Who completes assessments?
Assessments are completed by our Child Psychologists who have experience in assessing and identifying children’s learning difficulties and other problems.
Who can make a referral?
Referrals are accepted from parents, teachers, School Counsellors, GPs, Paediatricians, and Allied Health professionals. While you do not need a doctor’s referral to make an appointment, some clients may be eligible for Medicare rebates after a referral from their doctor or Paediatrician. Please discuss this with your doctor or call the Centre for further details.
Are any rebates available?
Medicare rebates may be available for Psychology services for eligible clients. Please discuss this with your family doctor. There are also new TeleHealth Rebates available.
Please contact your private health fund to determine whether you are eligible for rebates for Psychology services under your particular level of cover. No rebates are available for tutoring services; however, we do offer a discounted rate for clients booking a block of appointments.
Do you do other assessments?
Yes. The Centre’s Psychologists are able to complete a wide range of diagnostic assessments for children and adolescents experiencing difficulties, including ADHD, developmental delay, autism, Asperger’s Disorder, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem.
Do you help adults?
Children with literacy and learning difficulties often have a parent or relation who has a history of similar problems. We can complete assessments of adults who are concerned about dyslexia or specific learning difficulties in reading, spelling and writing. We can complete special considerations testing for students completing further education. Please call the Centre to discuss your concerns.
What approach do you take in helping a child with literacy difficulties?
Extensive research has been carried out to identify the skills important in teaching a child to read and spell. In 2005, a National Enquiry into the Teaching of Literacy in Australia was conducted (also known as the Rowe Report)
Five key areas were identified as being important for literacy instruction:
- Phonemic Awareness: the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken language;
- Phonics: learning the relationships between letters and sounds, and how to use these for reading and spelling new words;
- Fluency: the ability to read quickly and naturally, to recognise words automatically, and to group words quickly;
- Vocabulary: to learn about new words and their meanings;
- Comprehension: to understand what is being read and developing higher order thinking skills.
These recommendations mirror those made in international investigations into best practice literacy instruction by the International Dyslexia Association and the Independent Review of Teaching of Early Reading in the United Kingdom (aka the Rose Report).
Comprehensive assessment completed at the Literacy and Learning Centre examines the development of a child’s literacy skills in these five areas. Areas of difficulty are identified and form the basis of individualised programming by the tutor. The tutor works with each child to build skills in identified areas of weakness, but also incorporates work in all of the five key areas in an individualised programme.