Written by: Sonja Walker, Founder, Kids First Children’s Services
Knowing that your child may need additional support is one thing. Knowing which assessment can provide answers is often much harder.
Many families across Sydney’s Northern Beaches are unsure where to start when concerns about their child’s learning, behaviour, or development arise. Parents may hear terms such as cognitive assessments, ADHD assessments, autism assessments, and psychoeducational assessments and wonder what each one actually does.
This can make it difficult for families to know which assessment may provide the answers they are looking for.
Each assessment answers a different question about how a child thinks, learns, behaves, communicates, and manages everyday activities. Understanding these differences can help families identify the right starting point and feel more confident about the next steps.
Cognitive and Intelligence Assessments
Cognitive assessments help psychologists understand how a child thinks, learns, solves problems, and processes information. They focus on how a child learns rather than what they have already been taught at school.
The WISC-V for School-Age Children
One of the most commonly used cognitive assessments for children aged 6 to 16 is the WISC-V (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition). This assessment looks at several areas of thinking, including verbal comprehension, visual-spatial skills, fluid reasoning, working memory, and processing speed.
The results provide much more than a single IQ score. They create a detailed profile of a child’s strengths and areas of difficulty. For example, a child may have strong reasoning abilities but process information more slowly than their peers. This information can help parents and teachers better understand why certain tasks feel more difficult and what types of support may be helpful at school.
Cognitive Assessments for Younger Children
Psychologists can also complete cognitive assessments with younger children when there are concerns about development, learning, or early signs of giftedness. These assessments use age-appropriate activities and play-based tasks to better understand how young children think, communicate, and solve problems.
Early assessment can help identify developmental differences and provide families with information about whether additional support or monitoring may be helpful as children move into formal schooling.
Dyslexia and Learning Assessments
Dyslexia assessments help identify why some children continue to struggle with reading, writing, spelling, or comprehension despite trying hard and receiving appropriate support at school.
What a Dyslexia Assessment Covers
A dyslexia assessment looks at several areas of learning, including reading accuracy, reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, and written expression. The assessment helps psychologists understand whether a child’s difficulties are consistent with dyslexia or whether other learning difficulties may also contribute to the challenges they are experiencing.
Some children may also show difficulties with written expression (dysgraphia) or mathematics (dyscalculia). Understanding a child’s learning profile can help families and schools identify the most appropriate supports.
Using Assessment Results at School
The written report from a dyslexia assessment can help schools better understand a child’s learning needs. Schools may use the information to consider learning adjustments, additional support, or modified assessment arrangements where appropriate.
The report also provides practical recommendations for teachers and parents so that children can receive support that matches their individual strengths and difficulties.
ADHD Assessments for Children
ADHD assessments collect information from parents, teachers, and psychologists to determine whether ADHD explains a child’s difficulties with attention, impulsivity, activity levels, and executive functioning. Families across Sydney’s Northern Beaches often seek ADHD assessments when attention difficulties begin affecting school performance.
What a Quality ADHD Assessment Includes
A comprehensive ADHD assessment includes a parent interview, standardised behaviour questionnaires, cognitive testing, and a review of background information such as school reports, teacher comments, and previous assessments.
Psychologists often use assessment tools such as the Conners rating scales and BASC-3 questionnaires to understand how symptoms affect a child across different settings.
Psychologists combine information from all of these sources to build a detailed picture of how a child functions at home and at school. They also consider other factors that can affect attention and behaviour, including anxiety, sleep difficulties, learning disorders, and emotional challenges.
Why Teacher Input Is Essential for ADHD Assessment
Teacher feedback forms an important part of ADHD assessment because teachers observe children in structured learning environments that place high demands on attention, organisation, memory, and self-regulation.
A child may show attention difficulties at home but manage well at school, or experience challenges in both settings. Psychologists look for symptoms across multiple environments before making an ADHD diagnosis.
Teacher questionnaires also help psychologists compare a child’s behaviour with other children of the same age and identify patterns that may require additional investigation.
