Comprehensive Assessments

For clinicians who are trained in assessment, you will have clients booked for intake to evaluate whether you are able to provide the necessary assessment, what assessment the client may need and whether the client consents to the process and cost of the assessment.

It is important that the client understands the costing may vary depending on how long the assessments sessions take. These can vary depending on the person, with conditions of the assessment imperative to guarantee the reliability of the results.

Process During Intake

1. If the consent form or notes from admin are not clear on what kind of assessment the client is seeking, ensure that during intake you have detailed discussions regarding the clients’ presenting concerns and referral question.
2. If you are experienced in this referral question, talk with the client about the likely assessments they (or their child) will need to undergo (ie. Referral question regarding dyslexia for a 9 year old would need to involve a cognitive assessment and an academic assessment at minimum).
3. Provide an estimated cost (as per below) and how many sessions will likely be needed.
4. Indicate to the client when you are likely able to commence the assessment process (based on your diary).
5. Also talk with the client about the likely turn around time for their report (ie. 3 weeks from final assessment session).
6. Let the client know that reception will send a full break down of the cost proposal and the client can respond with confirmation of whether they would like to proceed and book appointments with reception.
7. After the appointment, add a Task for the admin team including the clients name and what assessments are to be included in the quote

Note: You can check the live costing proposal information here:Assessment Cost Proposal - 2023

Ensure that you check the registration type, keeping in mind that assessments are not typically covered by medicare.

Information to Gather

Advise the Clients that the below information would be helpful to gather prior to their first assessment session:

• School reports (at least 1, potentially 2 pending age and referral question)
• Prior assessments or diagnostic reports
• If completing learning assessments, any samples of work relating to highlighted areas
• Consent to contact school and contact information
• Specific information regarding any targeted interventions child or adult may have participated in: name of intervention, time and length of program, perceived or documented changes.

Helpful tips for parents prior to child assessments

• Make sure the child/adolescent has eaten prior to assessment
• Make sure the child/adolescent understands that they are doing some tasks and that trying their best is the most important thing, not how well they perform
• Explain to parent and child that due to the psychometric integrity of the assessment and validity of results, children will need to be in the room on their own (only in extreme circumstances might parents be in the room and the clinician would need to be confident that the parent is not interacting with the stimulus to support the child with their responses; see test instructions for specifics)
• Consider how long to schedule the assessment session for (ie. If child has long attention span or family lives far away, longer sessions may be feasible; high level of hyperactivity may mean shorter sessions and more frequent breaks are necessary)
• Explain to parent and child that if they already know me, they might notice I talk a bit differently (ie. a bit more robotic). It is important they understand that you are reading from a script and have limitations in what you can say. This helps to reduce the anxiety they may experience when your manner is unusual.