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What types of teaching, support, and expectations help growth
Recommendations are practical, prioritized, and designed to support learning, dignity, and long-term development—not just documentation.
Who This Assessment Is — and Isn’t — a Good Fit For
A developmental delays or intellectual disabilities assessment at Eckert Centre is often the right fit when:
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You want a careful, respectful understanding of how your child learns and functions
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You are concerned about your child being reduced to an IQ score or label
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You need clear guidance for school programming, supports, or long-term planning
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You value assessments that consider learning, regulation, daily functioning, and dignity together
This assessment may not be the right first step if:
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You are seeking the fastest or least expensive option
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You only need a brief screening rather than a comprehensive understanding
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You are not ready for a multi-session, in-depth process
We believe ethical assessment includes helping families choose the right level of care—not automatically offering the most extensive option.
Understanding the Value of a Comprehensive Assessment
$4,810 (Billed at an hourly rate of $260)
Assessments for developmental delays and intellectual disabilities are among the most careful and responsibility-laden evaluations we provide.
At Eckert Centre, this assessment typically involves 20+ hours of professional psychological work, led by a senior psychologist and completed across multiple stages. This time is essential because understanding development requires more than identifying limits—it requires seeing the whole child clearly, respectfully, and in context.
What This Assessment Includes
This assessment involves a comprehensive exploration across key areas of development, including:
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Cognitive functioning — how a child thinks, reasons, and problem-solves
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Academic development — how learning skills are emerging and best supported
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Adaptive functioning — how a child manages daily life, independence, and real-world demands
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Social and emotional functioning — including regulation, mental health, and stress response
Each area is carefully assessed, scored, interpreted, and then integrated together, rather than viewed in isolation. We pay close attention to how a child learns when the right support is in place—not just how they perform in a testing moment. This integration is what allows conclusions to be accurate, fair, and useful over time.
This depth reflects our Beyond Scores™ approach—where results are interpreted in context, not reduced to numbers.
What Families Are Paying For
Families are not paying for a label or a single test session. They are paying for:
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Senior psychologist leadership throughout the assessment, ensuring conclusions are guided by experience and ethical judgment
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Multiple in-person testing sessions to gather reliable, developmentally appropriate data
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Extensive scoring, interpretation, and clinical formulation, completed between sessions—not rushed at the end
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Careful integration of cognitive, adaptive, academic, and emotional information so overlapping or contributing factors are not missed
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A comprehensive written report that schools, funding agencies, and support systems can rely on
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A thoughtful feedback process where results are explained clearly and respectfully, with time for questions and planning
This depth protects children and families from misinterpretation, oversimplification, and inappropriate expectations.
Why This Level of Care Matters
Assessment conclusions can influence:
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Educational placement and programming
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Access to supports and services
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Long-term planning and independence
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How a child understands themselves—and how others understand them
Because of this, we choose to work slowly, carefully, and thoroughly.
Families often tell us the greatest value lies in:
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Gaining clarity about what is truly happening
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Experiencing connection through a process that feels respectful and supportive
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Achieving coherence across home, school, and services
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Building courage to move forward with informed, compassionate planning
Our goal is not simply to assess a child—but to provide understanding that protects dignity, supports development, and guides the future.
That level of work requires time.
And it is time intentionally invested in getting it right.
When the right assessment matters, a free consultation call can help ensure the scope truly fits your child’s needs.
Please note: Prices are subject to change. Final fees may vary depending on the child’s specific needs and presentation.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If you’re considering a developmental assessment—or still sorting through what level of assessment is right for your child—the best place to begin is a conversation.
A free consultation call with a psychologist allows us to understand your concerns, clarify what questions you’re hoping to answer, and ensure the right type of assessment is selected before you commit. This step protects families from unnecessary testing and helps ensure the assessment truly fits your child’s needs.
Ways to Connect With Us:
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Book a Free Consultation Call (recommended first step)
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Submit a Contact Form if you prefer written communication
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Call Us: 403-230-2959
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Email: info@eckert-psychology.com
Assessments are offered in person in Calgary, with virtual components available across Alberta where appropriate. Our team is here to help you move forward with clarity, confidence, and a plan that makes sense for your child and your family.
