Intelligence and educational

At Catalyst Psychology our experienced and friendly psychologists offer assessment to children (5yrs +), adolescents, young adults and adults.

Each assessment is tailored to the individual and the reason for the assessment. We prepare detailed reports with specific recommendations for you, or your child and their school. Reports can also be used for diagnosis, NDIS funding applications or Department of Education Special Consideration applications.

Intellectual or Cognitive Assessments

These assessments are used for Giftedness Assessments, assessments of Specific Learning Disorders (such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia) and assessments of Global Developmental/Intellectual Disability. They are also often part of an assessment for Developmental Disorders such as Autism and ADHD. Sometimes they are needed for NDIS funding applications.

We use the WISC-V and WAIS-III to assess intellectual ability. These are highly structured, standardised assessments. Clients are taken through a number of tasks, such as answering questions and solving problems with pictures or patterns. We use the iPads for both these assessments, which helps it be more engaging. The assessment usually take 1.5-2 hours. The Psychologist then needs additional time for scoring and interpreting the results, as well as report writing.

Academic Achievement or Educational Assessment

An Educational Achievement test is often paired with the Intellectual Assessment too, depending on the issue. This is a measure of academic performance across reading, spelling, english skills (like reading and listening comprehension) and maths skills. With this test, we can also compare a person’s academic abilities to other people their age and gender to see what level they are at, and what their academic strengths and weaknesses are. We can check if someone is underperforming. This often helps with an assessment of Specific Learning Difficulties or Developmental Disorders.

We use the WIAT-III to assess academic ability. It is are highly structured, standardised assessment. Clients are taken through a number of tasks, such as listening to stories, writing tasks and maths tasks. We use the iPads for this assessments, which helps it be more engaging. The assessment usually takes 1.5-2 hours. The Psychologist then needs additional time for scoring and interpreting the results, as well as report writing.

Special Consideration for Department of Education Exams/Tasks

The Department of Education sometimes allows special assistance for pupils with difficulties in learning. These may include extra time in exams, the use of scribes to help with writing, separate rooms for examinations etc. It is often necessary to have clear documentation about the nature of the pupils difficulties and professional recommendations for special assistance or special consideration. We are able to provide assessments and reports that may help pupils gain this extra help. Contact us for more details.