Cognitive Assessments

WISC - V Assessment

Cognitive ability assessment (or intelligence testing) is available for children and adolescents aged 6-16 years.

Assessments are conducted by our clinical psychologists and will involve between 3-4hrs of face-to-face interview and testing using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V), the most widely used test for assessing cognitive abilities.

The WISC-V has a number of uses and benefits, and in particular it provides:

Profile of a child’s overall intellectual capacity and ability within sub-areas of cognitive functioning: Processing Speed, Working Memory, Fluid Reasoning, Visual Spatial, Vocabulary / Comprehension;
An indication of a child’s learning profile, and areas of strengths and difficulties;
Support in identifying learning and developmental conditions, in conjunction with multiple sources of assessment.

The Diagnostic Interview for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in young people aged 5-17 years (Young DIVA-5)

The ADHD guidelines released this year by the Australian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA) recommend that ADHD assessment be approached in a broad manner – using interview (based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-DSM-5 classifications), questionnaires, as well as multiple informants to aid diagnosis (Australian ADHD Guideline Development Group, 2022).

“The Young DIVA-5 is based on the DSM-5 criteria for ADHD. It is a structured clinical interview for ADHD in young people aged 5-17 years, adjusted for young people, and modelled on the DIVA 2.0 (Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults), that was based on the previous DSM-IV-TR criteria. DIVA 2.0 is widely used in the clinical diagnosis of ADHD in adults, having been translated into many languages.

The Young DIVA usually takes around one hour to complete. The Young DIVA only asks about the core symptoms of ADHD required to make the DSM-5 diagnosis of ADHD, and does not ask about other co-occurring psychiatric symptoms, syndromes or disorders. It is divided into 3 parts that are each applied to behaviours both currently and in early childhood:

The criteria for Attention Deficit (A1)
The criteria for Hyperactivity-Impulsivity (A2)
The Age of Onset and Impairment accounted for by ADHD” (Curran, S & Kooij, J.J.S, 2021)

Fees are payable for these services, please see our Fees and Rebates page for more information.

Unfortunately, these services do not qualify for rebate under Medicare. However, a rebate may be available under private health cover. Please check with your fund.

For more information about Cognitive Assessments, you can download our PDF here.

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