Medicare Rebates for ADHD Assessment
Some families may qualify for Medicare rebates under the Complex Neurodevelopmental and Eligible Disability items (MBS items 135 to 137) and sometimes known as an ‘M10’ Medicare plan. These items require a referral from a paediatrician, psychiatrist, or neurologist.
A Mental Health Care Plan can provide rebates for psychology treatment sessions, but it does not usually cover diagnostic assessment sessions.
Families who have questions about referrals or rebates are welcome to contact the Kids First team for further information.
Autism Spectrum Disorder Assessments
Autism assessments help psychologists understand how a child communicates, interacts with others, experiences sensory information, and manages everyday social situations. They also help identify a child’s strengths, differences, and support needs.
Common Assessment Tools Used in Autism Assessments
Psychologists use several tools to gather information about a child’s development and behaviour. The specific tools used depend on the child’s age, presentation, and assessment needs.
The ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition) is one of the most widely used observational tools for autism assessment. During the assessment, the psychologist completes a range of structured activities with the child to observe communication, social interaction, play, imagination, and patterns of behaviour.
Psychologists may also use the ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised), which involves a detailed interview with parents about a child’s early development, communication skills, social relationships, and behaviours over time.
Some clinicians also use MIGDAS (Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum), a neuroaffirming assessment framework that helps psychologists better understand how a child experiences and interacts with the world.
Psychologists complete specialised training in these assessment approaches to ensure children are assessed in a consistent and reliable way.
What a Full Autism Assessment Includes
Autism assessments collect information from several sources to build a complete picture of a child.
This usually includes a detailed developmental history with parents, observational assessments such as the ADOS-2, parent interviews such as the ADI-R, questionnaires, cognitive testing where appropriate, and information from teachers or other professionals involved in the child’s care.
The psychologist then brings all of this information together to understand the child’s strengths, differences, and support needs. The final report usually includes recommendations for school supports, therapy services, and practical strategies that can help children participate more successfully at home, school, and in the community.
Specialist early intervention teachers can also assist children who need one-to-one participation support in their classroom and playground.
NDIS Access and Autism Assessments
Many families seek an autism assessment because they want answers and a better understanding of their child’s needs.
Assessment reports can also support applications for NDIS funding and other services. Current Australian guidelines allow appropriately trained psychologists to diagnose autism without requiring a large multidisciplinary team in every situation.
Adaptive behaviour assessments are also sometimes completed alongside autism assessments to better understand how a child’s differences affect everyday functioning and support needs.
Families who would like more information about available supports can explore the Kids First NDIS and Disability Support services.
Behavioural and Emotional Assessments
Behavioural and emotional assessments help psychologists understand why a child may be struggling with emotions, behaviour, friendships, or school participation.
Not every child who has an assessment receives a diagnosis. Some children need support because their behaviour has changed, they seem unusually worried or upset, or they have started avoiding school and everyday activities.
Common Tools Used in Behavioural Assessments
Behavioural and emotional assessments usually include questionnaires completed by parents and teachers, such as the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
These questionnaires help psychologists understand how often certain behaviours occur and whether these behaviours are more frequent than expected for children of the same age.
Psychologists also speak with parents and gather background information to build a clear understanding of the child’s strengths, challenges, and support needs.
When a Behavioural Assessment May Be Helpful
Behavioural assessments are often helpful when a child’s main difficulties involve emotions or behaviour rather than learning.
This may include concerns such as anxiety, frequent worries, refusing to attend school, anger, social withdrawal, low mood, or significant changes in behaviour at home or school.
The assessment report provides practical recommendations for parents and teachers. It may also recommend additional supports, such as psychology therapy, school-based strategies, or referrals to other services when appropriate.
Adaptive Behaviour Assessments
Adaptive behaviour assessments look at the everyday skills children use to manage daily life and become more independent.
These skills include communicating their needs, completing self-care tasks, following safety rules, making friends, and taking part in activities at home, school, and in the community.
