ADHD assessments
Getting an ADHD assessment completed for your child can seem like a daunting or confronting task. As with all the work we do at ConnectEd Counselling and Consultancy, we want to make sure that you and your child have a positive experience of seeking help. Below you will find information to help you better understand, what is involved, and a number of other common questions or concerns parents have.
We provide two options for the assessment of ADHD:
ADHD comprehensive assessment – this is our standard and recommended assessment process where concerns regarding attention/concentration and/or hyperactivity have been identified by you as a parent, a classroom teacher, school staff or GP. Results can be used to support education and treatment planning. You can find more information about what is involved here
ADHD targeted assessment – recommended when a specific request from a current treating professional (e.g. paediatrician, psychiatrist) is made to assess only for ADHD and no other potential underlying concerns which may better explain the difficulties. You can find out more information about what is involved here
The reason we recommend an ADHD comprehensive assessment is that there are a lot of overlapping factors that can impact your child’s attention and engagement (e.g. vision and hearing difficulties, learning difficulties, mood or anxiety difficulties). Without assessing for these things (and ruling them in or out as being of concern), we may miss something really important that can impact your child accessing the right support. In fact, the rate of co-occurrence of other difficulties ranges from 60-100% (Gillberg, 2004), which is to say that there is a very high likelihood that if a young person has ADHD, they are also experiencing another difficulty. You may find it helpful to have a look at a questionnaire that asks some basic questions relating to the diagnostic criteria for ADHD (please note: we do not recommend/suggest that this questionnaire is a valid/reliable measure of ADHD, we include it for your own interest only)
ADHD comprehensive assessment
The assessments we provide cover:
Attention and hyperactivity – a comprehensive assessment tool that determines the presence (or absence) of difficulties with attention and hyperactivity, as compared to similar-aged peers
Clinical psychosocial assessment – understanding any additional mental health difficulties your child might be experiencing and how this may impact them. Given the co-occurrence of ADHD and other mental health difficulties, this will assist in identifying the most helpful support
Cognitive abilities – your child’s level of functioning for various cognitive abilities (e.g. working memory, processing speed, fluid reasoning). This information can give teachers and other student support staff information about strengths and challenges to help tailor their planning and support.
Functional academic testing – your child’s academic achievement in the classroom and without additional support. Can be useful as a baseline for trialling or understanding some impacts of in-class support and accommodation strategies and for confirming areas in need of academic intervention.
Learning difficulties or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) – a combination of the above assessments to see whether difficulties are significant to the point that warrants a diagnosis of a Specific Learning Disorder.
What are the benefits of a comprehensive assessment?
You want to better understand your child’s strengths and challenges. An assessment is NOT just about finding out “what is wrong”, it is also about acknowledging and suggesting ways to utilise the strengths that your child has
Knowing your child’s profile allows you to advocate more clearly for support for your child. Schools often have requirements they need to meet (e.g. a diagnosis, assessment results) before they are able to implement certain supports
You want specific recommendations for how to best support your child with their learning
What we DON’T provide
A guaranteed diagnosis – the assessment process is designed to provide rich information to understand your child’s needs. Sometimes this equates to a diagnosis, other times it does not meet this threshold but still provides valuable understanding. In some cases, a diagnosis will also need to be confirmed by another healthcare specialist (e.g. paediatrician or psychiatrist
That you will have all the answers from one assessment package – in some cases, further information will lead to further needs being identified. In this case, we will provide our recommendations to you about what else might be needed and you can work with your psychologist to identify if you are in a position to undertake this
What is involved in an assessment?
The flowchart below shows the process of an example assessment. The assessment best suited to your child may be different and, for example, involve more or less testing time, report writing time or time at their school. The discussion at your intake session will lead to your psychologist being able to judge what elements of the assessment process will answer your questions about your child in order to meet the purpose of the assessment.
FAQ
We use the WISC-V (Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children – 5th edition) and the WJIV (Woodcock Johnson – 4th edition).
- WISC-V is used to better understand some of the large number of cognitive abilities used for succeeding at school.
- WJIV is used to better understand the other cognitive abilities needed at school not covered by the WISC V but also compares areas of academic achievement to that of other examinees of the same age.
- Conners 4 is a gold standard in assessment of ADHD
If you have had a look at other clinics, you might have noticed that they use the WIAT-III (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-III) and not the WJIV. The reason we choose to use the WJIV is because not only can it investigate the same elements as the WIAT III, it can also enable us to investigate other areas already tested by the WISC-V more closely if those results warrant a closer look. The WJ-IV also allows us to look into other cognitive abilities not covered by the WISC-V or WIAT-III tests and subtests.
Comprehensive ADHD assessment is a specialised skill set, much of which is utilised “behind the scenes” in the report-writing process. It is important to be aware that for a number of tests (e.g. WISC-V), a child is unable to be tested or re-tested for at least 2 years. It is, therefore, really important that it is done to a very high standard. It is often better to undertake as comprehensive assessment as is required, as much of the cost of assessment is/ embedded in the whole process (rather than adding additional assessments in). Each assessment will be different, depending on the concerns you have and the information you are hoping to get.
Please see our fees section for more information
ADHD targeted assessment
The assessments we provide cover:
Attention and hyperactivity – a comprehensive assessment tool that determines the presence (or absence) of difficulties with attention and hyperactivity, as compared to similar-aged peers
Clinical psychosocial assessment – understanding any additional mental health difficulties your child might be experiencing and how this may impact them. Given the co-occurrence of ADHD and other mental health difficulties, this will assist in identifying the most helpful support
What are the benefits of a targeted assessment?
You want to confirm whether your child has ADHD and the impact this is having
Access specific recommendations to best support your child at school and at home
What we DON’T provide
A guaranteed diagnosis – the assessment process is designed to provide rich information to understand your child’s needs. Sometimes this equates to a diagnosis, other times it does not meet this threshold but still provides valuable understanding. In some cases, a diagnosis will also need to be confirmed by another healthcare specialist (e.g. paediatrician or psychiatrist
That you will have all the answers from one assessment package – in some cases, further information will lead to further needs being identified. In this case, we will provide our recommendations to you about what else might be needed and you can work with your psychologist to identify if you are in a position to undertake this
What is involved in an assessment?
The flowchart below shows the process of an example assessment. The assessment best suited to your child may be different and, for example, involve more or less testing time, report writing time or time at their school. The discussion at your intake session will lead to your psychologist being able to judge what elements of the assessment process will answer your questions about your child in order to meet the purpose of the assessment.
FAQ
Assessment of ADHD is a multi-faceted process that includes using standardised measures that compare with same-aged peers, as well as your psychologists clinical expertise. As a guide, we will use a combination of the Conners 4 and a range of psychosocial questionnaires. ADHD assessment is a specialised skill set, much of which is utilised “behind the scenes” in the report-writing process. Each assessment is likely to be different, depending on the concerns you have and what your psychologist recommends to best address these concerns.
Please see our fees section for more information