Psychometric Testing

The assessment is conducted in several stages: 

• Initial Assessment Forms: You will be provided with an initial assessment (background information) form, which includes an overview of developmental, medical, psychological and academic history. Initial parent, teacher and/or self report forms assessing symptoms, strengths and difficulties will be also be sent and must be completed at least 7 days prior to the initial  appointment. 
• Clinical Interview: A one hour assessment will be scheduled focused on diagnostic screening, developmental and medical history to determine the most appropriate psychometric testing option. If the assessment is for a child or adolescent, at least one parent/guardian will be asked to attend this assessment session with the child or young person. If the assessment is for giftedness only, no initial assessment session will be required.
• Psychometric assessment sessions: Based on the clinical interview, one or more of the below will be selected for testing:

1. Cognitive ability testing - Wechsler Intelligence Scale (WISC-V; 6-17 years old or WAIS-IV; 17+ years old) and/or;
2. Academic ability testing - Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III) and/or;
3. Measures of attention and executive functioning
4. Autism spectrum disorder diagnostic assessment

• If the WISC or WAIS is the only test to be used, testing will be completed in one session. If the WISC or WAIS plus one additional test is being used, the tests may be completed in one session or across two sessions, depending on the needs of the individual. If three or more tests are to be administered two sessions will be required.  
• Report: A comprehensive written report will be prepared based on the outcome of the assessment and testing process. This report will be sent in a PDF document via email to the address provided, or by mail at request, within four (4) weeks of completion of the assessment. The report will highlight relative areas of strength and difficulty, with recommendations for home and school/study made and strategies provided for improving the individual's learning experience. 
• Follow-up phone discussion: Your clinician will provide a 20-minute follow-up phone call to respond to any questions regarding the report. 

Intelligence testing is a method used by psychologists to measure an individual's intellectual capabilities. Intellectual assessment is a good indicator of a individual's academic potential. The results of an IQ test rank an individual against a very large sample of people the same age.

We use the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition, Australian Standardisation (WISC-V). This is an individually administered instrument for assessing the cognitive ability of children aged 6 years to 16 years. 

To assess older adolescents and adults, we use the Wechsler Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition, Australian Standardisation (WAIS-IV). This battery was designed to parallel the WISC for those aged 16 years to 90 years.

The WISC-V and WAIS-IV are some of the most reliable and valid IQ testing instruments available and are the most widely used measures of IQ. Both batteries provide scores that represent intellectual functioning in four specified cognitive domains: Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Processing Speed and Working Memory. The WISC-V and WAIS-IV also provide a Full Scale IQ score measuring general intellectual ability. During the testing session the individual is asked to solve problems and puzzles and to answer a range of questions. Most people enjoy the testing session as it is an engaging process involving novel and fun tasks.

Academic testing provides an overview of a child’s current performance across a range of academic domains. We use the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III; 4-50 years) with subtests including:

• Oral Expression
• Listening Comprehension
• Written Expression
• Spelling
• Pseudoword Decoding
• Word Reading
• Reading Comprehension
• Numerical Operations
• Maths Reasoning

The assessment provides a rich source of information about an individual's achievement skills, allowing the assessment of problem-solving ability by evaluating processing skills. This enables curriculum and intervention decisions to be made with confidence. Testing also allows a direct comparison of an individual's intellectual capabilities with his/her academic performance. 

Attention is a vital component of the learning process, and different types of attentional difficulties have different implications for learning and intervention strategies. 

Executive function skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.

Our clinicians select from a range of available tests to provide a comprehensive evaluation of different aspacts of attentional and exceutive functioning. 

The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) measures children’s abilities to:

• Switch their attention from one task to another
• Withhold (inhibit) verbal and motor responses
• Sustain their attention
• Selectively attend
• Divide attention between two tasks

The subtests are sensitive to the developmental progression of attentional skills and allow analysis of the child’s progress in this important area of development.

Age range: Junior (5-7 years) and adolescent (8-15 years) version

The Test of Everyday Attention (TEA) gives a broad based measure of three important clinical and theoretical aspects of attention:

• Selective attention
• Sustained attention
• Attentional switching 

Age range: 18 to 80 years

The Developmental NEuroPSYchological Assessment (NEPSY) assesses a range of cognitive abilities including:

• Executive functioning
• Attention
• Language
• Memory and learning
• Sensorimotor functioning
• Social perception
• Visuospatial processing

The results provide information relating to typical childhood disorders, which can lead to accurate diagnosis and intervention planning for success in school and at home.

Age range: 3 to 16 years

The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) assesses key components of executive function including:

• Problem solving
• Verbal and spatial concept formation
• Flexibility of thinking
• Fluent productivity in the verbal and spatial domain
• Verbal inhibition
• Planning and reasoning
• Impulsivity
• Hypothesis testing
• Verbal and spatial abstract thinking
• Deductive reasoning
• Metaphorical thinking and comprehending abstract thought

Age range: 8 years onwards

The Comprehensive Executive Function Inventory (CEFI) evaluate executive function strengths and weaknesses in the following domains:

• Attention 
• Emotion regulation
• Flexibility 
• Inhibitory control 
• Initiation 
• Organisation 
• Planning
• Self monitoring 
• Working memory 

Age range: 5 to 18 years old, Adult version 18+

The MOXO computerised continuous performance test (d-CPT) provides measurements of all four core symptoms of ADHD:

• Hyper-Reactivity
• Inattention
• Timing
• Impulsivity

Age range: Kid (6 to 12 years) and Teens/Adult (13 to 70 years) versions

The Conners questionnaire assesses ADHD symptoms as well as its most common comorbid problems and disorders:

• Inattention
• Hyperactivity / Impulsivity
• Learning Problems
• Executive Functioning (Parent & Teacher)
• Defiance / Aggression
• Peer / Family Relations

It is a multi-informant assessment that takes into account home, social and school settings, with rating forms for parents, teachers and youth.

Age range: 6 to 18 years

The Wender Utah Rating Scale (18+ years old) is a self-report instrument that is designed to retrospectively evaluate the presence and severity of childhood symptoms of ADHD in adults.

Due to demand, the Autism Spectrum Disorder assessment is only available for current psychology and/or psychiatry clients at Southside. We are not able to accept new external assessment referrals at this time.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental condition characterised by difficulties in social interaction, communication, restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours, and sensory sensitivities. The word ‘spectrum’ reflects the wide range of challenges that people can experience and the extent to which they may be affected. An estimated 1 in 70 Australians are on the autism spectrum. The quality of life for many children and adults can be significantly improved by an early diagnosis and appropriate evidence informed treatment. 

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2)  

The ADOS-2 is a semi-structured, standardised assessment of communication, social interaction, play, and restricted and repetitive behaviours. The assessment presents various activities that elicit behaviours directly related to a diagnosis of ASD which the examiner will observe and code. 

Age range: 12 months to adulthood. Administered with the individual. 

If recommended, additional psychometric testing options (e.g., IQ testing, academic performance, and ADHD) can be combined with this assessment, which will be associated with a higher fee and will depend on the test battery. 

Medicare Information

To obtain a Medicare rebate for the purpose of assistance with diagnosis or to contribute to the treatment and management plan for a Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorder, a referral must be made by a paediatrician or psychiatrist. You can claim approximately $89.65 per session, across a maximum of four assessment sessions if the referred person is under the age of 25.