What Adaptive Behaviour Assessments Cover
The Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (Vineland-3) is one of the most commonly used tools for assessing everyday functioning.
The assessment involves a detailed interview with parents about their child’s communication skills, daily living skills, social skills, and motor development.
Some children have age-appropriate thinking and learning abilities but still need significant support with everyday tasks. Understanding this difference can help psychologists identify developmental needs and recommend appropriate supports.
Adaptive behaviour assessments also provide important information for NDIS applications and support planning.
Adaptive Behaviour Assessments and NDIS Applications
The NDIS looks at how a child manages everyday life, not just how they perform during an assessment session.
An adaptive behaviour assessment helps show how a child’s difficulties affect daily activities such as communication, self-care, social participation, learning, and independence.
The report can provide important information when families apply for NDIS funding or review existing supports.
For some children, psychologists complete adaptive behaviour assessments alongside autism assessments or cognitive assessments to build a more complete understanding of the child’s strengths, challenges, and support needs.
Executive Functioning Assessments
Executive functioning assessments help psychologists understand the thinking skills children use to manage everyday tasks and learning.
These skills include planning, organising, remembering information, controlling impulses, getting started on tasks, and moving from one activity to another.
When these skills are difficult for a child, they may seem forgetful, messy, easily distracted, or unmotivated, even though they are trying hard.
What Executive Functioning Assessments Cover
Psychologists often use questionnaires such as the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Parents and teachers complete these questionnaires to describe how a child manages everyday tasks at home and at school.
The assessment helps psychologists identify which executive functioning skills are developing as expected and which areas may need additional support.
Executive functioning skills are different from intelligence. A child may be bright and capable but still struggle with planning, organisation, time management, or completing tasks independently.
Why Executive Functioning Matters at School
Executive functioning skills play an important role in classroom learning and everyday school tasks.
Children with executive functioning difficulties may forget instructions, lose belongings, struggle to finish work on time, or find it difficult to plan larger assignments.
Many children with ADHD also experience executive functioning difficulties, although these challenges can affect children with other learning or developmental differences as well.
Understanding a child’s executive functioning strengths and difficulties can help parents and teachers provide more effective support. This may include visual schedules, step-by-step instructions, extra time for tasks, organisational tools, or more structured classroom routines.
Executive functioning assessments are often completed as part of an ADHD assessment or psychoeducational assessment rather than on their own.
Giftedness and Twice Exceptional Assessments
Giftedness assessments help identify children with very strong thinking and learning abilities. They can also help identify children whose strengths may be hiding learning, developmental, or emotional difficulties.
What Does Twice Exceptional Mean?
Twice exceptional, often called 2E, describes children who are both gifted and have a learning difficulty, developmental difference, or disability.
For example, a child may have very strong reasoning skills but also struggle with reading because of dyslexia. Another child may be highly gifted and also meet the criteria for autism.
These children can be difficult to identify because their strengths sometimes hide their challenges, while their challenges can also hide their strengths.
Some children cope well during the early years of school but begin to struggle as schoolwork becomes more complex and demands increase. This change can feel sudden and confusing for parents and teachers.
How Assessments Identify Twice Exceptional Children
A psychoeducational assessment helps psychologists understand both a child’s strengths and areas of difficulty.
The assessment combines cognitive testing with academic testing to compare how a child thinks and learns with how they are performing at school.
Without an assessment, twice exceptional children may be seen as inconsistent, easily distracted, or not working to their potential.
A formal assessment helps families and schools better understand the child’s unique learning profile. It can also help children access appropriate supports while ensuring their strengths and talents are recognised and nurtured.
Social and Emotional Functioning Assessments
Social and emotional functioning assessments help psychologists understand why some children struggle with friendships, social situations, or understanding other people.
Some children find it difficult to read social cues, join in with peers, understand conversations, or build and maintain friendships. These challenges can affect confidence, emotional well-being, and school experiences.
What These Assessments Measure
Psychologists may use tools such as the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2) to better understand a child’s social strengths and difficulties.
