Identifying and supporting individuals with mental health challenges and neurodevelopmental disorders early is a core priority for improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes for Australians.
Mental health and wellbeing issues for Australians are much more common than many people think, with experiencing a mental disorder at some point in their life (ABS, 2022). Yet, only 17.4% of Australians in the same age group seeing a health professional for their concerns (ABS, 2022). There are many existing barriers that impact Australian’s from engaging with psychological services, including limited mental health knowledge, social stigma, perceptions of the professional relationship with psychologists, and other systemic barriers such as financial costs and availability of professional support (Radez et al., 2021).
People with neurodevelopmental disorders are further at risk of experiencing mental health challenges. As reported by Neurodevelopment Australia, an ACTA registered clinical trial network for neurodevelopmental conditions, “at least 70% of children and adults with neurodevelopment conditions – along with their caregivers – experience serious mental health disorders and much higher rates of suicide”. This includes individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) and specific learning disorders (SLDs). Though, despite advancements in research and awareness of neurodevelopmental disorders, many Australians with neurodevelopmental disorders often go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
Our psychology team at ORS believe that psychological assessments are the gateway to understanding and accessing support for your own psychological difficulties and unique differences. Seeing a psychologist for a psychological assessment, tailored to your individual concerns, can provide you with a comprehensive understanding of why you have the challenges you experience and the recommendations for support to assist these.
Let’s discover what psychological assessments may be available to you and how they can support you in your recovery journey.
1. Mental Health Assessment
Nearly half of Australian adolescents and adults face mental health challenges at some point in their lives, yet fewer than half seek psychological support. Many people often report to us that they are hesitant to engage with a mental health professional because they don’t fully understand their mental health concerns, or they’ve had past treatment experiences that didn’t yield results, often due to undiagnosed or misdiagnosed issues.
A mental health assessment can help you and your psychologist understand your unique emotional, psychological, and behavioural challenges and differences, and confirm a mental health diagnosis, if appropriate.
What it includes:
- A clinical interview with you about your symptoms, mood, thoughts, and behaviours, as well as your personal, social, and family history.
- Questionnaires completed by you and others to identify and evaluate symptoms of mental health disorders, such as anxiety or depression.
- Input from people who know you well, like family members or teachers, to understand how these concerns affect different areas of your life.
- A feedback session and report outlining the information gathered, including the results, outcome, recommendations and strategies.
How it's helpful:
- It provides clarity on factors contributing to your mental health challenges, increasing your confidence to seek and engage psychological support to support these, and to feel less alone in your experiences.
- It helps to inform a tailored treatment plan to guide therapy with a psychologist, and informs strategies and other services to help you and your supports to manage your mental health symptoms.
- It can help a paediatrician or psychiatrist to understand your mental health challenges and inform potential pharmacological interventions to alleviate your symptoms.
- If appropriate, it can lead to a diagnosis that qualifies you for Medicare’s Better Access program, providing up to 10 subsidised psychology sessions per year for intervention with a psychologist.
- In cases where your mental health challenges are complex, longstanding and impact your functioning, and there has been minimal improvement despite past treatment, your psychologist may help you to apply for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) under a Psychosocial Disability to receive ongoing capacity-building support.
2. ADHD Assessment
ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood and often co-occurs with other mental health difficulties, affecting daily functioning, academic performance, and work (Sciberras, Roos & Efron, 2009; Becker, Luebbe & Landberg, 2012; Katzman et al., 2017).
People with ADHD typically experience executive dysfunction, which can manifest as impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, difficulty with planning and organisation, social challenges, and issues with task initiation and completion. If left undiagnosed or unsupported, these struggles can lead to anxiety, low mood, and low self-esteem.
An ADHD Assessment is useful when someone is struggling with attention, focus, or impulsive behaviour that affects their daily life at home, work, or school. While a Psychologist cannot prescribe medication for ADHD like a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist can, they can diagnose ADHD and provide tailored, individualised strategies for managing ADHD that medication alone can’t assist through completing a comprehensive assessment.
What it includes:
- Clinical interviews with you and others close to you, such as parents, teachers, or partners, to gain a complete picture of your challenges and behaviours across different settings.
- Questionnaires completed by you and your supports to evaluate the presence of inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive traits.
- Behavioural observations of you in different settings, such as school or work, to confirm the presence of ADHD traits.
- A feedback session and report outlining the information gathered, including the results, outcome, recommendations and strategies.
How it's helpful:
- It may confirm an ADHD diagnosis, which helps understand why certain tasks feel harder, such as staying organised or managing impulses, while others feel easier, such as activities you are interested in and passionate about.
- It leads to recommendations on how you and your supports can manage ADHD, which might include strategies for improving focus, emotional regulation, and organisation.
- It can explain why you may have co-occurring mental health challenges, such as anxiety due to school difficulties or low mood due to ADHD burnout, that your unsupported ADHD contributes to.
- It can support a referral to a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist to explore medication options to help manage your ADHD symptoms.
