Psychological tests and assessments are most often completed to gather comprehensive information about an individual’s psychological, behavioural, social and emotional functioning.

The process of comprehensive psychological assessment provides deep insights into an individual’s unique strengths. The process of assessment can also provide insight into why some things, for example learning and emotional regulation may be more difficult for some people than for others.

The valuable information and insights gathered from testing and assessment can guide diagnosis and intervention. The insights gathered can form a solid foundation for therapeutic treatment planning by psychologists and other allied health professionals.

Your assessing psychologist will work with you or your child to gather relevant background information, then they will test and assess. All tests are administered, scored, and interpreted by a registered psychologist.

Ellipsis Psychology offers comprehensive psychological testing and assessment packages that include:

• Clinical consultation with your assessing psychologist

• Administration of psychological test/s and assessments

• Scoring of measures and comprehensive interpretative which will be contained in a written report

• An assessment feedback session during which the assessment report will be presented and your questions will be answered.

The process of testing and assessment starts with a 50 minute clinical consultation with a psychologist. During this session you may be asked various questions about developmental, family, medical, mental health and educational history. If we are assessing your child, a parent interview will be conducted within the initial 50 minute clinical consultation time to gather relevant information about your child’s developmental history, their family history, their educational history and your observations of their behaviour.

Following the initial clinical consultation the appropriate psychological testing will take place, the testing could include your completion of online questionnaires, and psychometric assessments administered face-to-face as well as behavioural observations.

Once the psychological tests and/ or psychometric assessments have been completed the psychologist will score and interpret the testing and assessment results, writing a comprehensive psychological assessment report.

Once the psychological assessment report has been completed, your psychologist will meet with you to present the report to you. You will receive a written report which will include the test results. Your psychologist will share with you information that may relate to your unique strengths and challenges, and if appropriate a diagnosis of mental health conditions may be made.

Recommendations based upon the valuable information and insights gathered from the testing and assessment will be made to guide, if appropriate referrals for intervention and therapeutic treatment.

For some tests, medical screening and further assessment by a General Practitioner, Paediatrician or Psychiatrist may be required for further diagnostic consideration and confirmation.

Psychologists do not medicate, hence why a referral to a medical practitioner may be appropriate following the completion of testing and assessment.

Please note that Medicare does not provide rebates for psycholgical testing and assessments.

A cognitive assessment for children is a comprehensive and standardised test of intelligence (IQ) which can provide you and your child with valuable insights into their intellectual strengths and difficulties. A cognitive assessment tests your child’s intellectual ability including their general thinking and reasoning skills. The results of a cognitive assessment are generally a reliable measure of future learning potential and academic success.

The results of a cognitive assessment may help you make informed decisions and apply targeted strategies to help your child reach their full potential.

A cognitive assessment is suitable for children aged 6 to 16 years and 11 months. At Ellipsis Psychology we use the WISC-V, an iPad based test which utilises different activities and puzzles to assess various areas of your child’s cognitive abilities including their:

• Verbal comprehension skills

• Visual and non-verbal processing skills

• Working memory skills

• Speed of processing information.

What is involved in the cognitive assessment?

• A parent interview where the presenting concerns will be discussed in addition to a review of your child’s developmental and educational history.

• Standardised test of your child’s cognitive skills – WISC-V.

• Report writing including extensive data analysis and interpretation. The assessment report will include tailored support, learning and behavioural recommendations for school and home.

• A comprehensive feedback session to answer all your questions.

How long does the testing take?

The assessment package takes approximately 4 hours broken down into 3 sessions and one phone meeting with your child’s teacher*.

1. Parent and Child Session (50 min).

2. Engagement with your child’s teacher/ school* (~30 min).

3. Child Session for the completion of the WISC-V (~90 min).

4. Assessment Feedback Session & Report Presentation (50 min).

* Direct engagement with the child’s school is always desirable, however, as teachers are busy sometimes information will be gained via written means and through the teacher’s completion of online questionnaires and/ or assessments.

Cost: From $1,325

A psycho-educational assessment for children (6 years to 16 years and 11 months) is often requested by parents/ caregivers or schools when a child is struggling to retain learning across the curriculum despite the delivery of additional learning supports and interventions, and the child’s best efforts.

A psycho-educational assessment will provide your assessing psychologist with the information required to identify whether your child may be experiencing difficulties with learning or they may have a learning disability in reading and/ or written expression (commonly known of as dyslexia), or in mathematics (commonly known of as dyscalculia).