The assessment looks at skills such as understanding social situations, communicating with others, building relationships, showing interest in social interactions, and responding to social information.
The SRS-2 is often used as part of an autism assessment. It can also provide useful information for children who experience social anxiety or other social communication difficulties.
Who May Benefit From This Type of Assessment
This type of assessment may be helpful for children who struggle to make or keep friends, frequently misunderstand social situations, miss social cues, or seem socially withdrawn despite wanting friendships.
Some children work very hard to fit in socially but continue to experience difficulties with peer relationships. Understanding these challenges can help parents, teachers, and therapists provide more appropriate support.
The assessment results can help identify social goals for therapy and provide practical strategies to support friendships, communication, and participation at school and in everyday activities.
Who Can Conduct Different Types of Assessments?
Different professionals can complete different types of assessments. Understanding who does what can help families find the right support and avoid unnecessary delays or costs.
Paediatricians, Psychiatrists, and Psychologists for ADHD Assessments
Psychologists can assess and diagnose ADHD. However, they cannot prescribe medication.
In New South Wales, ADHD medication usually needs to be started by a paediatrician or psychiatrist. In some situations, a GP may continue prescriptions after treatment has been established.
Many families begin with an ADHD assessment completed by a psychologist and then share the report with a paediatrician or psychiatrist if medication support is being considered.
Speech Pathologists and Multidisciplinary Assessments
Speech and language skills are an important part of a child’s overall development and can provide valuable information during some assessments.
For some children, psychologists may recommend a speech and language assessment alongside an autism assessment. Having different professionals work together can help build a more complete understanding of a child’s strengths, challenges, and support needs.
Some clinics offer psychology, speech pathology, occupational therapy, and educational support services in one location. Families who would like to learn more about available supports can explore the Kids First Family and Child Psychology services.
How to Choose the Right Assessment for Your Child
The right assessment depends on your child’s main area of difficulty. Starting with the most important concern can help families find answers and access support more quickly.
Parents often notice several concerns at the same time, but identifying the most significant difficulty can help determine the best starting point.
You may wish to consider:
- Reading, writing, spelling, or maths difficulties: A cognitive assessment, dyslexia assessment, or full psychoeducational assessment may be helpful.
- Attention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, or concentration difficulties across home and school: An ADHD assessment may be appropriate.
- Social communication differences, sensory sensitivities, or repetitive behaviours: An autism assessment may provide further understanding.
- Anxiety, emotional difficulties, behavioural changes, or school refusal: A behavioural and emotional assessment may be beneficial.
- Strong abilities alongside unexpected learning difficulties or inconsistent performance: A giftedness and twice exceptional assessment may be worth considering.
In some cases, one assessment may lead to another. For example, an ADHD assessment may identify executive functioning difficulties, while an autism assessment may also include adaptive behaviour measures to better understand everyday support needs.
A psychologist can help families determine the right assessment pathway following an initial consultation.
What Happens During a Child Psychological Assessment?
Most child Psychological Assessments follow a similar process, although the exact steps may vary depending on the type of assessment being completed.
Initial Parent Consultation
The process usually begins with a parent consultation. During this appointment, the psychologist gathers information about your child’s development, learning history, behaviour, medical background, and current concerns.
Parents may also be asked to provide school reports, previous assessments, or information from other professionals involved in their child’s care.
Assessment Sessions With Your Child
Children then attend one or more assessment sessions with the psychologist. These sessions may include activities, standardised tests, observations, questionnaires, or play-based tasks, depending on the child’s age and the type of assessment being completed.
Most assessments involve between 2 and 4 sessions, although more complex assessments may require additional appointments.
Information From Teachers and Other Professionals
It can be helpful to let your child’s teachers know about the assessment process ahead of time, as delays in returning questionnaires can sometimes extend the overall timeline.
Teachers can provide valuable information about how a child functions in the classroom, including attention, learning, behaviour, social skills, and emotional well-being.
