Child Assessment & Testing - How Can Test Results Help?

At CPAC our approach to child psychological assessment falls within one of four broad categories:

- Developmental Assessments
- Clinical/diagnostic Assessment
- Educational and Intellectual Ability Assessment
- Behavioural Assessment

Developmental assessment is focused on collecting information about children's developmental functioning. This may be relevant because of suspected developmental delay or in determining whether a child is ready for school entry. In other cases, such as suspected ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorders, the first step is always to screen for possible developmental delay. Developmental tests identify cognitive (thinking), physical, social, emotional and self help skills and associated strengths and weaknesses.

Diagnostic assessments cover a broad range of childhood disorders These include emotional difficulties (such as childhood depression, trauma or anxiety), ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Learning and Intellectual Disability and behavioural disorders .

Our assessment process for diagnostic purposes is explorative. It includes psychological tests, parent and child interviews and parent questionnaires. The reason for this exploration is simple; when parents or other professionals suspect some form of childhood disorder, it is important to screen for a range of symptoms, not only for symptoms of the suspected difficulty. Different psychological disorders often present together and it is important to explore all options and areas of functioning.

Educational and intellectual assessment is not the same as class testing. Stand alone tests, such as the NAPLAN, only rely on test results, whereas in depth, individual assessments rely on information from multiple sources. These include psychological and educational tests, observation during test taking, interview with the accompanying parent and incorporating other relevant records, such as medical and teachers' reports. This process ensures that children receive individual attention and the results reported are based on the most accurate information available at the time of the assessment.

The aim here is to identify existing strengths and weaknesses in adaptive functioning and to evaluate the extent of behavioural difficulties. Parents who care for children with difficult behaviour often feel that they are "left wondering in the dark" and may struggle finding ways to help their children. Accurate diagnosis is the first step in developing a program for children with significant behavioural difficulties.