Step 1 : Booking & Consent
Share your concerns, goals, and needs so that we can match you with the right psychologist and assessment.
Educational and Neurodevelopmental Assessments
The journey to being understood often starts here.
We provide person-centered, trauma informed and neuro-affirming educational and neurodevelopmental assessments for children, adolescents and adults.
Why would you need an educational or neurodevelopmental assessment?
An educational or neurodevelopmental assessment is conducted by a psychologist to gather information about how a person tends to think, feel or act. At Raise the Bar Psychology the assessment focus and goals are determined collaboratively with your psychologist. Assessments often include multiple methods of gathering information such as interviews, observations, consultation with significant others or specialists, and formal testing.
Assessments at Raise the Bar Psychology are personalised to the individual needs of clients and provide insight into an individual’s unique set of strengths, differences and challenges. This detailed understanding allows for specific, realistic and individualised recommendations to be provided regarding evidence-based interventions and required adjustments and supports within the home, school or workplace settings so that barriers to learning and development are removed.
We use scientifically validated assessment tools designed to identify and understand:
- Neurodivergence, including Autism, ADD, and ADHD
- Learning difficulties and disorders, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia
- Mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety
- Cognitive and intellectual differences, including giftedness
- Intellectual and developmental delays, including intellectual disability
- School readiness
- Vocational aspirations and requirements
Types of assessments
Raise the Bar Psychology provides assessments to children, adolescents and adults with various presenting concerns and individualised needs.
Autism Assessment
Autism assessments can be completed with children from as young as two years, up to adults.
An autism assessment can involve administering several standardised assessment tools, interacting with the individual in the clinic, observing the individual at school, and interviews with family members, teachers or medical and allied health professionals.
An autism assessment may include assessment of the individual’s cognitive ability to inform needed adjustments and supports. Autism assessments can also include assessment of academic achievement if learning concerns are present.
ADHD/ADD Assessment
An Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) assessment can be completed with children, adolescents and adults and typically involves
- Interviews with parents, teachers, and the individual themselves (when age appropriate)
- Observation within the clinic setting and at school (where appropriate)
- Questionnaires being completed by parents, teachers, partners (for adults) and the individual themselves (when age appropriate)
Raise the Bar Psychology has both behavioural and performance measures of attention and executive functioning that provide understanding regarding an individual’s degree of attentional and behavioural control, as well as their planning and organisation skills.
Developmental Assessment
A developmental assessment can target multiple domains of functioning depending on individual needs, including:
- cognitive development
- language development
- Gross and fine motor development in children up to 3.5 years
- emotional and behavioural regulation
- social development
- adaptive functioning skills (i.e., the skills needed to function independently day-to-day)
- handwriting speed in school age students
Identifying areas of developmental need allows interventions to be put in place early.
Cognitive or Intelligence Assessment
A cognitive assessment involves administration of a range of different tasks and activities that assess an individual’s language, problem-solving, memory and speed of processing to determine an individual’s overall intellectual ability (or IQ), as well as identification of specific areas of cognitive strength and challenge.
Cognitive ability provides the foundation for learning. Assessment of cognitive functioning allows for identification of the adjustments and supports an individual needs to progress in their academic learning and general well-being.
Cognitive assessment is integral to identifying intellectual disability, giftedness and specific learning disorders such as dyslexia.
Cognitive assessment is also often useful when considering neurodivergence such as autism and ADHD and determining required adjustments and supports.
Learning Assessment
Using a comprehensive set of both cognitive and academic achievement assessments can help parents and educators gain insight into a child, adolescent or adult’s learning and academic abilities.
Assessment of a student’s level of academic achievement identifies areas of strength and challenge, so that intervention, adjustments and supports can be targeted to areas of need.