- An ADHD diagnosis qualifies you for Medicare’s Better Access program, providing up to 10 subsidised psychology sessions per year for intervention with a psychologist, focused on learning and implementing ADHD management strategies that medication alone may not improve.
- If an ADHD diagnosis is not confirmed, recommendations for other required assessments or supports will be provided.
3. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Assessment
Another common neurodevelopmental disorder that can influence mental health and functioning is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Autistic people often experience differences in understanding social cues, forming relationships, managing change, and regulating sensory input. These differences are oftentimes great strengths, though may impact functioning in daily life, including at home, school, work, and in social settings, due to expectations to conform to a neurotypical world. If left undiagnosed or unsupported, autistic people may experience increased mental health difficulties, particularly in environments that don’t cater to their specific support needs.
An ASD assessment helps to evaluate any differences in social-communication, sensory processing, emotion regulation and adjustment to change and the impact of these on functioning, and may or may not result in an autism diagnosis.
What it includes:
- Clinical interviews with you, family members, or others close to you to discuss your social, emotional, communication, sensory and behaviour differences.
- Questionnaires that explore sensory sensitivities, social skills, and behaviours consistent with autism, and to identify any camouflaging and masking behaviours that help you compensate for your differences.
- Behavioural observations in different settings to see how you interact with others, navigate routines, handle change, process sensory input and regulate emotions. This includes a standardised diagnostic observational assessment.
- A feedback session and report outlining the information gathered, including the results, outcome, recommendations and strategies.
How it's helpful:
- An autism diagnosis helps you to understand why you may interact with others or process your environments differently compared to your neurotypical peers, and can help you in your journey to accepting your neurodiversity.
- It allows for the development of specific support strategies that embrace your neurodiverse strengths and help you and others to manage your differences in select settings as to reduce their impact on your functioning.
- It will help to ensure any psychological treatment for your mental health challenges considers how your neurodiversity influences your unique experiences and your response to interventions, and minimises further risk of masking and camouflaging that contributes to burnout and mental health difficulties.
- Your psychologist can complete applications to help you access select disability services, like specialised education support, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for long-term capacity building support for improving your capacity, and the Disability Support Pension (DSP) for ongoing financial support.
- With a referral from a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist, you may be eligible for subsidised allied health support from psychologists, occupational therapists and speech pathologists under Medicare’s Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders pathway.
- If an autism diagnosis is not confirmed, recommendations for other required assessments or supports will be provided.
4. IQ Assessments
Some people may experience challenges progressing in their life due to cognitive differences. Cognition refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, storing, and using information. It includes a wide range of functions, including intellect, attention, memory, problem-solving, decision-making, language, and reasoning. Essentially, cognition is how we understand and interact with the world, enabling us to learn, adapt to new situations, and perform complex tasks.
An IQ Assessment measures one area of cognition – intellect. It is used to assess areas of intellect such as verbal and visual skills, problem-solving, memory, and processing speed.
What it includes:
- Clinical interviews with you, family members, or others close to you to discuss your development, past performance and support needs in education and employment settings, and your daily living skills.
- Questionnaires about your adaptive functioning, which includes daily living skills, communication and socialisation.
- A standardised test of intellectual functioning that compares your performance to others your age.
- A feedback session and report outlining the information gathered, including the results, outcome, recommendations and strategies.
How it's helpful:
- It helps identify intellectual strengths and areas of difficulty. For example, someone may be exceptionally strong in visual tasks but struggle with working memory, which may explain difficulties in school or work. This can inform recommendations for support in select settings to assist your progress and accommodate any challenges.
- It can result in a diagnosis of intellectual developmental disorder (intellectual disability). If confirmed, your psychologist can support your application for the NDIS, DSP or specialised learning support.
- It can identify areas of giftedness, which can allow you to be eligible for gifted and talented programs or to pursue opportunities in your areas of strength.
- Where results are inconclusive or don’t fully explain your challenges, it can identify where further assessment in other areas of cognition may be needed.
5. Psychoeducational Assessment
Some people may experience difficulties learning information for reasons other than impaired intellectual abilities, oftentimes due to undiagnosed specific learning disorders, such as dyslexia or dyscalculia. A specific learning disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the ability to acquire and use academic skills in areas such as reading, writing, or mathematics. These difficulties are persistent and significantly below what would be expected for the person’s age, intelligence level, or educational background, despite targeted intervention or instruction. SLDs can impact self-esteem and cause current and future difficulties succeeding in school and employment settings, resulting in mental health challenges.
A Psychoeducational Assessment is used to understand why you may be struggling in school or work despite having adequate intellectual ability, and may confirm if you have an SLD.
What it includes:
- Clinical interviews with you, family members, and teachers or employers to discuss your development, performance and support needs in education and employment settings, and your daily living skills.
- Questionnaires about your adaptive functioning, which includes daily living skills, communication and socialisation.
- A review of your academic records, like school report cards, to understand your academic performance and support needs during school, and identify any tailored intervention already provided to you.
- Standardised tests of intellectual and academic functioning to assess skills in areas of intellect as well as reading, writing, and math, comparing your abilities to what’s expected for your age or educational level.
