Assessments

Southern Child & Family Psychology provides a range of specialist assessments including:

Autism Assessments

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by impairments in social interaction and communication, combined with behavioural difficulties such as repetitive or stereotyped behaviour, obsessions/fixations, odd motor mannerisms, rigidity and difficulty with change, and sensory sensitivities. 

The spectrum of Autism refers to the significant variation that can occur in the type and degree of difficulties experienced by children with ASD.  

The process of diagnosing ASD is a complex one, involving a multidisciplinary team of paediatrician, psychologist, and speech pathologist as a minimum. Sometimes other professionals such as occupational therapists are also involved.  

At Southern Child & Family Psychology, we have a good working relationship with many local paediatricians and speech pathologists, facilitating a thorough and collaborative team approach to ASD assessment.  

Preschool visits can also be arranged where necessary to aid the assessment process. The psychology component of an ASD assessment usually takes four sessions, comprising a family session, parent session, child session, and final feedback session. 

Medicare rebates are available for ASD assessments.

Developmental Assessments

In younger children, developmental assessments can assist with determining which part of a child's development is on-track and which areas may need intervention.  

This can be particularly important when diagnoses such as Global Developmental Delay, Language Disorder, or Autism Spectrum Disorder are being considered. 

At Southern Child & Family Psychology, we use the WPPSI-IV.

Intellectual & Learning Assessments

Intellectual assessments measure a variety of intellectual or cognitive abilities including verbal reasoning, perceptual/non-verbal reasoning, working memory, and processing speed.  

At Southern Child & Family Psychology, we use the Wechsler tests (WPPSI-IV, WISC-IV, & WAIS-IV), which are the most widely validated and used intelligence tests in the world. These tests have Australian-based norms, enabling performance to be compared to other Australians of the same age. Administration of these tests can take approximately 45-90 minutes, depending on the age and ability of the individual.  

Intellectual assessments provide information about how a young person thinks and understands the world around them, allowing for their individual strengths and weaknesses to be identified. Intellectual ability is different from academic achievement, which focuses specifically on academic skills such as reading, writing, and maths. 

When an intellectual and academic assessment are completed together, it enables an individual learning profile to be developed, highlighting academic needs, the presence of any learning difficulties, and preferred learning style. Strategies can then be devised to assist learning both at home and school.

Neuropsychology Assessments