An educational assessment may also indicate that your child is achieving within the gifted learning range in particular learning areas.

A psycho-educational assessment combines a cognitive assessment and an assessment of academic achievement across a range of areas including oral language, basis reading, reading comprehension and fluency, written expression, mathematics, and maths fluency. A standardised measurement tool is used to identify the child’s areas of academic strength and weakness. Results acquired through the assessment process provide an indicator of a child’s skill in a particular academic area compared to an Australian normative age or grade matched sample.

This assessment also includes an assessment of behaviour and emotion, as children and adolescents who are gifted or who have learning difficulties can experience a range of behavioural and emotional difficulties, for example, symptoms of anxiety that can negatively impact their wellbeing and learning achievement.

What is involved in the cognitive and academic achievement assessments?

• A parent interview where the presenting concerns and referral question will be clarified and discussed in addition to a review of your child’s developmental and educational history. Questionnaires and assessments will be shared with the parents/ caregivers for their completion online.

• Phone or email contact with your child’s teacher/ school* (~30 min). Questionnaires and assessments will be shared with the teacher for their completion online.

• A standardised test of your child’s cognitive skills – WISC-V.

• A standardised test of your child’s academic achievement – WIAT-III.

• A comprehensive psychological assessment report will be prepared by your assessing psychologist. This report will detail the background information provided by the parent/ caregiver and the child’s teacher. The assessments will be scored and the results interpreted. If a diagnosis is appropriate it will be reported in addition to tailored recommendations to support your child’s learning at school and at home.

• A comprehensive feedback session to answer all your questions.

How long does the cognitive and academic achievement testing take?

The assessment package takes approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes, broken down into 4 sessions and one phone meeting with your child’s teacher*.

1. Parent/ Caregiver interview (50 min).

2. Phone or email contact with your child’s teacher/ school* (~30 min).

3. Child Session 1 – Administration of the WISC-V (~90 min) **

4. Child Session 2 – Administration of the WIAT-III (~90 min) **

5. Assessment Feedback Session & Report Presentation (50 min).

* Direct engagement with the child’s school is always desirable, however, as teachers are busy sometimes information will be gained via written means and through the teacher’s completion of online questionnaires and/ or assessments.

** Assessment times may need to be extended based upon the child’s ability to attend for the duration of the session. If the assessments need to be extended to ensure that your child is able to remain focused and calm throughout the session your assessing psychologist will suggest an additional testing session, please note that additional charges will apply.

Cost: From $2,195

When a parent/ caregiver or a child’s school has concerns about a child’s intellectual abilities, their learning and their ability to function in daily life, an assessment of cognitive functioning and adaptive behaviour may be appropriate for children (6 years to 16 years and 11 months).

An assessment for Low Intellectual Functioning includes two main psychometric measures; a cognitive assessment and an adaptive behaviour assessment.

Cognitive Assessment
A cognitive assessment for children is a comprehensive and standardised test of intelligence (or IQ) which can provide you with valuable insight into your child’s intellectual strengths and difficulties. A cognitive assessment tests your child’s intellectual ability including their general thinking and reasoning skills. The results of a cognitive assessment are generally a reliable measure of future learning potential and academic success.

The results of a cognitive assessment may help you and your child’s educators make informed decisions, and apply targeted strategies to help your child reach their full potential.

A cognitive assessment is suitable for children aged 6 to 16 years and 11 months. At Ellipsis Psychology we use the WISC-V, an iPad based test which utilises different activities and puzzles to assess various areas of your child’s cognitive abilities including their:

• Verbal comprehension skills

• Visual and non-verbal processing skills

• Working memory skills

• Speed of processing information.

Adaptive Behaviour Assessment
An adaptive behaviour assessment assesses a child’s abilities across four major domains:

• Communication skills – skills required for expressive, receptive and written language skills

• Daily living skills – practical skills needed to take care of oneself and contribute as an active member to a household

• Social skills – skills needed to get along with others, to regulate emotions and behaviours, as well as skills involved in leisure activities

• Motor skills – fine and gross motor skills.

The adaptive behaviour assessment is conducted online with the parents/ caregivers providing their response, and a teacher will also be asked for their response.

What is involved in the cognitive and adaptive behavioural assessments?

• A parent interview where the presenting concerns will be discussed in addition to a review of your child’s developmental and educational history.

• Standardised test of your child’s cognitive skills – WISC-V.

