Psychometric assessments are tests used to assess particular aspects of human behaviour.
When performing a psychometric test we look at an individual’s strengths, weaknesses and functioning. This provides us with an in-depth psychological profile, which allows us to make treatment recommendations to help a child reach his or her full potential.
The ADD Lab offers three different psychometric tests
School Readiness Assessments
What is a School Readiness Assessment?
A School Readiness Assessment is performed prior to a child entering grade 1. The test is designed to determine if a child will be able to cope with the intellectual, social and psychological impact of entering a formal education system.
What do we look for during the assessment?
During the assessment we look at intellectual, emotional, fine motor skills (the coordination of small muscle movements that occur, for example in the eyes and fingers), gross motor skills (larger movements the body makes, for example balancing and jumping) and visio-motor skills (hand-eye coordination) to determine if the child is ready for grade one.
FAQs about School Readiness Assessments
Approximately 2 hours.
Ensure that your child gets a good night’s sleep before the assessment. Provide the child with a good breakfast but avoid and sugary foods or caffeine before the assessment. When preparing your child for the assessment, it is sometimes advisable to avoid using the word “tests” as this might cause anxiety for some children and subsequently impact performance during the assessment.
- A light healthy lunch or snack with a juice for the quick mid-assessment break is ideal.
- Previous assessment and school reports.
- Please also complete the Psychometric Test consent form at the bottom of this page and bring it with you on the day of the assessment.
Contact us if you would like to book a school readiness assessments.
Learning Difficulty Assessments
What is a Learning Difficulty Assessment?
These assessments are used to determine why a child is struggling to adapt to the intellectual, social and emotional demands of formal schooling. Many times a teacher notices that concentration levels are low or that the child has difficulty completing certain tasks for example, and make the parents aware of the problem.
Signs and symptoms to be aware of:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Can’t complete tasks
- Difficulty initiating tasks
- Poor memory
- Difficulties in following or remembering instructions
- Poor organisational skills
- Inappropriate behavior within the classroom or social situations
- Inconsistent school performance
- Restlessness, impulsiveness and/ or easily distractible
- Poor reading, spelling and/or writing skills
- Delayed speech and language development
- Difficulties in discriminating between different symbols (letters and numbers) and/or sounds
- Family history of learning difficulties
What do we look for during the assessment?
During the assessment we look at reading, spelling, writing and mathematical skills. We evaluate cognitive ability as well as visual and auditory discrimination (how information is taken in through the senses). We also look at fine motor skills (small muscle movements in the body like the eyes and fingers) and delve deeper into the emotional experiences of the child.
FAQs about Learning Difficulty Assessments
Before the appointment, the parent or guardian is required to complete a set of forms in order to provide background information on the child. During the assessment, a battery of psychometric tests is administered in order to gain insight into specific areas of difficulties. Once the assessment it complete, a report is written and a feedback session scheduled in which results and recommendations based on findings will be discussed.
Assessments usually take place over the course of two mornings, approximately 8 hours in total.
Ensure that your child gets a good night’s sleep before the assessment. Provide the child with a good breakfast but avoid any sugary foods and caffeine before the assessment.
When preparing your child for the assessment, it is sometimes advisable to avoid using the word “tests” as this might cause anxiety for some children and subsequently impact performance during the assessment.
- A light healthy lunch or snack with a juice for the quick mid-assessment break is ideal.
- Previous assessment and/or school reports
- Please also complete the Psychometric Test consent form at the bottom of this page and bring it with you on the day of the assessment.
During the feedback session and in the written report, recommendations will be made regarding how to best assist the child in future based on findings obtained during the assessment process. We recommend sharing the results with your child’s teacher, school or other health care professionals in order to best address difficulties identified. Please note that results will not be shared with any third party without prior written consent from the parents or legal guardians.
Contact us if you would like to book a learning difficulty assessments.
Dyslexia assessment
What is a Dyslexia Assessment?
Dyslexia refers to a specific learning difficulty, often found in individuals with normal intellectual abilities and relates to their ability to accurately recognize and decode letters, words or other symbols which impacts spelling and reading abilities. During a Dyslexia assessment, insights are gained into the possible presence of several types of Dyslexia which might be impacting academic performance and achievement.
Signs and symptoms to be aware of:
- Difficulties in recognizing and distinguishing between letters, words or other symbols.
- Difficulties in associating sounds with specific letters and/ or blending sounds to together to produce words verbally and/or in written form.
- Difficulties with rhyming
- Difficulties in memorizing and or recalling specific words or names for things.
- Difficulties in correctly producing letters, numbers or symbols in their written form.
- Spelling, reading and or writing difficulties
What do we look for during the assessment?
During a dyslexia assessment, tests are administered that assesses the presence of several different types of dyslexia with varying severities, ranging from mild to severe. These are:
- Dysnemkinesia – relates to letter formation
- Dyseidesia -relates to the visualization of words and therefore sight word vocabulary
- Dysphonesia – relates to phonetic decoding skills
- Combination dyslexia types – occurs when the individual presents with more than one type of dyslexia.
FAQs about Dyslexia Assessments
Before the assessment the client or parents are required to complete a set of forms in order to gain background information to be taken into consideration during the assessment as well as when interpreting results. The assessment is conducted on an individual basis. A feedback session can be scheduled and a report will be provided to discuss findings of the assessment as well as recommendations on how to address any identified difficulties.
Approximately 1 hour.
Ensure that your child gets a good night’s sleep before the assessment. Provide the child with a good breakfast but avoid any sugary foods and caffeine before the assessment.When preparing your child for the assessment, it is sometimes advisable to avoid using the word “tests” as this might cause anxiety for some children and subsequently impact performance during the assessment.
- A light healthy lunch or snack with a juice for the quick mid-assessment break is ideal.
- Previous assessment and/or school reports
- Please also complete the Psychometric Test consent form at the bottom of this page and bring it with you on the day of the assessment.
During the feedback session and in the written report, recommendations will be made regarding how to best assist the child in future based on findings obtained during the assessment process. We recommend sharing the results with your child’s teacher, school or other health care professionals in order to best address difficulties identified. Please note that results will not be shared with any third party without prior written consent from the parents or legal guardians.
Contact us if you would like to book a dyslexia assessments.
Download
Psychometric test consent form