It is important for parents and caregivers to recognize that diagnostic categories of Autism or ADHD do not just include one symptom or problematic behavior, but a constellation or aggregation of symptoms (e.g., behaviors) that occur on average most of the time across multiple different situations (e.g., across time and space). They key to these diagnoses are these symptoms may vary across individuals, but will occur frequently and across many situations, not just at home, school or other environments, but most contexts.
It is also important to understand that in most diagnostic disorders there is distress or discomfort experienced by the person inflicted with the symptoms. However, we should exercise some caution here, as subjective distress may vary in frequency and intensity as children progress through adolescence and adulthood, making distress a less reliable indicator for the child during the earlier developmental periods.
In my experience, parents and caregivers on average seem to be more distressed and concerned then the child. Children displaying less distress may make intuitive sense as the responsibilities and consequences of their behavior during these developmental periods are less taxing and have less of a toll on their physical and mental functioning - the burden is usually absorbed by others, especially close family members. During the emergence of biological changes during puberty the child's distress may increase, resulting in other concerns, which may further complicate the adolescents life, but also how treatment is implemented. Thus early detection of problematic symptoms is crucial to assist: (1) early detection and intervention and (2) the success of evidenced based therapeutic intervention strategies.
Possible indicators your child may exhibit that may require further professional exploration and inquiry;
(1) Autism spectrum disorder
(2) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(3) Learning disorders
(4) Anxiety
(5) Depression
(6) Childhood Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
(7) Disordered eating
(8) Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder
Assessments can be a lengthy process depending on how many tests may be required. However, prior to actual tests being administered the following would need to be undertaken;
(1) Detailed case history of child or adolescent
Normally this can take 60-90 minutes and is undertaken in the clinic on first visit.
At Cerebral Psychology we will send a detailed development and family history form 7 working days prior to the first meeting. This enables us to be more efficient with time so we can ask more detailed questions around your responses.
The reason for this is that for all testing to be valid, and reports to be meaningful, it must relate back to the client's history. It has not been unusual for parents' to say their is no mental history in the family in the first meeting, but weeks later advise that grand mother had numerous mental health concerns, where cousins also have similar challenges.
(2) Ensuring assessment testing are appropriate to referral letter and other sources of feedback.
Assessments undertaken need to address the referral information from a health professional (e.g., pediatrician). For example, if the referral advises the child exhibits a lack of attention, poor behavior's at home and school, and academic grades below average , then we will discuss tests (e.g., Conners - 4 and WISC -V) more appropriate to ADHD assessment.
However, if during our initial assessment additional information is obtained that suggests other challenges exists, we will discuss these with parents / caregivers to consider other possible assessments. Please note while mixed findings exists, current research shows that between 50-70% children or adolescents with ASD may also met the clinical diagnoses for ADHD. Thus the most accurate clinical assessment requires all symptom's to be assessed to ensure possible misdiagnosis is reduced.
(3) Day of assessment
All assessments are undertaken at Cerebral Psychology clinic to ensure a standardized process is followed to ensure valid results are obtained. Assessments like the WISC-V or ADOS - 2 can take between one to two hours on average to complete. Based on the time required for some particular assessments, and depending on the referral information, some assessment testing may be better suited to be completed over two separate days. The reason for spacing testing over two days is to avoid fatigue or other variables that may interfere with getting a more accurate testing result for the child or adolescent.
(4) Report Preparation:
Once assessments are completed and scored, a comprehensive report with assessment findings, recommendations and suggested strategies will be made available to clients and referral source.
(5) Feedback Session:
Feedback sessions for assessment testing, particularly in the context of psychological assessments, are crucial for providing children and their parents / caregivers with a clear and simple understanding of the assessment results.
These sessions are not compulsory at Cerebral Psychology but highly recommended to provide an opportunity to discuss findings together, ask questions and address findings. Furthermore, it allows collaboratively planning interventions or support strategies.
Here are some key elements to consider about feedback sessions for assessment testing and what the health professional will discuss.
Present Assessment Findings Clearly:
At Cerebral Psychology we clearly present the assessment findings, focusing on key areas of strengths and challenges. We speak in simple terms and provide psychoeducation and provide resources to assist understanding.
Discuss Implications:
Assist the family understand the implications of the assessment results. Discuss how the findings relate to the child or adolescents daily life, functioning, and well-being. We are eager to answer all your questions and address concern, as we understand how these issues impact the day to day functioning of the family unit.
Collaborative Goal Setting:
Discuss and engage in collaborative goal setting. Discuss potential interventions based on current evidence based research, strategies, or support services that can address the identified challenges. Involve the individual and caregivers in the decision-making process.
Clarify Misconceptions:
Address any misconceptions or misunderstandings that may arise from the assessment results. Provide clarification and additional information as needed.
**All assessments will be completed within 4-5 weeks from last assessment**
Please note health professionals vary in time periods to complete assessment reports (e.g., WISC - V). It is not unusual for people to wait up to 8 months for assessment testing and a further 3 months for a written report to be completed, due to the demand and intensive amount of work required to generate assessment reports.
However, at Cerebral Psychology we understand that timely assessment reports makes a difference on multiple aspects for the family, for example;
(1) Certainty in a timely manner for parents of what is causing the concerns and distress
(2) Provides feelings or relief that there is a better understanding of what's producing the distress
(3) Allows a timely treatment plan to be implemented
(4) In some cases may allow for medications to be prescribed
(5) Reduced suffering from symptom's
(6) Early intervention is the best preparation to help manage symptom's and concerns
(7) Improvements in behavior's at home and school
So our commitment at Cerebral Psychology is to return all test assessment reports within 4-5 weeks from the last assessment.
Based on types of assessments that may or may not be required it is difficult to provide all the fees for assessment testing.
How we work to provide pricing:
If you require assessment testing and would like us to undertake it please contact us.
We will complete a brief consultation with you on the phone to develop a better understanding of the referral and reasons for specific testing. There is no charge for this - please note we can provide estimate costs for various assessment tests to provide an indication of possible financial requirements.
If you are comfortable to proceed we will send you a detailed developmental background survey to complete at home, and book a 55 minute session to go through these completed questions in the clinic to ask more specific questions. During this consultation we will also observe the client play in our specialized room - this will be charged at the normal consultation rate, where Medicare rebates my apply.
Based on our initial consultation and observation we will advise which assessment would best suite your child or adolescent concerns. At this stage once we have the information we can provide you fees for the proposed assessments. Please note you are not committed or obliged to undertake service's at Cerebral Psychology, but you will be required to pay the initial charge for the consultation.
