Our assessment services can help you to understand your child’s needs better.
Child & Youth Assessment Enquiry Form
ADHD Assessments
We offer a variety of assessments to help you understand your child’s strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. Early intervention can make a big difference, and our team provides accurate diagnoses and personalised recommendations.
If your child has Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms which are causing problems at home or at school, early intervention can help.
While it is normal and common for children to occasionally forget their homework, lose focus during class and act without thinking, ADHD is more than the occasional lapse. Persistent problems with inattention, impulsivity or hyperactivity that affect the child’s functioning in the home, in the classroom, or in social situations could indicate ADHD. ADHD can also have flown-on effects such as defiance, aggression, and risky behaviour.
ADHD presents differently in different children. There are three major presentation types:
- Predominantly Inattentive: Making careless errors, having difficulty concentrating, experiencing challenges in organising tasks, losing things and getting easily distracted.
- Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive: Often fidgeting or restless, talking to excess, being noisy and loud, blurting out answers, being impatient in turn-taking and interrupting others.
- Combined: This is the most common type of ADHD. Children fit the criteria for this type if they have symptoms of both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive types.
Assessment Tools
Conners 4®: The Conners 4® is a scientifically verified tool that assists assessment for ADHD in young people aged 6 to 18 years. It provides measures of a range of ADHD concerns, such as inattention, disorganisation, and hyperactivity, as well as related issues such as aggression. We use both the Parent and Teacher versions of the tool to enable different perspectives of the child’s condition and evaluate the young person’s symptoms considering diagnostic criteria. The Conners 4® is also useful for planning and monitoring treatment plans.
We also offer behavioural therapy for ADHD. GP referral and Mental Health Care Plan needed for rebates.
Autism Assessments
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are lifelong developmental conditions in both children and adults. Some areas of difficulty for people with ASD include socialisation, communication, sensory activities, and restricted or repetitive behaviours, interests or activities. Autism can cause a significant impairment in functioning, and it is therefore important that affected children receive early interventions with appropriate assessment by trained professionals. We provide expert clinical assessment to children who are suspected of being on the Autism spectrum.
Assessment Tools
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2: We use the ADOS-2, which is a gold standard tool for assessing autism symptoms. The ADOS-2 is a semi-structured interaction in which behaviours are observed across the areas of:
- verbal and nonverbal communication
- social interaction
- recreation skills/creativity and
- restricted or repetitive behaviours.
By observing and coding for these behaviours, information can be obtained for diagnosis and treatment planning.
The assessment examines current behaviour and skills and supplements the historical information obtained through the clinical interview and prior records. The ADOS-2 can be used to evaluate individuals at different developmental levels and ages.
Educational & Cognitive Assessments
Many parents are concerned that their child may be struggling in the classroom but are not sure what factors are getting in the way of their learning.
Cognitive or intelligence assessment is used to determine a child’s learning capability and to identify areas where a child has strengths and those where they may have weaknesses or difficulties. Cognitive assessment provides an IQ score that can be used for identifying intellectual disability or giftedness. It also information assessment for specific learning disorders and can lead to placement in specialised programs and/or clinical intervention.
Educational assessment measures a child’s academic achievement level in a range of areas including reading, mathematics, writing and oral language. It can help identify academic strengths and weaknesses, reveal specific learning disorders and inform decisions regarding eligibility for educational services and interventions.
Cognitive and educational assessments are commonly administered together.
If other tests are recommended, for example, to assess for ADHD, assessments and costs will be discussed with you before proceeding.
Assessment Tools
Both tools below are fun, iPad-based tests, which consist of several activities and puzzles.
Cognitive Assessment Tool: The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) is a comprehensive, individually administered tool for assessing general cognitive functioning and functioning in the specific areas of verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial skills, working memory, and processing speed. It is for children aged six to 16 years. The test generally takes one-and-a-half hours to complete.
Educational Assessment Tool: The Weschler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III) is a comprehensive, individually administered test used to assess the academic achievement of people aged 4 to 50 years. It generally takes one and a half hours to complete.
The WIAT-III is often requested by parents and school counsellors as the detailed results are invaluable for teachers developing Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) for the school setting.
Our Assessment Process
Generally, an assessment will follow the process below, though may differ for older youth.
- Initial meeting with the parent(s)/carer. This meeting is to discuss concerns, strengths and challenges and includes information about the assessment process.
- Meeting with the child. This meeting enables observation of the child and explores their personal perceptions of their strengths and challenges. The psychologist will discuss any concerns that the child has and let them know what to expect during the testing process.
- Completion of testing. Depending on the number of tests recommended by the psychologist, the testing will be completed within one to three sessions.
- Analysis of results and report writing by the psychologist.
- Feedback and copy of report to parent(s)/carer.
Child & Youth Assessment Enquiry Form
