ASSESSMENT
Helping you better understand strengths, challenges,
and how to best support your wellbeing.
Why do people seek assessments?
Assessments are sought for many different reasons. Often, it begins with a sense that something isn't quite adding up - you might notice ongoing challenges with learning, focus, memory, or emotional wellbeing, or maybe feel that things just seem to take more effort for you compared to others.
Sometimes assessment is suggested by a teacher, GP, or another professional. At other times, it comes from your own curiosity and a desire to better understand yourself or your child.
Assessment can help bring clarity by building a fuller picture of how someone thinks, learns, and navigates the world. It can highlight strengths, explain challenges, and help make sense of patterns that may have felt confusing or frustrating. For many people, assessment is a validating and reassuring process. It can provide answers, language, and direction, along with practical recommendations to support learning, wellbeing, and everyday life.
COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT
A Cognitive Assessment explores how a person thinks, reasons, solves problems, and processes information. It helps build a detailed picture of an individual's cognitive profile, including areas of strength and areas where additional support may be beneficial. It also provides an understanding of overall intellectual ability (IQ), which can be an important step in identifying Intellectual Disability, Specific Learning Disorders, or giftedness, and in guiding appropriate supports and recommendations. For adults, this process can help to explain challenges experiences in the workplace, support access to reasonable adjustments, and provide insight into how to work more effectively and sustainably.
EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT
Educational assessments explore academic skills such as reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics, and are typically conducted using a combination of cognitive and a variety of academic assessment tools. This approach helps build a clear understanding of how a person learns, processes information, and applies their thinking skills in academic settings. Educational assessments can identify learning differences (including Specific Learning Disorders), clarify patterns of strengths and challenges, and provide meaningful insight into a person's learning profile. This information can help guide supports, adjustments, and strategies to improve confidence, access to learning, and overall educational outcomes.
AUTISM ASSESSMENT
An Autism assessment explores whether someone may be Autistic, and helps build an understanding of how they experience the world. We take a neuroaffirming approach, recognising that Autism is a natural part of human diversity - not something to fix. The process begins with online questionnaires (to be completed by parents and educators for children under 16, or by the individual for older teens and adults), before having an initial collaborative, conversation-based session to explore background and current experiences. An additional session will follow which involves the use of standardised assessment tools to further explore patterns and diagnostic criteria (older teens and adults may choose to combine these into one longer session). For many people, assessment provides clarity, validation, and language for experiences that just didn't seem quite right, along with guidance around supports and adjustments (such as for school, work, or everyday life) that align with their strengths. and needs.
ADHD ASSESSMENT
An ADHD assessment explores whether someone may meet criteria for ADHD, and helps build an understanding of how differences in attention, regulation, organisation, and focus may show up in everyday life. With a neuroaffirming approach, we note that ADHD is simply a difference in how the brain functions - not a lack of effort or ability. The process begins with online questionnaires (to be completed by parents and educators for children under 16, or by the individual for older teens and adults), before having an initial collaborative, conversation-based session to explore background and current experiences. An additional session will follow which involves the use of standardised assessment tools to further explore patterns and diagnostic criteria (older teens and adults may choose to combine these into one longer session). Assessment can provide guidance around supports and adjustments (such as for school, work, or everyday life) that align with how the brain naturally works.
*Psychologists are qualified to assess and diagnose ADHD. However, psychologists do not prescribe medication. If you are specifically hoping to explore medication as part of ADHD treatment, you may prefer to pursue assessment with a psychiatrist (or paediatrician for children), as they are medical doctors and can prescribe medication where appropriate.
Why do you offer brief or comprehensive neurodiversity assessments?
For Autism and ADHD assessments, we offer both brief diagnostic assessments and comprehensive assessments.
A brief assessment focuses on determining whether diagnostic criteria are met and includes a summary (2-3 pages) of findings and initial recommendations. This option is lower cost, and may suit people who are primarily seeking clarity around their neurotype.
A comprehensive assessment includes a more detailed written report, including results from all tests undertaken as well as in-depth interpretation. Comprehensive assessments provide a deeper understanding of strengths, differences, and support needs, and may be helpful when more detailed documentation is required.
If you are unsure which option may be most appropriate we are happy to discuss this with you prior to booking.
