Usually needed for NDIS or Centrelink
Cognitive and adaptive assessment.
Formal testing of intellectual function and everyday functioning. This is the assessment the NDIS and Centrelink ask for when intellectual disability is part of the picture.
What it involves
Two things, and both are required for a diagnosis of intellectual disability to stand up:
- Cognitive testing — a formal, standardised IQ assessment administered by a psychologist.
- Adaptive functioning — structured measures of how someone manages daily life, usually with input from a family member or support person.
Who asks for it
- The NDIS, where intellectual disability is the basis of an access request
- Centrelink, for a Disability Support Pension claim on intellectual function
- Schools and universities, for funding and adjustments
- Anyone wanting to understand a long-standing learning difficulty properly
Cognitive assessment
from $1,450Final fee depends on which measures are needed and whether a support person is involved.
We will quote you before anything is booked.
Request a quoteThis one is not fully remote, and we will not pretend otherwise
The adaptive measures and the interviews work perfectly well over video. Parts of the IQ test do not — the test publisher requires a trained person physically present for some subtests, and without that there is no valid full-scale score.
So we arrange one of three things: a trained facilitator with you for that portion, a session at a partner room near you, or we build on valid cognitive testing you already have on file, where it is recent enough to be accepted.
Only a psychologist can do this. Not a psychiatrist. The cognitive tests are restricted to registered psychologists, the NDIS does not name psychiatrists among the professions it accepts for intellectual disability evidence, and Centrelink specifically requires an appropriately qualified psychologist for intellectual function.
Questions
Can you do this for a child?
We assess from age 12. Younger children are better served by a paediatric service and we will say so.
Do I need cognitive testing for an autism assessment?
No. They are separate questions and separate pieces of work. We only recommend it where there is a reason — usually a funding body asking for it.
Will the NDIS pay for this?
No. The NDIS does not fund diagnostic assessment; that sits with the health system. It may fund supports afterwards if access is granted.
Not sure this is the one you need?
The screener covers autism and ADHD. If it is cognitive testing you are after, just ask us directly and we will tell you whether it is worth doing.