Child Assessment Services

Building a clearer understanding of children’s strengths, challenges, developmental patterns, and support needs. For every family, no referral is necessary.

Families seek assessment for many different reasons. Sometimes there are questions about learning, attention, emotional wellbeing, social differences, behaviour, development, or whether neurodevelopmental differences such as ADHD or Autism may be contributing to the patterns they are noticing. I want you to know you are in the right place.

Sometimes families are looking for answers about why certain things seem harder than expected for their child, whether at home, at school, socially, emotionally, or developmentally.

Assessment can help build a clearer understanding of what may be contributing to those experiences and what kinds of support may be most meaningful moving forward.

Welcome to Child Assessment Services

My approach to assessment focuses on building a clearer understanding of your child as a whole person, including their strengths, challenges, developmental patterns, emotional experiences, and the environments they move through every day.

Assessments may explore areas such as:

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Intellectual Disability
Specific Learning Disorders
Emotional and behavioural functioning
Anxiety and emotional wellbeing

The goal is to carefully bring together information from multiple sources to build a broader understanding of your child’s experiences, functioning, and support needs. For some families, this is an early step in making sense of what is happening for their child. For others, it forms part of a broader support journey. Either way, I’m here to help you navigate the process with clarity, care, and practical next steps. You don’t need a referral for us to get started.

What the assessment process helps with

Assessment can help families:

gain a clearer understanding of their child’s strengths and challenges
better understand patterns across home, school, and social environments
explore whether neurodevelopmental differences may be contributing to your child’s experiences
identify support needs and possible next steps
access recommendations, school supports, referrals, or funding pathways where appropriate
build a shared understanding between the important people supporting your child

While diagnosis can sometimes provide important clarification, the broader aim is to help families better understand your child behind the behaviours, struggles, and patterns they are seeing day to day.

I’ve seen many families arrive at assessment feeling overwhelmed, confused, or unsure how to make sense of what they’re noticing. Often, they’ve spent years trying to understand why things feel harder than expected … hearing conflicting feedback, second-guessing themselves, or feeling uncertain about what their child may need.

Assessment can help build a clearer picture of what may be contributing to the patterns families are noticing. Assessment can also help us understand how a child experiences the world, what environments or situations may be more challenging for them, and where supports may be helpful moving forward.

If you have found yourself wondering why certain things seem harder than expected, or looking for answers that help make sense of your child’s experiences, seeking a deeper understanding is a meaningful step. Many families find that having a clearer picture helps them make more informed decisions about support, advocacy, and the next steps that feel right for their child and family.

Meet Emma...

I’m a psychologist who works primarily with parents of neurodivergent children and families navigating questions around development, learning, emotional wellbeing, regulation, and behaviour.

My approach to assessment focuses on understanding children within the broader context of their lives: their relationships, environments, learning experiences, emotional patterns, strengths, and challenges.

Alongside considering whether a diagnosis may be appropriate, the assessment process also helps build a clearer picture of how a child is functioning across different areas of life and what kinds of support may be helpful moving forward.

The Assessment Process

Before we begin the assessment process, you’ll complete our self-referral form or your GP or another service can send through a referral on your behalf. Once I have reviewed the information provided, myself or my admin team will be in touch to arrange your appointments.

After your appointment time has been confirmed you’ll complete intake forms before we meet, which help guide the assessment process and clarify the questions the assessment may help answer.

Step 1.

Parent Consultation & Understanding the Bigger Picture

We begin with a parent consultation focused on understanding your child within the context of their everyday life, development, learning, relationships, and emotional experiences.

→ This stage helps create the foundation for meaningful assessment and formulation.

Step 2.

Gathering Information Across Environments

After the initial consultation, I will send questionnaires and information-gathering forms to parents, teachers, and other relevant people. These can typically be completed remotely online at a time that is convenient for those involved.

This may include:

parent questionnaires
teacher or educator questionnaires
developmental information
school feedback
observations of functioning across environments

Information is gathered from multiple sources to help build a broader understanding of your child across settings.

→ This stage helps identify important patterns, consistencies, strengths, and contextual factors.

Step 3.

Direct Assessment & Clinical Exploration

Depending on the assessment questions, your child may participate in one or more direct assessment sessions.

This stage may include:

structured assessment tools
cognitive or learning assessment
play-based interaction
observations of communication, interaction, regulation, and problem-solving

→ This stage contributes to a clearer and more comprehensive clinical understanding.

Step 4.

Clinical Formulation & Diagnostic Understanding

Once all information has been gathered, findings are carefully brought together to form a broader understanding of your child’s strengths, challenges, patterns, and support needs.

Depending on the assessment arranged, families receive either a diagnostic letter or a comprehensive psychological report.

→ This stage helps clarify assessment findings, support needs, and possible next steps.

Step 5.

Feedback & Next Steps

We meet again to discuss the assessment findings, answer questions, and explore recommendations or next steps moving forward.

This may include discussion around:

school supports
therapy recommendations
paediatric follow-up
parent support
referrals to other providers
or services such as Paper to Practice

→ This stage helps families leave with greater clarity regarding the assessment findings and possible next steps.

Why This Process Matters

Children’s experiences are shaped by far more than isolated behaviours or challenges observed in one setting.

Assessment can help families better understand:

the patterns sitting underneath certain struggles
how different environments may impact functioning
where strengths and support needs sit
and what kinds of support may be most helpful moving forward

The goal is to develop a broader understanding of your child within the context of their everyday life and experiences.

This understanding can help guide:

supports
advocacy
school planning
therapy pathways
and future decision-making

Support tends to become more meaningful when the important people around a child share a clearer understanding of what may be contributing to their experiences.

Support Beyond Assessment

For some families, assessment is the beginning of a larger process of understanding and support.

While assessment helps clarify strengths, challenges, patterns, and recommendations, many families also need support translating that information into the flow of everyday life.

Paper to Practice is a separate support process designed to help families explore how assessment findings and recommendations may apply within real-world family life, routines, and everyday moments.

Learn more about Paper to Practice.

Getting Started

If you’re wondering whether assessment may be helpful for your child, the first step is to complete the referral form below.

Once I’ve reviewed your information, I’ll be in touch regarding availability, suitability, and the next steps in the assessment process.