Learning to Listen Differently: Reflections on the Development of an Indigenous Assessment Protocol

Psychoeducational assessments often determine access to essential services, yet most tools used in Canadian contexts remain grounded in Western frameworks that do not reflect Indigenous worldviews. This brief report describes the development of an Indigenous Assessment Protocol co-created through an Indigenous-led, community-engaged processes. Used alongside standard tools, the protocol supports practitioners in contextualizing assessment results through a strengths-based, holistic understanding of child development. This practice-based contribution joins a growing number of responses across Canada that heed national calls for more culturally grounded and community-engaged approaches to assessment.