- A feedback session and report outlining the information gathered, including the results, outcome, recommendations and strategies.
How it's helpful:
- It helps identify intellectual and academic strengths and areas of difficulty, which can inform recommendations for support in education and employment settings to assist your progress and accommodate any challenges. This may include changes in teaching methods, school or workplace accommodations, or special tutoring programs.
- It can result in a diagnosis of intellectual developmental disorder (intellectual disability). If confirmed, your psychologist can support your application for the NDIS, DSP or specialised learning support.
- It can result in a diagnosis of a specific learning disorder (SLD) if your intellect is within typical range, but you have an isolated area of academic difficulty that has not improved despite at least 6-months of tailored group or 1:1 intervention. If confirmed, this can inform specific recommendations and strategies to manage your learning difficulties.
- It can identify areas of giftedness, which can allow you to be eligible for gifted and talented programs or to pursue opportunities in your areas of strength.
- Where results are inconclusive or don’t fully explain your challenges, it can identify where further assessment in other areas of cognition may be needed.
6. Neuropsychological Assessment
A Neuropsychological Assessment offers a detailed look at multiple aspects of brain functioning, such as memory, attention, and executive functioning (e.g., planning, problem-solving). They are conducted by Clinical Neuropsychology Registrars and Clinical Neuropsychologists and are useful for people across the lifespan who have a range of challenges influenced by how their brain functions.
What it includes:
- Clinical interviews with you, family members, and others who know you well to discuss your development, performance and support needs across settings, and your daily living skills.
- Questionnaires about your adaptive functioning, which includes daily living skills, communication and socialisation.
- A review of your records, like school or hospital records, that contain information on your medical and psychosocial history relevant to your difficulties.
- Standardised tests of cognitive functioning to assess skills across all cognitive functions, such as intellect, learning, memory, language, visual-spatial skills, and executive functioning.
- A feedback session and report outlining the information gathered, including the results, outcome, recommendations and strategies.
How it's helpful:
- It can provide a detailed understanding of your specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses, which can guide strategies for support and intervention, such as memory aids, therapy, or lifestyle changes.
- It can confirm diagnoses or conditions like brain injuries, dementia, or neurodevelopmental disorders, that can result in your psychologist supporting applications for services like the NDIS or DSP.
- It can help inform the rate of cognitive decline for people with neurodegenerative conditions by providing a baseline of cognitive functioning and re-assessing again after a period to reveal any significant change in performance.
7. Decision-Making Capacity Assessment
An adult with capacity has the right to make legal decisions about their life, such as their accommodation, medical treatment, finances and services. A Decision-Making Capacity Assessment evaluates a person’s ability to make informed decisions about important aspects of their life, such as medical treatment, finances, accommodation, or engagement with services, with or without support. They can determine whether there are any cognitive impairments or psychiatric conditions that impact their ability to make safe and appropriate decisions if support is not provided.
What it includes:
- Clinical interviews with you, family members, and others who know you well to discuss your presenting and historical cognitive and psychological concerns.
- A capacity interview with you to understand your thought processes and reasoning that inform your decision-making about specific areas of your life.
- Questionnaires about your adaptive functioning, which includes daily living skills, communication and socialisation.
- A review of your records, like school or hospital records, that contain information on your medical and psychosocial history relevant to your difficulties and decision-making.
- Standardised tests of cognitive functioning to assess skills across all cognitive functions, such as intellect, learning, memory, language, visual-spatial skills, and executive functioning.
- A feedback session and report outlining the information gathered, including the results, outcome, recommendations and strategies.
How it's helpful:
- As it involves a neuropsychological assessment, it can provide a detailed understanding of your specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses, strategies for support, confirmation of select disorders or conditions, and to determine prognosis for any neurodegenerative conditions.
- Where select diagnoses or conditions are confirmed, the psychologist can support applications for services like the NDIS or DSP.
- It helps protect individuals who may be vulnerable due to cognitive impairments, ensuring that they have the necessary support to make decisions safely or have Guardianship established if needed.
- It can help with an application to appoint or revoke Guardianship, including providing input on what specific functions you may or may not require a Guardian to oversee, as well as who the Guardian should be.
- It promotes better quality of life and safety by ensuring that a person’s best interests are safeguarded and to minimise any risks of exploitation.
- It can identify whether you require other professional support, like ongoing intervention with a psychologist to support your management of any mental health difficulties that impact decision-making.
How Can Psychological Assessments Help You?
Understanding your unique experiences is the gateway to enhancing your confidence to access professional support for any existing challenges you have. Each psychological assessment is designed to provide a clearer understanding of mental health or cognitive challenges. By pinpointing specific areas of difficulty and strength, psychology assessments lead to actionable recommendations that can improve functioning at home, school, or work. Whether through therapy, academic support, or medical intervention, the insights gained from these psychology assessments empower you and your supports to seek the right services and treatments for lasting improvement in quality of life.
ORS Psychology team offer psychological assessments tailored to your situation and experiences to put you on the right path. Contact ORS and start your journey to better mental health today.
