Donna Poirier is a registered psychologist and certified teacher, holding a Master’s of Educational Psychology degree, as well as a Bachelor of Education degree with a specialization in Special Education, from the University of Alberta. Donna has very much enjoyed her 30-plus years of experience working with and supporting individuals of all ages and abilities in her roles as psychologist, behaviour consultant, and teacher.

Donna has a wide range of experience working with individuals in home, school, and community settings, including completing complex psychoeducational and diagnostic assessments. She has completed specialized training in Autism assessment and diagnosis with the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, which are considered by both the Glenrose & FSCD (Family Supports for Children with Disabilities) as clinically equivalent to the diagnostic assessments completed by the Glenrose IPAS and SNAC clinics, immediately qualifying children for specialized individual and family supports such as those provided by the Glenrose and FSCD, without the need to wait 18 -24 months for Glenrose assessments. Early diagnosis permits earlier access to supports and therapies that can improve a child’s communication and social skills. Early intervention can have positive prognostic implications for a child which may, in turn, improve the child’s quality of life.

Donna believes that information gleaned from assessment can be the springboard to better understanding each person as a whole; to help elevate the individual through the development of personalized goals and strategies, which utilize and builds upon the person’s strengths in order to support and enhance their areas of identified need. 

Her decades of practical experience as psychologist, behaviour consultant, and teacher affords Donna the ability to translate individual and family priorities and diagnostic information into pragmatic and functional social, educational/academic, emotional, behavioural, and adaptive goals and interventions to effectively support children, youths, and their families, to maximize the individual’s potential.

For many years, Donna has helped children of all age and ability levels to resolve difficulties in these areas and to meet their goals through ongoing consultation (in-person or on-line); providing parents and families with the knowledge and strategies they need to support their children in achieving desired personal goals and family outcomes. Children and youth with an identified diagnosis, such as those identified below, often present with unique challenges at home, school and/or within the community, and thus may particularly benefit from specialized supports and consultation.