top of page

Psychoeducational Assessments

Understanding Your Child's Learning Journey
​

Psychoeducational Assessments at Sprout Psychology Melbourne

Is your child struggling in school or facing learning challenges? We believe every child has the potential to thrive. Our comprehensive psychoeducational assessments provide a detailed roadmap of your child's strengths, needs, and learning style, empowering them to reach their full potential.​​ A comprehensive psychoeducational assessment can uncover the underlying causes and provide recommendations for targeted support. It can also shed light on potential mismatches between your child's learning style and their current environment, which may be contributing to their challenges.

​

What is a Psychoeducational Assessment?

It's like a detailed map of your child's learning abilities, including:

  • Cognitive skills: Thinking, problem-solving, memory, and attention.

  • Academic skills: Reading, writing, and math.

  • Emotional and behavioral factors: How your child manages emotions and interacts with others.

This in-depth understanding helps us pinpoint the root of any learning challenges and identify the best ways to support your child's unique learning journey.

​

How Can Your Child Benefit?

A psychoeducational assessment can:

  • Uncover hidden talents and strengths.

  • Build self-esteem and confidence by highlighting areas of competence.

  • Identify specific learning needs: Pinpoint specific challenges rather than global learning challenges.

  • Create a personalized learning plan: Develop strategies tailored to your child's individual needs.

  • Facilitate access to educational support and accomodations: Offer valuable insights for parents and teachers.

​

Which Specific Learning Disorders are Assessed?

Our assessments help identify Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs) like dyslexia (reading), dysgraphia (writing), and dyscalculia (math).

​

What to Expect

  • A warm welcome: Our friendly receptionists will help you schedule your first appointment.

  • Getting to know your child: We'll start by understanding your child's experiences and developmental history.

  • Comprehensive assessment: This includes cognitive and academic tests, questionnaires for parents and teachers, and sometimes a school visit.

  • Clear and supportive reporting: You'll receive a detailed report with personalized recommendations, explained in a way that's easy to understand.

  • Ongoing support: We're here to answer your questions and offer continued guidance.

​​​

Psychoeducational assessments are often requested by schools to ensure the best possible learning outcome of students. With years of experience working with school systems, as Educational and Developmental Psychologists, we provide Department of Education-Approved, professional psychoeducational assessment services. We understand both the needs and criteria from a School Student Wellbeing Staff's point of view, and from the individual's and family's point of view, as a private practitioner.
 

It can be overwhelming to think of how much an assessment could cost you. Leave us your enquiry and we will get back to you with a quote to save your time searching.

Specific Learning Disorder Assessments

Understanding Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

SLD stands for Specific Learning Disorder. It refers to a neurodevelopmental difference and a form of neurodivergence, that affects a person’s ability to learn or use specific academic skills, such as reading, writing, or mathematics.
The term is often used to describe difficulties in particular areas, such as:

  • Dyslexia: Impairments in reading

  • Dysgraphia: Difficulties with writing

  • Dyscalculia: Challenges with mathematical reasoning or calculations


SLD is diagnosed when the learning difficulties are significantly below what is expected for that individual’s cognitive capacity and interfere with academic, occupational, or daily life activities. It starts during school age, but may only become more prominent when the demands for those affected skills exceed the individuals’ capacities.

​

These challenges are also not better explained by intellectual disability or other disorders in such as psychosocial adversities. To diagnose SLDs, it is highly specifically trained area, and educational psychologists are the best experts at assessing it through psychoeducational evaluations that examine cognitive and academic skills, as well as gathering information on developmental history and assessing or differentiating them with current psychosocial and emotional challenges.


Benefits of Identification & Diagnosis

Receiving a diagnosis means that the child will have access to additional support from schools and relevant educational departments throughout their schooling. For example, a child with dyslexia may request extra reading time during school exams, NAPLAN, and even VCE. The comprehensive psychoeducational assessment report provides evidence for the child’s specific needs, enabling access to tier-3 school-based interventions and support.

It can be overwhelming to think of how much an assessment could cost you. Leave us your enquiry and we will get back to you with a quote to save your time searching.

Assessments We Use 

​​

Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of intelligence (WPPSI)

For children aged 2 years and 6 months - 7 years and 7 months

The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, fourth edition (WPPSI-IV) is designed for younger children aged 2 years 6 months to 7 years 7 months. The WPPSI assesses cognitive development in younger children, focusing on verbal comprehension, visual-spatial processing, fluid reasoning, working memory, and processing speed.

This assessment usually takes 45 to 60 minutes for children aged 2 years 6 months to 3 years 11 months, and 60 to 90 minutes for children aged 4 to 7 years 7 months.

​​

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

For children aged 6 to 16 years

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, fifth edition (WISC-5) is designed for children aged 6 to 16 years 11 months. It assesses children’s intellectual ability and five cognitive domains including verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. It is commonly used to identify learning difficulties and giftedness.

This assessment usually takes 1 to 2 hours to complete.

​​

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

From adolescents to adults aged 16 to 90

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, fourth edition (WAIS-IV) is a widely used comprehensive clinical instrument for assessing the intelligence of adolescents and adults aged 16 to 90 years. It assesses various aspects of cognitive abilities, including verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed.

This assessment usually takes 1 to 2 hours to complete.

​

Non-English-Speaking Individuals

We also offer a completely nonverbal measure of intelligence that is suitable for individuals who are non-English speaking, hearing impaired, speech impaired, or cognitively delayed.

Leiter International Performance Scale, Third Edition (Leiter-3)

This game-like assessment examines individuals’ cognitive, attentional, and neuropsychological abilities. It takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes to administer. The Leiter-3 assessment is designed for individuals aged 3 to 75 years.

 

Learning Assessment/ Specific Learning Disorder (SLD)/ Learning Difficulties

Our clinic uses the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, third edition (WIAT-III) to identify specific learning difficulties. It is commonly used to inform decisions regarding eligibility for educational services, educational placement, or diagnosis of a Specific Learning Disorder (SLD), including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia.  

 

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III)

The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, third edition (WIAT-III) is a commonly used assessment aimed to measure academic skills in individuals from age 4 through adulthood. It assesses areas such as reading, mathematics, written language, and oral language to identify learning disabilities and areas of academic strength and weakness. This assessment can take 3 to 4.5 hours to complete, depending on the individual. To reduce chances of fatigue, we may assess the individual across 2 or more days.

Require an Assessment Immediately?

  • We offer priority assessments with our provisional psychologists, who are closely supervised by our experienced educational and developmental psychologist, and Principal Supervisor. This option often has a shorter waitlist and lower than our average fees, ensuring you receive the support you need sooner.
bottom of page