• Adaptive behaviour assessment which includes the administration of a parent/ care giver questionnaire and administration of a teacher questionnaire – ABAS - 3

• A comprehensive psychological assessment report with tailored learning and behavioural recommendations for school and home.

• A comprehensive feedback session to answer all your questions.

How long does the cognitive and adaptive behavioural assessment testing take?

The assessment process takes approximately 4 hours, broken down into 3 sessions and one phone meeting with your child’s teacher*.

1. Parent and Child Session (50 min).

2. Engagement with your child’s teacher/ school* (~30 min).

3. Child Session (~90 min).

4. Assessment Feedback Session & Report Presentation (50 min).

* Direct engagement with the child’s school is always desirable, however, as teachers are busy sometimes information will be gained via written means and through the teacher’s completion of online questionnaires and/ or assessments.

Cost: From $1,565

The aim of a comprehensive Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) assessment is to help parents/ caregivers explore their child’s developmental history, their behavioural patterns and their cognitive or intellectual abilities including their strengths and weaknesses.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder with children exhibiting ADHD symptoms before 12 years of age, and in some cases as early as 3 years of age. Symptoms may include:

• Inattention – difficulty concentrating, forgetting instructions and moving from one task to another without completing the first.

• Impulsivity – acting without thinking, interrupting and talking over the top of others, losing control of their emotions easily and being accident prone

• Hyperactivity – a need for constant physical movement with fidgeting and restlessness observable.

Not every child who is overly active, inattentive, or impulsive has ADHD. It is important to remember that all young children have a limited attention span, and sometimes do things without thinking, however, only a relatively small number of children have ADHD.

The exact causes of ADHD are unknown, however, there is a tendency for ADHD to run in families. ADHD can be challenging to diagnose as ADHD commonly co-occurs alongside other related problems, for example, Autism, sleep problems, anxiety and learning difficulties.

To assess whether a child has ADHD, at Ellipsis Psychology we consider several critical questions. For example, is the child experiencing an ongoing problem with hyperactivity or are their behaviours a response to a temporary situation? Do the child’s more challenging behaviours occur in several settings or only in one specific place, for example at school in their classroom?

During the assessment process your assessing psychologist will take a detailed developmental and educational history from you to determine your child’s pattern of behaviour. Clinical observations of the child will be made, interviews may take place with the child’s teachers or other treating medical and allied health professionals.

The ADHD screening and other assessment measures are completed by the child’s parents/ caregivers who can provide a developmental and behavioural history. The child’s classroom teacher will be invited to complete relevant questionnaires so that the child’s behaviours at school can be assessed.

Medical, paediatric, or psychiatric information may be required to confirm a diagnosis.

The comprehensive Child ADHD assessment is suitable for children aged 6 to 18 years and is conducted over 4 sessions with an experienced psychologist.

What is involved in a comprehensive ADHD assessment?

• A parent interview where the presenting concerns and referral question will be clarified and discussed in addition to a review of your child’s developmental and educational history.

• Online administration of ADHD screening questionnaires and other validated assessment measures to be completed by the parent/ caregiver and the child’s classroom teacher*

• A standardised test of your child’s cognitive skills – WISC-V.

• A comprehensive psychological assessment report will be prepared by your assessing psychologist. This report will detail the background information provided by the parent/ caregivers and the child’s teacher. The assessments will be scored and the results interpreted. If a diagnosis is appropriate it will be reported in addition to tailored recommendations to support your child’s learning and behaviours at school and at home.

• A comprehensive feedback session to answer all your questions.

How long does the ADHD assessment testing take?

The assessment process takes approximately 4 hours, booked in three sessions as follows:

1. Parents/ Caregivers interview (50 min). Questionnaires and assessments will be shared with the parents/ caregivers for their completion online.

2. Phone or email contact with your child’s teacher/ school* (~45 min). Questionnaires and assessments will be shared with the teacher for their completion online.

3. Child Session 1 – Administration of the Cognitive Assessment - WISC-V (~90 min) ** .

4.  Assessment Feedback Session & Report Presentation (50 min).

* Direct engagement with the child’s school is always desirable, however, as teachers are busy sometimes information will be gained via written means and through the teacher’s completion of online questionnaires and/ or assessments.

Cost: From $1,950**

Please note: Psychologists do not prescribe medication. An appointment with a paediatrician will be required to confirm the diagnosis and to determine whether medication may be suitable for your child.