Child Psychologists are specially trained to assess and evaluate neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adults. They are usually used to describe an Educational Psychologist or a Clinical Psychologist specialising in children.
Child Psychologists use their specialist knowledge to assess, diagnose and provide psychological interventions to children, young persons and adults on concerns regarding their learning or academic performance, behavioural, social and emotional development. Because their work involves a deep understanding of developmental issues across a person’s lifespan, they may also provide developmental assessments across the range of ages from the child, adolescent and adult populations.
Simply put, Child Psychologists identify and provide psychological interventions to learning or developmental concerns.
For example, Child Psychologists assess for and identify, and provide psychological interventions to learning or developmental concerns such as Intellectual Developmental Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or Specific Learning Disorder (known as Dyslexia for reading impairments or Dyscalculia for math impairments). They also administer Psychometric Assessments such as verbal and non-verbal measures of intelligence, behavioural scales and ratings, and Functional Behavioural Analysis measures (FBA).
High quality early intervention from an experienced Child Psychologist can change a child’s developmental trajectory and improve outcomes for that child and his or her family.
For intervention to yield the best results, Child Psychologists work closely with children and their parents, teachers and other allied health professionals (such as Speech Therapists and Occupational Therapists) to deliver evidence-based psychological interventions for learning and developmental problems.
If you have concerns that your child may need a Child Psychologist, our child psychologists are happy to discuss your concerns with you.
Ask for a call back from one of our Child Psychologists to find out more.
A Multi-disciplinary Approach
Children with neurodevelopmental concerns will often require assessment and intervention by other Allied Health Practitioners. Neurodevelopmental concerns such as Autism Spectrum Disorder often impact psychological, speech, sensory and motor functions. Intervention achieves the best outcomes when delivered as part of a multidisciplinary team comprising paediatricians, speech therapists, occupational therapists and psychologists.