Jeanine Maakal Psigometris/ Psychometrist

The person- environment fit approach to career assessment is one of the most popular methods used for career assessment today.  How does it work? The goal of this approach is to find the perfect fit between a client's self knowledge and his/her knowledge of the world of work. This knowledge is primarily obtained by doing psychological assessments. Normally a test battery would include the following tests: an aptitude or cognitive measure for example the Differential Aptitude test (DAT) or the General Scholastic Aptitude test (GSAT), an interest questionnaire for example the 19 Field Interest Inventory (19FII) or the Self-Directed Search Questionnaire (SDS), a personality questionnaire for example the 16 Factor Personality Questionnaire (16PF) or the Jung Personality Questionnaire (JPQ) and a values assessment for example the Values Scale (VS). After an assessment is done and the results interpreted a fit can then be made. A client will be advised ...

Worksheets are useful tools in any teachers arsenal.  During the Covid 19 pandemic many schools were forced to send out worksheets to their learners as a means to continue teaching. It works well as it is easy to send out via Whatsapp or can be downloaded from the internet. Unfortunately we have seen an overuse of worksheets in recent years, especially in the foundation phase. This can be attributed to large classrooms and overworked teachers. Worksheets in the foundation phase are easy to mark as they often only requires writing a word or a number for an answer. This saves time and more work can be done. But why is this a problem?  Many children struggle with creative writing and mathematics when they reach the intermediate phase.  The problem in creative writing is they never learned how to write proper full sentences. The more you practice writing sentences, the better your vocabulary and sentence construction will be. For creative writing I often explain to child...

Going to school for the first time can be daunting under the best of circumstances. Doing so during a pandemic may be even more stressful for both child and parent. If you have opted to send your child to school instead of Home schooling, your child will now have to learn to wear a face mask and to sanitise hands on top of everything else. He or she might feel overwhelmed in the beginning. You might also feel scared sending your child to school.  There are however things that you can do to make the first day of school less daunting: Make sure that your child has everything he/she will need for the first day of school. It is easy for a child to fit in if he/she has the correct school uniform, stationary, lunchbox etc. If you are unsure of what works best, try and talk to someone who already has children in the school and can give you some insight. Make sure you spend time with your child the evening before the big day. During this time try to alleviate any fears he/she might ha...

Reversals occur when a child for example confuse a 'b' with a 'd'. It is common for children younger than 7 to reverse letters and numbers during writing. If this problem continues during the primary school years it would be wise to obtain professional help as this in conjunction with other academic difficulties might be an indication of a Specific Learning Disorder.  If you would like to help your pre-school child or if you are a teacher looking for resources I shall be sharing some of the exercises that I use in my practice to correct reversals. (Please note that if your child suffers from a Specific Learning Disorder these exercises alone may not work. It is important that a child is seen by a trained professional and that an intervention program is tailored to your child's specific needs.) 1. Large  letters and Large numbers You can find large alphabet letters and numbers for tracing here: https://www.sparklebox.co.uk/1076-1080/sb1076.html  and here:  h...

If you have a child who struggles with reading, writing or mathematics ,you might have heard terms such as dyslexia or dyscalculia mentioned by a concerned teacher. These are alternative terms we use and they now fall under the term Specific Learning Disorder. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (Fifth edition)  (DSM- 5) a Specific Learning Disorder entails difficulties in learning and the use of academic skills such as reading, comprehension, spelling, writing and mathematics.  Many children are not diagnosed early on which leads to academic problems and poor self- esteem later on in life. The following are warning signs of a possible learning disorder. 1. Children with dyslexia often don't like reading by themselves but love to be read to. 2. Struggling to read. A child my struggle with fairly easy words but be able to read more difficult words. 3. Reading words that is not in the text.  4. Struggle enormously with spelling. Word...

The following procedures will be followed at the practice to ensure the safety of my clients. 1.      Only individual assessments will be conducted at the practice. 2.      Feedback of assessments, study methods or remedial therapy will be conducted via Zoom sessions (Telemedicine/ Telehealth). 3.      Only one battery of tests/ assessment will be conducted per day as to allow for proper sanitisation of the practice. 4.      Clients visiting the practice must adhere to the following: ·        Wearing of facemasks ·        Social distancing ·        Measurement of temperature ·        Sanitising of hands ·        Signing of a Covid- 19 declaration form. 5.      Parents can accompany their children to the practice but will be asked to leave du...