An educational assessment involves:
- Gathering information about a child's developmental and educational history; and
- Administration of Australian standardised psychometric tests.
The tests we most commonly use are the WISC-V and WIAT-III.
These are recognised 'gold standard' tests that are widely used in educational settings and psychological practices throughout Australia.
The combination of these assessments and information from a clinical history can assist with identifying learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, poor comprehension, working memory, processing issues and ADHD.
A cognitive test, which looks at general abilities including verbal comprehension, visual spatial skills, fluid reasoning, working memory and processing speed.
An achievement test that looks at how children and young teenagers apply their cognitive skills to everyday academic tasks, including reading, spelling, comprehension, writing and numeracy.
The process starts with a clinical intake interview (appointment) to talk through the referral information, explain the tests and answer any questions. This can be combined with the first round of testing (WISC-V) or it can be done seperately, depending on what works best for your family. The second appointment is typically about one week after the first appointment and involves administration of the WIAT-III test. Each appointment is typically about 1.5 to 2 hours.
Most children seem to enjoy participating in the WISC-V activities, as they are a combination of questions and puzzles with some activities being completed on an iPad. The WIAT-III test is a little more like 'school work' and focuses on literacy and numeracy tasks.
There are also some questionnaires to be completed by carers and the teacher to help with understanding any social-emotional concerns. Sometimes additional assessments may be required if further clarification is needed around particular issues. The need for additional assessments or follow-up sessions will be discussed with you as soon as practicable.
Childhood Psychology is a boutique psychology practice helping parents understand their child's unique learning needs.
Our Principal Psychologist and manager of Childhood Psychology is Julie Steward. Julie is a Registered Psychologist with AHPRA and has worked for over 15 years as a specialist child psychologist in community organisations and schools in Brisbane and Melbourne.
Julie works collaboratively with children, families and their teachers to help identify reasons why children might be struggling with their learning in the classroom. Working with only a small number of families at any one time allows Julie to offer a high quality and personalised service.
Childhood Psychology's assessment services can help identify issues including impairments in reading and spelling (dyslexia) and mathematics (dyscalculia), in addition to behavioural concerns, such as ADHD.
Julie provides in-clinic appointments at Northgate (northern suburb of Brisbane). Assessments can also be undertaken at the child's school during school hours (with agreement from the school).