Phase 1
First, we talk.
A 1-hour intake call. You tell me what's going on; I help you figure out which assessment fits.
~1 hour · billed at $240
Bench Psychology · Calgary
Honest, in-depth
assessments for
Calgary kids and teens
Psychoeducational, gifted, ADHD, and learning disability assessments — done with patience, in plain language, and with reports your school can actually use.
The process
Three phases. No surprises along the way.
Every assessment we do follows the same arc — so you and your child always know what's coming next. The rhythm doesn't change based on which assessment fits.
Phase 2
Then we test, together.
Two-hour blocks, in person. Built around how a child actually sits.
2–7 hours total across one or more visits
Phase 3
Then you walk away with answers.
A feedback call, then a plain-language written report the school can act on.
Feedback ~3–4 weeks after testing Report ~1 week later
Want the full walkthrough? See what to expect →
If any of this sounds familiar
You don’t have to know what’s wrong before you reach out.
You’re in the right place. The first conversation is where we start figuring out which.
01
School's been harder than it should be. You've tried things at home. The conversations with the teacher haven't quite moved the needle.
02
You've gotten different stories from different people — the teacher, the paediatrician, a well-meaning friend — and you're not sure who to listen to.
03
Maybe it's ADHD. Maybe it's a learning difference. Maybe it's a gifted-and-bored thing. Maybe it's something else underneath all of that.
What we do
Four assessments.
One way of working.
One way of working.
Each one starts with a different question — but the process, the care, and the kind of report you walk away with are consistent across all of them.
12–14 hours · billed hourly
Psychoeducational
A complete picture of how your child learns — cognitive, academic, and social-emotional, all in one assessment. This is the right starting point when you’re not sure exactly what you’re looking at.
Learn more3–5 hours · billed hourly
Gifted
A WISC or WPPSI cognitive assessment. For GATE applications, Westmount Charter, or simply because you want to understand how your child’s mind works.
Learn more5–7 hours · billed hourly
ADHD
A proper ADHD assessment — not a fifteen-minute screener. Includes rating scales from you, your child's teacher, and (for ages 11+) your child, because real ADHD shows up across settings.
Learn more12–14 hours · billed hourly
Learning Disability
Dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia — diagnosed through a thorough psychoeducational assessment, the way they should be.
Learn moreNot sure which one fits your child? Send me an email or fill out the form, and we’ll figure that out together. Fill out the form →
How we work, in every assessment
The same care across
every assessment.
every assessment.
Whichever assessment your child needs, the way we run the day is the same — because how a child feels in that room is what they bring to the work.
A diagnosis is a description of how your child’s brain works. It’s not a sentence.
Two-hour blocks.
Split across separate visits. Built around how a child can actually focus — no marathon days.
Candy on the desk.
Something tactile and sweet within reach. A small thing that takes the pressure off.
Hoodies, not lab coats.
The setting is casual on purpose. Children relax faster when no one's performing authority — and a relaxed child gives you a real picture.
Testing breaks.
When they need a few minutes to switch off, they switch off. Then we come back.
About Vanessa
I built Bench so I could do this work the way it should be done.
“I’m Vanessa. I’m a registered psychologist in Alberta, and I built Bench because I wanted to do assessment work the way it should be done — patiently, in plain language, and in a setting that doesn’t make children feel like they’re being studied.
My master’s at the University of Calgary was three years focused on one thing: assessment. Since 2022 I’ve worked with Calgary school boards and with families from every income tier.
I wear hoodies to work. I work in two-hour blocks because that’s how a child actually sits. There’s candy on the desk.”
Vanessa Rankin, M.Ed., R. Psych. · More about Vanessa →
Frequently asked
A few common questions before you reach out.
The questions parents bring up most often during intake — covered here so you can read them on your own time before the call.
That’s actually the most common reason parents reach out — and you don’t have to have it figured out first. Send me an email or fill out the form: what you’ve been noticing, what the school’s been saying, what you’ve already tried. I’ll help you work out which kind of assessment fits, or whether something else makes more sense — and if none of these fit, I’ll tell you that too, and point you somewhere that might. There’s no charge for that; the intake itself is the first hour of the assessment, once you’ve decided to go ahead.
I bill hourly at $240, so the total depends on which assessment your child needs. A full psychoed runs about 12–14 hours of work; a gifted assessment is closer to 3 hours; ADHD is somewhere in the 5–7 range. In the intake call, I’ll talk you through a real range scoped to your child’s specific situation — no flat-rate guesses. See the full pricing page →
Most assessments are 4–6 weeks from intake to written report, depending on which assessment we’re doing and how scheduling works out. The bulk of that is testing scheduled around your child’s availability and the time it takes to write the report carefully. See what to expect → for the full timeline.
When you’re ready
The next step is just a conversation.
An intake is a 1-hour video call (30 minutes in person for gifted assessments). You tell me what you’re seeing, what’s been hard, what you’ve already tried. I’ll listen, ask questions, and tell you whether what Bench does is the right fit — and if it isn’t, I’ll point you toward something that might be. You’ll leave the call with more clarity than you came in with. That part I can promise.
The intake is the first hour of the assessment, billed at $240. Want to talk first? A free 15-minute consult call — or an email — is always an option.