What is a psychological assessment?
A psychological assessment is an evaluation of a child’s functioning in one or more of the areas mentioned above. It involves collecting lots of information from multiple sources (including interviews, questionnaires and standardised testing) to pinpoint the problems underlying your concerns.
Why should I have my child assessed?
Let’s go back to the doctor analogy and ask yourself.... “why bother visiting a doctor when your child is unwell?”.
Well, children are complex. It may be beyond the scope the parents to understand what is causing their child's problems and how to help them. If this is you, don't worry, you're in the majority!
Psychological assessment is a process of finding the root-cause of your child's concerns. You will understand WHAT is going on for your child and HOW to best support him or her toward better functioning and health.
Without knowing these underlying issues, attempts to help your child may be a waste of valuable time and possibly make the situation worse.
For many children, psychological assessment is an important stepping stone towards a higher quality of life.
What is the psychologist's role?
The primary role of the psychologist is to apply their skill and knowledge to identify any underlying issues concerning your child.
It is also their job to paint a picture of what is going well for your child, to provide you (the parent) with understanding and education, offer solutions and strategies, and ultimately support you to make a meaningful difference in your child’s life.
Can every psychologist offer assessment services?
No. Psychological assessment is complicated and requires a substantial degree of skill and training. Not all psychologists are trained in assessment and many who are choose not to do it, instead focusing on psychological therapy.
Due to the complex nature of this service, there are significant variances in the quality of assessment across the industry. This is why you need to be careful when selecting a service. Poorly conducted assessment could be detrimental to your child's outcomes.
Our psychologists work hard to provide a consistently high level of professionalism and quality for all of our clients.
What are the benefits of a Chology assessment?
Our assessments will help you to:
- Understand your child better, including strengths and areas for development.
- Identify the cause of your child’s difficulties.
- Learn about key psychological concepts related to your child’s particular
concerns. - Develop skills and knowledge that will empower you to support your child.
- Advice to help you make important life decisions for your child.
- Guidance on what to do next to improve your child’s quality of life.
- Evidence to support applications for NDIS or school funding.
- Measure treatment progress and outcomes.
- Peace of mind in knowing what’s possible for your child and that you are doing what you can to help them reach their potential!
Assessment types
Chology offers diagnostic assessments for:
What is the assessment process?
There are four main components to psychological assessment:
- Information gathering – your psychologist will collect information about your child via questionnaires, interviews, previous assessments, school reports, and medical records.
- Formalised testing – your psychologist will observe and interact with your child; guiding them through a series of structured tasks, tests and activities.
- Report writing – your psychologist will spend time putting all the pieces of the
puzzle together and present this information in a clinical report. - Feedback and support – you will be guided carefully through the results, educated, and provided with practical strategies, resources, referrals.
For more details about the assessment process click here.
How long does it take?
The duration of the assessment will vary depending on your child’s presenting concerns and support needs. We aim to complete the full assessment with report and feedback within 2 weeks of your first booking.
What tests do we use?
To provide accurate assessments, we use precise tools. Our psychologists use only the top-quality testing instruments available on the market. All of our standardised tests are based in strong scientific research.
In short, the tools we use to assess children have validity and reliability. Our test library is comprehensive, meaning we can assess for most childhood conditions across the five key areas of behaviour, cognition, emotions, school learning and social health.
For reference purposes, here are a few of the more common tests we use:
- WISC-VA&NZ (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – 5th Edition)
- WIAT-IIIA&NZ (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – 3rd Edition)
- WAIS-IVA&NZ (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - 4th Edition)
- ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – 2nd Edition)
- ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview –Revised)
- NEPSY-II (A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment – 2nd Edition)
- CTOPP-2 (Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing - 2nd Edition)
- BASC-3 (Behaviour Assessment System for Children – 3rd Edition)
- Vineland-3 (Adaptive Behaviour Scales - 3rd Edition)
- BRIEF-2 (Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function – 2nd Edition)
- SRS-2 (Social Responsiveness Scale – 2nd Edition)
- GARS-3 (Gilliam Autism Rating Scale - 3rd Edition)
- CVLT-C (California Verbal Learning Test – Children’s Edition)
- RCFT (Reys Complex Figure Task)
Why choose Chology?
Professionalism – All of our psychologists are highly trained mental health specialists with a passion for child assessment. Each clinician has attained a Masters Degree in psychology (at least 6 years at university) and boasts substantial industry experience. This means you can rest easy knowing that your child is in very capable hands.
Quality – Our service quality and clinical reports are second-to-none. You will experience a premium health offering that was meticulously designed to inform, educate and empower you, the parent, to do the best you can for your child.
Comprehensive reports - we have received incredible feedback from parents and school staff; a number of whom suggesting that our reports are powerful and the best (they had) ever seen.
Speed – Your child’s development is important, don’t wait around and hope for the best. We aim to keep our waiting list as short as possible. Early intervention is the best intervention - get help today!
Read more about choosing the right assessment service here.
Free online screener
The questionnaire below was designed to measure general psycho-social issues in children.