Child Educational Assessment
Our psycho educational assessments in Adelaide are used to identify concerns (such as dyslexia) that may be symptoms of learning difficulties or strengths in children aged between 6-17 years. You may want to book an educational assessment administered in our educational psychology clinic in Adelaide if your child is:
- Significantly below their peers in reading (indication of dyslexia) and maths (indication of dyscalculia).
- Appearing intelligent but has difficulty putting their thoughts on paper.
- Having significant difficulties attending and concentrating in the classroom.
- Having difficulty remembering more than two or three items either at home or in the classroom.
- Appearing to be bored and not challenged in the school environment.
If this is the case, your child may be suffering from a specific learning disorder
such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or dysgraphia, or other concerns such as poor
working memory and processing speed.
Learning difficulties, like dyslexia, can severely hinder learning and the education
experience, making it worthwhile to complete an educational assessment here
in our Adelaide clinic.
Other reasons include:
- A teacher has informed you that a psycho-educational assessment is required to assist in the development of an individualised education plan and to be able to provide increased support to your child and specifically target learning disorders such as dyslexia.
- A teacher has raised concerns about your child’s understanding of language, which may also be affecting their social relationships.
- You are concerned that your child is distracted and/or bored in learning, or there are reports from the classroom that your child appears lazy in the classroom environment.
A Psycho-Educational Assessment in Adelaide includes:
- Clinical interview in our office located on Glen Osmond Road in the Fullarton Area
- Comprehensive written report
- Brief feedback session with the parent
- An Intelligence Test using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fifth Edition (WISC-V)
- An Academic Achievement Test using the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Third Edition (WIAT-III)
We use the latest technology (Q-global Interactive) to administer our psycho-educational assessments in Adelaide, which uses a comprehensive digital system installed in our iPads. This makes the testing process quicker and more efficient, and the child will also have an easier time than if the test was administered with pen and paper.
Through using the combined tests of WISC-V and WIAT-III, a good overall indication of a student’s cognitive ability and academic achievement levels can be determined and a diagnosis such as dyslexia can be made.
The comprehensive written report will provide the results of the assessment and include detailed recommendations to help your child learn and reach their full potential as well as recommendations for behavioural or concentration concerns. These detailed recommendations will be targeted towards any learning disorders found, including dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.
With your permission, we can also liaise with your child’s school to assist in developing a learning plan regarding your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
No referral from a GP is needed to book an educational assessment in Adelaide.
Other Additional Tests that may be Administered Depending on your Child’s Needs:
- Behavioural and Adaptive measures using the Conners-4 Rating Scale (see Child ADHD Assessments for more information)
- Adaptive Behaviour Assessment System Third Edition (ABAS-3) for concerns regarding an Intellectual Disability
- Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing Second Edition (CTOPP-2), which assesses phonological awareness, phonological memory, and verbal fluency/rapid naming
- Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function-2 (Brief II)
- Behaviour Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC III)
Break Down of the Appointment:
- The Educational Assessment is one singular 3-hour appointment
- 30 mins at the beginning will be dedicated to the initial consult
- 1.5 hours will be dedicated for the assessment itself with an included 20 min break
- 30 mins at the end will be dedicated to a brief feedback session with the parent
- The comprehensive written report will then be emailed to you within approx. 5-10 business days
Could my Child Benefit from a Psycho-Educational Assessment in Adelaide?
A psychoeducational assessment has many benefits, such as assisting the parent in determining if their child suffers from a Specific Learning Disorder such as dyslexia (reading), dyscalculia (maths), or dysgraphia (written expression), or if they have an Intellectual Disability which is affecting their ability to read, write, or complete maths-related tasks.
The most important reason for conducting educational assessments is to develop specific recommendations to assist your child’s progress within the school and home setting, which is important for diagnoses like dyslexia. As part of this process, often children and parents discover that while the child may appear “lazy” when studying, this is not the case and rather they may just need to learn differently than others due to their learning struggles.
Children with learning difficulties often suffer from a lack of confidence. Counselling is often recommended to help individuals understand that they are not “stupid” or “lazy”—they simply learn differently!
So, if you believe your child may benefit from an educational assessment in Adelaide, please get in touch with us at Waterman Psychology Services to ensure that everything is done to improve your child’s learning difficulties and capacity.
About to finish school and don’t know what career path you want to take?
Are you about to finish school and don’t know what you want to do for work? We can complete a Career Assessment for you to help you identify occupational goals to help you find meaningful employment.
A Career Assessment considers many factors including:
- Psychological testing of verbal and numerical ability, and personality factors.
- Employment preferences and occupational interests.
- Financial motivation.
- Skill requirements.
Career Assessments will provide an expert opinion regarding an individual’s career choice, rather than just completing a job questionnaire measure alone. Our psychologists will provide a comprehensive report with several employment options catered to your personal needs and interests. This can be added to the educational assessment. See our full range of psychological assessments in Adelaide.
BOOK AN ASSESSMENT IN ADELAIDE
If you suspect that your child has behavioural issues or learning disorders, you should have them diagnosed in an educational psychology clinic immediately. Early assessment is the key to helping them achieve their full potential. The sooner you have a comprehensive psychoeducational assessment in hand, the better equipped you will be to help your child succeed — in school and in life.
Yes, a detailed written report is emailed after the assessment,
summarising findings and recommendations. The recommendations
provided will be catered to the child’s specific needs, which can include
behaviour management, school accommodations (e.g., extra time, seating
changes, and structured routines), learning strategies, and referrals for
therapy or support if needed. This report can be provided to the school
which can help with developing a learning support plan for the child.
Yes, brief verbal feedback is provided at the end of the appointment, and
you can ask questions about the results. If you need further clarification
after the report has been given to you, you can always book an additional
feedback session through our booking portal.
The report is only provided to the parent via email. We generally leave it
up to the parent to distribute the report to the necessary people who will
need the report. However, with your permission, Waterman Psychology
can liaise with your child’s school to help develop a personalised learning
plan.
Generally, we recommend that each child be re-assessed every 2 years to
monitor progress and review strategy effectiveness.
More importantly, we recommend that each child be reviewed across
three main time frames once in primary school years (around grade
2/3), once before going into high school (grade 6) and once when going
into university or TAFE (if applicable).
If you would like more than one sibling to be assessed on the same day,
let us know and we will either dedicate a day to one psychologist or book
the children in with two psychologists at the same time.
It is important to understand that while we can assess more than one
sibling the price of the assessment is based on each individual child and
on the assessment administered. Due to this, we cannot offer discounts
for siblings.
Early support and intervention allows the child to reach their full
potential academically, as they can better understand their needs and
abilities. Additionally, early support reduces the risk of low self-esteem,
and emotional problems later in life. This assessment is the first step in
assisting your child meet their full potential.