In some cases, psychologists may also request information from speech pathologists, occupational therapists, paediatricians, or other professionals involved in the child’s care.
Feedback Session and Written Report
Once all information has been collected, the psychologist reviews the results and prepares a written report outlining the child’s strengths, areas of difficulty, and recommendations for support.
Most reports take approximately three weeks to complete after testing has finished. Families are then invited to attend a feedback session where the psychologist explains the findings, answers questions, and discusses appropriate next steps.
From first contact to the feedback session, families can generally expect the entire assessment process to take approximately 4 to 8 weeks, depending on the type and complexity of the assessment.
Speaking With a Psychologist Before Booking
Speaking with a psychologist before booking an assessment can help families choose the most appropriate starting point.
Parents can describe their child’s strengths, challenges, and everyday experiences rather than trying to decide on a specific assessment themselves.
An initial discussion can help prevent unnecessary assessments, reduce delays, and ensure families receive the most useful information as early as possible.
If you are unsure which assessment is right for your child, please feel welcome to reach out to our team. We understand that choosing an assessment can sometimes feel confusing, and we are happy to discuss your concerns and help you identify the most appropriate starting point for your child.
Contact Kids First Children’s Services
Level One, 527 Pittwater Road (cnr Pine Ave),
Brookvale NSW 2100
Phone: (02) 9938 5419
Email: [email protected]
Frequently Asked Questions About Child Psychological Assessments in Sydney
1. Can my child have more than one type of assessment at the same time?
Yes. Some assessments naturally include several areas of development. For example, a psychoeducational assessment combines cognitive and academic testing, while autism assessments may also include cognitive, adaptive behaviour, and social communication measures. Completing related assessments together can sometimes reduce the number of appointments and provide a more complete understanding of a child’s strengths and support needs.
2. How long does a child Psychological Assessment take?
The length of an assessment depends on the type of assessment being completed. Most assessments involve 2 to 4 sessions with the child, alongside a parent consultation and teacher questionnaires. Reports are usually available about three weeks after testing is complete, and families can generally expect the full process to take approximately 4 to 8 weeks from first contact to the feedback session.
3. Does Medicare cover child Psychological Assessments in Sydney?
Medicare rebates may be available for some ADHD and autism assessments when families have a referral from a paediatrician, psychiatrist, or neurologist. A Mental Health Care Plan can help cover psychology therapy sessions but does not usually cover diagnostic assessments. Cognitive, psychoeducational, dyslexia, and giftedness assessments are generally not directly covered by Medicare.
4. Can school psychologists complete these assessments for free?
School psychologists may be able to complete some educational assessments for enrolled students at no cost. However, private assessments are often required when families need formal diagnostic reports for conditions such as ADHD or autism or when documentation is needed for services such as the NDIS. Families should speak with their child’s school about what support is available.
5. What is an adaptive behaviour assessment?
An adaptive behaviour assessment looks at how a child manages everyday life, including communication, self-care, social skills, safety awareness, and independence. These assessments are commonly completed for children with autism, intellectual disability, or significant developmental differences and can provide important information for NDIS applications and support planning.
6. What is the difference between a registered psychologist and a clinical psychologist?
Both registered psychologists and clinical psychologists can complete many childhood assessments. Clinical psychologists have additional training in working with more complex psychological and developmental presentations, so families may sometimes be referred to them when there are concerns about autism, ADHD, anxiety, or multiple co-occurring difficulties.
7. How long do assessment results remain valid?
The length of time an assessment report remains useful can vary depending on the child’s age, developmental changes, and the requirements of schools, support services, or funding bodies. In some situations, updated assessments may be recommended to ensure information remains current.
8. Which assessment is right for my child?
The most appropriate assessment depends on your child’s main area of difficulty. Concerns about learning may require a psychoeducational assessment, attention difficulties may indicate an ADHD assessment, while social communication differences may suggest an autism assessment. Speaking with a psychologist before booking can help families choose the most suitable starting point.
