Building the Path to Home

Assessment

An assessment is a further exploration of any area of functioning (e.g., mental health, cognitive ability). The purpose is to understand the person's strengths and problems and to start to develop a plan.

If you work with someone who needs more than you can comfortably provide, and who you want to understand and support better, it makes sense to get a formal assessment. The kind of an assessment to get depends on what you already know and what you need to find out.

Here are some thoughts on assessments:

Family support worker

“What do families want? In our experience they continue to ask for coordinated assessments—where developmental, mental health and physical health factors are all assessed and integrated so that an effective plan can be created.”

Shelter worker

“It's hard to have someone in housing or a shelter when you don't really know what their diagnosis is, and what you can expect. We know how to get a mental health assessment, but it's really hard to get an assessment of their developmental disability.”

Assessments may explore the impact on day-to-day functioning of:

• developmental disabilities
• mental health problems (generally, and in crisis)
• medical problems
• behaviours when under stress
• adaptive function, independent skills
• social skills
• support needs
• interests
• past and present community involvement
• current support network.

Where to get an assessment

The chart below will help to direct you to the right assessment source.

Assessment required	Potential source
Medical	Nurse practitioner, doctor, community health centre
Psychiatric	Psychiatrist, hospital inpatient or outpatient service
Psychological	Registered psychologist, developmental services agency, Surrey Place Centre
Community living/functional	Community support services (see Support Services section)
Emergency	Mobile crisis team, hospital emergency department
Speech/communication	Developmental services agency or Surrey Place Centre
Behavioural	Behavioural therapy practitioner (via developmental services agency)

Developmental disability assessment

If you have questions about the developmental disability, you may want to contact Surrey Place Centre. A psychological assessment that explores the nature and extent of the developmental disability may be needed if you want to access services in the developmental services sector. For example, accessing housing in the developmental sector requires a formal diagnosis of developmental disability.

Mental health assessment

If you believe that the person has a mental health issue that is not being addressed (e.g., you have explored some of the mental health screening questions), then a mental health assessment is the next step.

For more information about mental health assessments, see:
Challenges & Choices: Finding Mental Health Services in Ontario.

Specialized dual diagnosis assessment

When a person has both a developmental disability and a mental health problem, he or she might need a specialized assessment that incorporates expertise in both areas. A good specialized assessment will consider the medical, behavioural, environmental and social aspects of the situation.

Ideally, the assessment will involve people from several professional disciplines (e.g., psychiatry, psychology, nursing, occupational therapy, social work). In Toronto, you can get a specialized assessment through:

• Dual Diagnosis Program (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)
• Surrey Place Centre (unlike the CAMH Dual Diagnosis Program, where service is time-limited, Surrey Place is a developmental services sector provider and can offer long-term treatment).

Questions to ask a service provider

Do you have a multidisciplinary team involved in the assessment? (Look for involvement of professionals from psychiatry, psychology, social work, medicine/nursing, occupational therapy, behavioural therapy, speech therapy.)

• Do you use a biopsychosocial approach?
• Do you offer support and treatment while you are doing the assessment?
• Will you help with individual planning/referral following the assessment?

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