Cognitive Assessment
Cognitive Assessment
Cognitive assessment is a test used to assess overall intelligence and cognitive abilities across verbal comprehension, visual-spatial skills, fluid reasoning ability, working memory, and information processing speed.
Have you had a request from a Paediatrician, GP, or your child’s school to complete a Cognitive Assessment?
The cognitive assessment process can help with learning concerns, investigate or eliminate cognitive concerns, aid in the pursuit of another diagnosis, such as ADHD, or explore cognitive challenges and provide strategies for support. The assessment will give a profile of your child’s strengths and weaknesses, helping parents and teachers to gain a deeper understanding of how the child thinks and learns. By identifying areas that may require additional considerations and adjustments and leveraging your child’s strengths, their school experience can be significantly improved.
Our cognitive assessments can be done using a WISC-V, as described above, the gold standard for cognitive assessments and the most commonly requested in referrals by schools or Paediatricians, or the Leiter-3 for Non-Verbal Assessments (Children with Speech and Lanauge differences).
- Standard Cognitive Assessment: Ages 6-16 years
- Non-Verbal Cognitive Assessment: Ages 3+ years
To download the client information handout on the Cognitive Assessment, click here
The assessment process involves:
- 1-hour Background History and Consultation Session with the Psychologist (Parents Only)
- 2–3-hour Assessment Session with the Child and the Psychologist
- Psychologist Scores the Assessment and Write their Report.
- 1 hour Feedback Session to Deliver Report (Parents Only)
Appointments will be spread out over a 4–6-week period. Please note that our psychologist completing assessments only works 2 days per week and your appointments will need to be scheduled on these days.
Please Note:
Parents must be aware that in their initial consultation appointment, the psychologist will decide if it is appropriate that your child be assessed with the WISC-V or the Non-Verbal Leiter-3 (our two current cognitive assessment options). The criteria that would make a cognitive assessment inappropriate include:
- A child whose age is out of the appropriate range for assessment
- A child for whom the assessment would be unethical
The cognitive assessment alone is not sufficient to diagnose SLD, giftedness, ADHD, ASD, or other behaviour presentations.
It is at the discretion of the Psychologist at the time of the initial consultation appointment whether or not they will take on the assessment; therefore cost for the initial consultation and the complete assessment are billed separately. Cognitive Assessments are NOT covered by the Medicare Better Access Scheme, and therefore Medicare rebates are not available for this service. This also means parents do not require a referral from an external practitioner in order to engage in this service; however, any information from external services who have requested the assessment is encouraged.
Your Journey to a Better You Starts Here.
To book an appointment or get more information, contact us below.