Developmentally advanced and gifted children can have just as many special needs children who are developmentally delayed.  When the needs of bright children are not meet, they are robbed of the opportunity to develop courage and persistence in the face of challenge, work ethic, empathy, and tolerance for others who may struggle.  It also denies them the opportunity to be true to their potential and feel that they, and the skills they have to offer, are appreciated, and valued by others. It is for these reasons that bright children should be identified and supported.

Through assessment, The Avenue Place examine a child’s learning potential and style and address issues such as; what should I be expecting from my child academically? Is he or she working to full potential? At what level is he or she thinking and reasoning at? What are his or her relative strengths and weaknesses and how is this impacting on learning development?  What is the best educational environment for his/her needs and how do we go about ensuring he/she is educated in such a way?

The assessments usually involve the young person working individually with a psychologist for several sessions.  During the sessions, a range of activities are completed including a variety of memory and information processing games, puzzles, language activities, and in some cases academic work such as reading and calculations. Children may complete self-esteem and personality inventories. Parents and teachers may also be invited to complete information surveys on the child’s learning, personality style and general behaviour. Work is usually presented to the child as fun learning activities as opposed to ‘testing’. Depending on the age of the child, the way in which the work is presented varies.  We always discuss this with the parents before meeting the child to ensure they are comfortable with the process. At the end of the formal assessment, we prepare a report with our conclusions regarding the child’s learning and social-emotional needs and utilise the outcomes of the assessment to devise a suggested intervention plan if necessary.