- Your first appointment will be a collaborative, conversation-based session. For children, only the parent(s)/caregiver(s) is required to attend. This session goes for about 50 minutes. For adults seeking Autism or ADHD assessment, this session is not required.
- In this session you'll be asked lots of questions, often going right back to pregnancy, birth, and early development, as well as the school years - so it can feel quite in depth and personal. Some things can be tough to remember or to talk about, and that's okay - just answer to the best of your ability, and there are no right or wrong answers.
- Questions might include things about:
- Early Childhood - milestones, play, sensory preferences, early learning experiences, emotions and behaviours
- School Years - school transition, learning style, academic strengths and challenges, attention, social experiences
- Adolescence - identity, independence, organisation, emotional regulation, and coping patterns
- Adulthood - work patterns, relationships, daily routines, parenting, and moods
We may also ask questions about your strengths, special interests, and the things that fill your cup. It's important to us that we capture the good stuff alongside the challenges so we can build a balanced, whole-person understanding that reflects who you are at your best as well as where you might need support.
- Next, we'll undertake assessment sessions. Depending on the type of assessment, this can include use of structured, evidence-based assessment tools, as well as collaborative conversations.
- Structured assessments might involve puzzles, problem-solving tasks, academic questions, or interviews designed to explore thinking, learning, attention, or developmental patterns.
- There are no "right" or "wrong" answers or outcomes - the aim is to simply do your best and to understand patterns and strengths, understanding your context. We take a holistic approach to understanding the real you.
- Assessment sessions can be around 1.5-3 hours, depending on the individual and the assessment type - we will discuss this with you during the intake process. Often, we will recommend undertaking assessments over multiple days. Some people (particularly children) respond well to having multiple, shorter sessions, whereas others prefer to complete one longer session - we'll chat with you to figure out what might work best for you.
- Breaks are always available. You're welcome to bring drinks, snacks, fidgets, comfort items, or anything that helps you feel regulated (you'll often notice we do the same!).
- We can adjust pacing, lighting (where possible), and communication style to support accessibility.
- We always encourage you to ask for clarification, request a pause, or let us know if anything feels uncomfortable at any point.
- Call or email to book your assessment - we're happy to answer any initial questions before you decide.
- Once you're booked, you'll receive consent forms and some online questionnaires to complete beforehand, at your own pace.
- For kids who attend daycare, kindergarten, or school - we'll ask for the email address of the educator who knows your child best in order to send them some online questionnaires to complete, too.
- We'll ask you to share any relevant documents - this might include school reports, previous assessments, or medical or diagnostic reports.
- You can email these through yourself, or other professionals can send them directly to info@lirapsych.com.au.
- During the intake process, we'll discuss logistics and organise a suitable location. In-person cognitive and educational assessments can take place in office spaces where we have agreements with other professionals across Bass Coast and Gippsland, or in your home if a suitable quiet room is available. In some instances, we can work with your child's school or kindergarten to arrange completion of assessments at school. This may depend on the policies, procedures, and logistics of the individual school. Together, we'll decide what works best.
What to expect
Seeking assessment can be a daunting task, so let's break it down.
1 | Before
2 | During
- All information gathered is carefully reviewed and integrated to build a clear and meaningful understanding of your brain type - this includes strengths, challenges, and diagnoses, if indicated.
- You'll receive a comprehensive written report outlining findings and practical recommendations.
- We will meet for a feedback session to talk through the results in plain language and answer any questions you might have. This takes around 50 minutes.
- From there, we can discuss next steps - this could be supports, accommodations, recommendations, or referrals to services or other providers, as needed.
3 | After
The overall aim is understanding and clarity - helping things make sense in a way that feels validating, useful, and aligned with how your brain naturally works.
Not sure where to start?
That's okay - you don't need to have everything figured out before reaching out. We offer exploration sessions which can give you space to talk about what's been happening and what you're hoping to understand.
Together, we can decide whether a full assessment would be helpful, what pathway makes the most sense, or whether referral to another professional (such as a psychiatrist or paediatrician) may better suit your needs.
After your exploration session, if you decide to go ahead with the full assessment process, the rate paid for the exploration session will be discounted from your total assessment fee.