PaEe 25 of 2E

Collaterai Contacts
Mohammed Sadiq, Ph.D. Ctinical Fsychology, Consultant to the Islamic Family and
Social Ser-r"ices Association (IFSSA), Edrnonton, AB.
I cons,.rited rvith Dr. Sadiq regalriing this fanii,v. u'itirout prr:viriing anv icientiliiing
perscnai inforriatie.n, to er:qLrir-e as t,-. iris pcssicle availabilirr- 1o pror-ide cotrnselling for thern.
Dr. Sadiq lndicatecl that he has done extensir.-e rvorli u,itir lr'Iuslin tamilies u,ith similal
backglounds ancl ap::,: eciales the cha1lenges the-,. tace. Dr. Saciiq stated tirat ire .,vorild i-.e
Drepaleci to plo.,,icLe counsi:lllng fol both Nh'. F icijel anri !Is. Simoussa, ancl u,cLrld i:e u'il}ing tc
assist iherl to lmplemenl a paientiilg pian baseci on the custoc.L'7 and access ariang{:menls
deterrnineci ir-,, the Court. FIe confir'meci that he is able t,c ofier his -"elvices on a sllding fbe scale
to accornmodate flnancial limitatlons of his ciients.

Summarv and Recomrnendations

iVIr. Ficijel ancl Ms. Simoussa are einbroiled in a conflictual relationship that affbcts tireir
children, Hamza and Walid. Each parent has accitseil the other r:f har.'ing intentionally ancl
continuiiliy placed the children in the nriddle of their- contlict. Ms. SimoLrssa acimittecl that
ciLrring the tirne leading up to her separation fl'om N,Ir. Fid.iei, she rvas Iilielir depressecl ancl
emotional" She asserts that since the sepalation, she iras triecl to ar,'oici conflict ancl negatir.e
intel'actiorls',r,ith N'Ir. Fidjel, rvhich she ]ras found clifilcult because of his preocclrpation lvith her'
pelsonal litb, and constant attempts to discreilit her rvith the chilclrei-i. On tire other hanil, iVIr.
tridjel asserts that N{s. Simoussa has piaced the moral and phvsical .,velfare of the c}rildren iir
.jeopardy because of' her lifbstyle. ,,vhich he believes contradicis their- relisiolrs beliefs. In
addition, ire contencls tirat sire has intentionally ancl pelsistently inter-flered rr,ith his relationship
rvith the chilcir-en, and is responsibie fol tire learning difiiculties u,ith u,hicli both chilch'en
strugele.

N{y testing in this assessment, and t}re history of the learning c}rallenges ,,vith .,r,hich
both chiLclren have historicaliy strugg'1ed, sr-rggests that both chilciren reqirile consistencv,
preclictability, ancl stability in their lives. Flarnza's problems are ferver anci less severe than
Waliil's. Given those fincling-s, and that it has been some time since Wnlid rvas last assesserl, it
'uvor-rld be reasonabie thai he be relelred fbl an updated 1>sycho-edLrcationaj assessment. The
ciiscrepancy in the parents' ratings on the l3;\SC-g for each child is of some concel'n. NIr. I'-idjel
acknor.r{edgecl dil}iculties in each of }ris chilclren bLrt reported more numerous ancl seriotrs
problems {br l-Iamza t}ran }ris teaclters clicl. Conversely, Ms- Sirnousszr under'-r-eported {bl l:oth
cirilciren ancl her leports, if taken in isolatjon, suggest that she believes they are not unlilie most
other chilciren their ages. I-Iorvever, this contradicts tire infbrr-nation lv-Is. Simoussa provided
clr-rring intervieu,s u,ith rne regarding the cirilclren, their eciucatil nal chailenge-s, and hoiv she
has rvorked rvith edLrcators and otirer professionals to sripport the children's lear-ning needs.

What is clear is that Walid has a nurnbel of Ciinicalll. Significant (above tire gttt'
percentiie) problems that nalrant lirlthel investigation. Whatever the origin o{'these problems,
he requires fut'tlier assessment and pr-ofessior"ral inten.ention. Mr'. tridjel suggests titat his
expelience as a teacher and declication as a parent are sufficient to addless his children's
behavioural ancl educational r-lifllcr-rlties, r:rinimizes the masnitrrcle of \&'alicl's probien:rs, ancl
r-rr-iclelestinrates the supports Watid r.vill r'eqLrire. Irr contrast, the pr-oblerus he t"eported fbr'
gumcy fufiatit*fry,
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