An Intellectual Disability Assessment is often requested by schools or the NDIS to determine if an individual meets criteria for an Intellectual Disability. This assessment can be used to provide recommendations around funding for NDIS purposes and can be utilised in an education setting to determine appropriate curriculum adaptions.
Often children or adults with an Intellectual Disability can go unsupported throughout their school and not have received the support they need. Children and adults with Intellectual Disability generally have a history of significant academic and attentional issues. It may be as the years go on at school and the educational demands increase, the child’s learning issues become more apparent and that is when an assessment is sought by a family or recommended by school.
Children with an Intellectual Disability generally have significant learning issues across a number of academic subjects, rather than experiencing difficulty in just one subject which is more indicative of a Specific Learning Disability.
An assessment for an Intellectual Disability can be very informative for the child, family or adult themselves and can help to inform the supports the individual requires to meet their learning potential and adaptions that are required within their environment. Intellectual Disability diagnostic reports can also be used as evidence when applying for a range of support services including the Department of Education and the NDIS.
Southside Psychology uses gold standard IQ tests including the Wechsler tests (WPPSI-IV, WISC V and WAIS IV) as well as the Unit-2 or Leiter-3 (non verbal IQ assessment as required).
An Intellectual Disability assessment consists of:
Parent/individual interview
IQ assessment session
Functional assessment
Feedback and report
Our assessments are generally conducted in our Success clinic, however a home or school visit can be arranged if required for an additional travel fee.