Child ADHD Assessments

If your child has been given a referral for an ADHD assessment, this might be the appropriate assessment for you. Alternatively, this is the assessment to choose where you’ve noticed and are concerned by any of the following behaviours:

• Difficulty Holding Attention
• Tendency to Fidget
• Forgetful
• Difficulty Concentrating and Maintaining Focus
• Overwhelmed by School Assignments
• Disorganised
• Reading Difficulties
• Poor Academic Attainment
• Behavioural Problems at School
• Difficulty Following Instructions

Please note: These behaviours are only indicators that this assessment may be helpful. These behaviours are normal and can be observed to different extents in children of all ages.

ADHD assessments aim to help you better understand your child's behaviour, and offer recommendations and strategies to scaffold and support them. 

Our ADHD assessments include cognitive and academic testing, providing information about how best to support your child’s needs in school and at home. 

Currently, we assess children aged 7 and over for ADHD. We are able to see NDIS and insurance clients. 

1. Assessment Agreement/Pre-Service Questionnaire

Parents/Caregivers are required to complete a Pre-Service Questionnaire before the Assessment commences. This allows us to gather background information about your child. 

2. Initial Consultation 

The initial consultation is a fact-finding, information gathering session where you will meet the Psychologist for the first time. This consultation ensures you are receiving the most suitable assessment for your child, and to discuss background information and current concerns. Please note, children below the age of 12 do not need to attend the initial consultation. 

3. Questionnaires

We ask for Parents/Caregivers, Teachers/Childcare Providers and the child (age dependent) to complete a range of questionnaires prior to the testing sessions.  

4. School Report / Medical or Psychological Reports

We ask you to provide school reports and other documents from health professionals who have worked with your child prior to the first testing session. 

5. Psychometric Testing Sessions

A Child ADHD assessment typically requires 2 testing sessions, completed via Telehealth (video). You may be sent physical response booklets in the mail. 

6. Report

Your Clinician will prepare a comprehensive Assessment Report after the testing sessions are complete. The report may include a diagnosis if diagnostic criteria are met, and includes a summary of the results and recommendations for next steps. 

7. Feedback Session

Your Clinician will meet with you to discuss the results and recommendations. You will be provided with an electronic copy of the full assessment report following this session. Please advise if you require a hard copy. 

We use a combination of online psychometric questionnaires, clinical interviews and psychometric testing sessions in our ADHD assessments. Our child ADHD assessments include cognitive and academic assessments. 

Our ADHD Assessments can be completed via Telehealth. 

ADHD assessments are very time consuming. We believe it is important to incorporate cognitive and academic testing within ADHD assessments for children, to assist their education and future trajectory. The estimated cost is $3,630. 

At present, there are no Medicare rebates for ADHD Assessments. 

We do not process private health funds claims here at Northside Psychology. However, if you have private health, you can check with your fund if they cover psychological assessments.

Medications need to be prescribed by a paediatrician or psychiatrist. We currently only have psychologists at Northside Psychology. If you are interested in accessing medications for yourself or your child following one of our assessments, please check with your paediatrician or psychiatrist to see if they are able to use our report. Often, these specialists will need to conduct some testing themselves before prescribing any medications. Physiatrists are required by law to do some of their own testing before prescribing. 

We encourage clients to research paediatric and/or psychiatry clinics to confirm costs, assessment protocols and determine what type of assessment you need.  It is important to do this research early in the process, to make an informed decision about what is the right pathway for you and to minimise delay between services, especially if you want to see both a psychologist and paediatrician or psychiatrist. 

We encourage you to consider why you are seeking an ADHD diagnosis and how this information could assist you going forward. It is important to do your own due diligence, research options and speak to your psychiatrist/paediatrician about their processes in deciding the right steps forward for you.