Assessment Process and Fees

We are able to undertake assessments with children and young people up to 18 years of age. We are able to see pre-schoolers however in some instances we may recommend that a Paediatrician would be more suitable to see your child.

An assessment might be requested when you have noticed differences, or have had ongoing concerns about your child's general development or progress at school or home. There might have been little things happening over the years with their social interactions, behaviour, learning, or other areas of development.

Sometimes other family members or school teachers may have also raised concerns with you.

Parents often request an assessment when their usual parenting tricks aren't working any more - they simply don't know what to try next. An assessment can help to untangle what is happening with your child's development, and to identify ways to support them at school or home.

Our assessments are designed to explore development broadly. We gather information to understand your child’s experiences, particularly to explore whether Autism or ADHD, or other developmental differences might help to understand their support needs.

How do we make a referral?

We open our waitlist for referrals around 2 - 3 times a year - keep an eye on the website for update information on when the waitlist will be opening.

On that date, a referral form will be available on the website - this can be completed by a parent, guardian, teacher, or another professional. A GP referral is not needed.

Once the referral is received you will receive a confirmation email from us within a few days, advising whether we are able to see your child, or if we feel another organisation would be more suitable. If we are able to see your child we will advise of the estimated timeframe for an appointment. The actual wait time will vary and depends on when the referral is submitted (we work on a first in, first served basis). The exception to this is if there are circumstances that means a priority assessment is required.

What is involved in an assessment?

• Developmental assessments are completed with at least two members of our team. This provides a multi-disciplinary perspective to explore your child’s general development, language, social interactions and emotional development.

• The first step is to arrange an initial consultation with one of our team to discuss your questions and concerns. We will discuss your child's developmental history. Copies of previous reports will be requested (if available) - these help to provide additional background information and context of past developmental or behavioural needs.

• You and your child’s teacher will be given some questionnaires to complete. These will ask questions about your child's skills at home, and about characteristics that might be related to Autism and ADHD. Questionnaires may include one or all of:

  • Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS-2)

  • Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2)

  • Conners-4

  • MASC-2

• Sometimes a cognitive and / or academic assessment will be completed to explore your child's problem solving or language skills. This is particularly helpful if there are also learning differences at school.

• Your child's teacher will be asked for their views, and your child may be visited at school for a discrete in-class observation.

• In some instances you and your child will be visited at home.

• Your child will be invited to take part in the Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosis of the Autism Spectrum (MIGDAS-2), play-based assessment. Although this is designed to explore Autistic characteristics, we also use the MIGDAS framework more broadly when also exploring ADHD as it gives us a great chance to spend time with your child in a low-key play-based session.

What happens after the assessment?

After all information has been collected, a comprehensive report will be written. A meeting will be arranged with you to discuss the assessment and any outcomes. You will receive two a comprehensive report which can be shared with school or other practitioners if you choose to do so.

You will receive the report 2-3 weeks after the assessment (we will often meet to discuss the assessment before the report has been completed).

There are a number of possible outcomes from the assessment:

• Confirmation of a current diagnosis, with updated information

• Provision of a new diagnosis, for example Autism, ADHD, Specific Learning Disability (Dyslexia / Dysgraphia); Intellectual Disability; Giftedness.

• A diagnosis is not always made - sometimes further information is required, or the assessment shows that a diagnosis is not appropriate.

• Recommendations for further assessment (often with a different professional such as a Speech Language Therapist or Occupational Therapist) may be made if a separate issue is identified during the assessment. This may include challenges with language or motor skills that cannot be assessed by a Psychologist.

• Further recommendations will also be made in the report. This may include options to access individualised support for your child or you, recommendations for school.

• A referral can also be made to a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist if a diagnosis of ADHD is confirmed, and parents wish to explore medication.

How much does it cost?

The cost for the assessment is inclusive of:

• Initial discussions (either in person or phone)

• Administration of the assessments

• School/home visits or a Teacher interview

• Provision of the reports

• Feedback and explanation of the reports

A developmental assessment including all components outlined is $2200 incl GST. Full payment is required 7 days prior to the initial appointment.

If there are also questions related to learning needs, additional assessments to explore cognitive development (WISC-V) and academic achievement (WIAT-III) will also be completed. The total cost for these assessments, in addition to the assessment outlined above, is $2995 incl GST.

Any further assessment which may be required will be discussed with you and quoted separately.

Attendance at any follow up meetings, for example with school, is charged separately at a rate of $200 (incl GST) / meeting.