Raise the Bar Psychology has a variety of academic assessment tools available to assess broad areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and oral language, as well as specific sub-skills in each, such as
- Reading – word reading and recognition, decoding, word reading efficiency, reading fluency (accuracy and rate), reading comprehension and recall
- Writing – spelling, writing fluency, sentence composition, essay composition, use of grammar and punctuation, editing, handwriting legibility and speed
- Mathematics – number processing, maths calculation and fluency, and applied mathematical problem-solving
- Oral language – receptive and expressive language
School Readiness Assessment
Being school-ready is about more than just intellectual development; it’s about whether a young child is ready socially, physically and emotionally, and if they have the communication and cognitive skills to manage school effectively. Children who start school when they are developmentally ready typically do better in school and later on in life.
Understanding a child’s developmental readiness is crucial, especially in Victoria if they might turn five between January and April of their preparatory year. A school readiness assessment can support parents with decision making regarding whether to start school early, at the typical time, or after an additional year of kindergarten. The school readiness assessments at Raise the Bar Psychology also identify if there are specific areas of development in need of targeted intervention and support so that your child can thrive optimally in their learning and general well-being in the school setting.
Early Childhood Developmental Assessment
An Early Childhood Developmental Assessment is for children who have not yet started school and can evaluate various aspects of their learning and development, including:
- cognitive development
- language development
- Gross and fine motor development
- Emotional and behavioural regulation
- Social development
- Adaptive functioning skills
- Pre-literacy and -numeracy skills
An early childhood developmental assessment helps to identify areas of developmental delay, guide individualised intervention programs, and facilitate access to funding such as the NDIS. They can also assit with the transiton to primary school by considering the different educational settings available to your child.
The early childhood developmental assessment process typically includes a developmental history interview with parents/caregivers, and consultations with parents and teaching staff. A cognitive assessment often forms part of an early childhood developmental assessment which occurs in the clinic and allows for your psychologist to interact with and observe your child.
The comprehensive and individualised report provided at the conclusion of the assessment will identify areas of developmental need and required evidence-based interventions so that supports can be put in place early.
Mental Health Screening Assessment
Our Mental Health Screening Assessment is a compassionate, evidence-based starting point for individuals experiencing emerging emotional or psychological challenges. Designed for older children (late primary), adolescents, and adults, this assessment aims to identify concerns early, allowing for the timely implementation of effective support and treatment pathways.
Preschool and Early Primary Developmental Assessment
Our Preschool and Early Primary Developmental Assessment is a proactive pathway designed to identify emerging developmental, learning, or behavioural differences. By gaining early insights into your child’s unique profile, we can implement the right supports at the right time—ensuring they thrive during their crucial preschool and early primary school years.
Functional Capacity Assessment
This assessment is a powerful tool for self-advocacy and provides a holistic picture of an individual’s life across key domains. It also assists the NDIS in understanding exactly what is needed to bridge the gap between current challenges and future goals, ensuring every individual has the resources they deserve to participate fully in their community.
Autism Assessment Process
An Autism assessment can uncover your unique strengths, differences and challenges, how your brain learns best, and whether you require particular support or adjustments at home, school or the workplace.
At a minimum, it provides clear insights to help you overcome barriers, leverage your strengths and identify supports needed to reach your potential.
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Step 2 : Clinical Intake
Meet with your psychologist to share background information. Your psychologist will explain the assessment process and what to expect.
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Step 3 : Assessment
Assessments are delivered using a "hybrid" model. This means most of our conversations happen from the comfort of your own home via Telehealth, with only the essential face-to-face assessment held in person at our clinic.
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Step 4 : Feedback
Receive a clear and simple explanation of assessment results. Ask questions. Plan a clear path forward. A comprehensive and personalised report is provided.
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Step 5 : Ongoing support
We offer child friendly feedback sessions, school consultation, and parent support. Many families return to monitor progress and to review recommendations in preparation for important transitions (e.g., starting primary, secondary or tertiary education).
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We’re here to help you identify the most appropriate assessment pathway and to help you through the process and beyond - because everyone deserves a chance to thrive.
We’d love to support you; whether you have a few questions or concerns, want to know your options, or are looking for the best provider for you, book a call with us today.