FAQ’s

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions around assessments, I hope you’ll find the information helpful.

What is an assessment?

A comprehensive assessment evaluates thinking, learning and behaviour. The process involves gathering information, through interviews, observation, testing and consultation with people involved in a child or young person’s care (parents, teachers, therapists, etc.). Testing includes pencil and paper tasks, puzzles, drawings, questions, observations and conversations. The assessment covers many skill areas, such as general intellectual level, language and communication, memory and learning, problem solving, planning and organisation (executive functioning), fine motor skills, visual spatial skills, basically how the child or young person thinks, as well as academic skills (reading, maths, spelling and writing). It also includes an assessment of behaviour and emotions understanding the child or young person’s temperament, feelings and concerns, as well as social interactions, resiliency and ability to manage activities of daily living.

Research studies have indicated that early detection of underlying issues can lead to better outcomes in terms of intervention and treatment.

A comprehensive assessment will include the evaluation of a child or young person’s cognitive functioning, academic performance, behaviour and social or emotional functioning. Assessment information will be integrated and a written report will be provided, which includes a detailed analysis of information obtained, all supported with appropriate provision.

The report, often called an advice, provides information about a child or young person’s communication and language; cognition and learning; social and emotional functioning, physical and sensory needs and level of independence and addresses the issues which fall within the field of practice of an Educational Psychologist. The advice and recommendations will be complied with the information available at the time of the assessment and will be subject to review following the receipt of additional or updated information.

Why have an assessment?

An assessment is helpful in identifying skills and areas of need and will lead to recommendations for both academic and emotional intervention. By detecting skills and areas of need, an assessment can be used to assist in planning the child or young person’s school programme, to identify the need for special educational services in school and to help the child or young person access needed resources.

The intention of the assessment is to formulate a profile of your child or young person’s pattern of skills, challenges, behaviours and personal circumstances so that specific suggestions and recommendations can be made to help your child or young person reach their full potential.

How reliable will the information in the report be?

This report is created with given information from the case history form, discussions, additional resources (school or therapy reports), as well as information provided during the assessment. The information in the report is reliable providing your child or young person has worked as expected during the session but any withheld information provided after the report is issued may affect the results or recommendations.

How long is the report valid for?

An educational psychology report is not intended to be a complete statement about an individual. It deals with specific aspects at a certain time in a person’s life and gives an indication of possible areas of strength and areas of need at that time. Care must be taken, therefore, not to assume that the

contents of this report apply indefinitely and, as a rule of thumb, test results more than twelve (12) months old should not be used.

How can the child or young persons do their best during testing?

If medication is normally taken daily, please make sure that it has been taken according to instructions on the day of testing. If this has not been taken as prescribed, please tell me.

If the child or young person being assessed has a compromised physical condition or emotional state on the day of testing, please inform me. For example: feeling ill; taking medication that would make one drowsy; a poor night’s sleep prior; a death in the family, etc. These types of things can affect performance on some of the tests used for psychological evaluations.

Please try to ensure a good night’s sleep prior to testing. Being sleepy during testing can affect overall concentration and performance on timed tasks in particular.

My goal is for every person to be as comfortable as possible, as this helps to ensure that their performance is the best representation of what they can do in this new and unfamiliar situation. I aim to make sure that the process is positive for the child or young person’s and the testing is conducted in a relaxed, environment designed to elicit their best performance.

How can I explain the testing process to prepare my child?

Most importantly, the goal in preparation is to help the child or young person be as comfortable, relaxed and motivated as possible the day of testing. Proper preparation will help the child or young person do their best, allow for a pleasant testing experience and help me gather the most reliable results possible.

Many children or young persons may wonder why they are having these tests and if there is something wrong with them. Listen to their concerns and feelings about the evaluation and answer their questions as straightforwardly as possible. It is helpful to be reassuring to the child or young person.

Offer reassurance that the information gathered from the evaluation will help you and other people better understand their experiences, what kinds of things they have been having trouble with and what types of things they are really good or not so good at doing.

Explain that psychological testing is not unusual and other children participate in testing, too.

For younger children, you may wish to focus on the puzzles, stories and drawings. Please don’t tell your child that I will be “playing games” with them as this often leads to disappointment when games are not offered. You can tell them that they will completing activities similar to the activities they do in school. For older children, it is often helpful to describe both puzzles, story-telling, chatting and school-type work, but make sure they know that there are no marks or grades given.

Children and young people generally enjoy the process, and many do not inherently feel worried about it. It’s also okay if your child or young person does appear nervous. I have been doing this for years and have worked with hundreds of children. I am experienced with helping them feel comfortable.

What kind of tests will be administered?

The test battery varies depending upon the referral question/s and can include a structured interview, assessment of intellectual capability, learning/processing measures, measures of attention and memory, academic achievement measures, projective measures, self-report surveys, parent and teacher checklists and school input.

Some assessments may emphasise memory and learning, others may focus on language or academic development and still others may highlight behaviour and emotional development. The type of assessment your child or young person’s will be structured around his/her behaviour and learning are examined in the context of the reason for referral. The specific aspects of psychoeducational or developmental testing will depend on the presenting problem and additional tests are sometimes required.

The cognitive tasks can only be administered once per year for the results to be valid, so please let me know if your child or young person has taken a test within the last twelve months.

What studying or preparation needs to be done beforehand?

These are not the types of tasks or evaluations anyone can or needs to study for.

What needs to be brought to the assessment?

Other than glasses or a hearing aid (if your child wears them), a healthy snack and something to drink, everything will be provided for the assessment day. Please remember to bring any additional information you want to share, such as school reports, previous assessment or consultation results or therapy reports. Alternatively, these can be emailed beforehand.

Will there be time for breaks?

Yes, time is allotted for breaks, which are taken as per the needs of the person being assessed.

Can my child go back to school after the assessment?

The testing process can take anywhere from 1 ½ - 5 hours (2 ½ hours is average for a standard psycho-educational assessment), which may occur over more than one session. Many children feel tired after testing.

What must we call you?

I prefer to be called by my first name, Melanie, and this also helps your child feel relaxed about the session. They should be told that I am a psychologist rather than a teacher as my relationship with them will not be the same as it is with these familiar figures.

What can I expect after the assessment is completed?

I will email the report to you within four weeks of the assessment and we can meet online to go through any questions you may have. I do not give information straight after the assessment as it is important that the information is seen holistically. It is in the best interests of the child or young person for all of the information to be consolidated and taken into consideration.

A written report will be completed, outlining the results of the assessment and the recommendations for intervention. Only you will receive a copy of this report unless written consent is provided to share the report with other people.

I hope this information has been helpful. Please feel free to contact me with any further questions about the assessment process.