Assessments

Simone Fitzgerald (Speech Pathologist) works in collaboration with Amy Bourke (Registered Psychologist,  The Connected Psych) at Complex Care Collaborative to provide diagnostic assessment for children and young people aged 4 to 17 years.

Developmental assessments are a comprehensive evaluation of a child’s physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional development. They are usually conducted when a parent, educator or medical health professional identifies that a child is experiencing difficulty in one or more of these areas. 

A referral for assessment is not required, however it can be in the best interest of the child to work closely with other medical and allied health professionals to uncover areas of developmental difficulty. A developmental assessment can be used to uncover the nature of the developmental concern and tailor interventions to assist your child in all areas of their daily life.

No single test or method exists to assess children and young people. Instead, a comprehensive and person-centred developmental assessment will require multiple steps. We provide a 15-minute consultation free of charge to discuss the process with you prior to booking an initial assessment. 

Our registered psychologist and speech pathologist conduct assessments using a mixture of pre-screening questionnaires and standardised diagnostic tools, including the ASRS, Connors-4 and MIGDAS to evaluate behavioural history and current functioning, and provide diagnosis and recommendations. These diagnostic tools will be discussed with you in more detail as we develop an understanding of your child’s development.

We start with an initial consultation with our registered psychologist (and speech pathologist if required) and parents/carers only to collect developmental and family background information. If a formal assessment is warranted, we utilise standardised assessments which are carried out over multiple sessions. 

This process involves clinical interviews, face-to-face sessions with the child, clinical evaluation of the information collected, and a comprehensive report from our psychologist (and speech pathologist, if required), who analyse the findings to offer personalised recommendations.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Developmental Language Disorder

We charge for assessments based on the hourly rate of our therapists. The total cost and timeline will be outlined to you upon completion of the initial consultation based on the information we have gathered. 

NDIS funding cannot be used for diagnostic assessment. 

Please see the NDIS website for more information: https://ourguidelines.ndis.gov.au/would-we-fund-it/what-does-ndis-fund

Medicare rebates are available with a referral from a paediatrician under the Medicare Benefits Schedule – 135 (Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders and eligible disabilities). A paediatrician under item 135 can develop a treatment and management plan, follow a comprehensive medical assessment, and provide the opportunity to refer to eligible Allied Health practitioners for up to a total of 20 MBS treatment services per patient’s lifetime. 

See the Services Australia website for more information: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/mbs-billing-for-complex-neurodevelopmental-disorders-and-eligible-disabilities?context=20

If you have a private health fund, please check if your level of cover includes assessment by allied health professionals to determine if rebates are available.

Our developmental assessment waitlist is currently OPEN.

Please contact us via email: admin@complexcarecollaborative.com.au

or phone 0481 309 198.

Alternatively you can contact Amy Bourke at The Connected Psych with any enquiries.