Child cognitive assessment
A cognitive assessment, sometimes referred to as an IQ test, explores how your child's brain processes information, reasons, and solves problems. It produces a detailed profile of cognitive strengths and areas of difficulty, which can be used to understand how your child learns, support educational planning, or identify giftedness or a Learning Disability.
How does the process work?
Cognitive assessments are typically done in a single session which takes 60-90 minutes. Your child will be asked to complete a series of tasks testing their memory, spatial reasoning, and language skills. Sometimes we may split the testing across two sessions.
Alongside the testing session, we will ask you (and your child's school, where appropriate) to complete a questionnaire about your child's everyday skills, such as communication, self-care, and social functioning. This gives us a fuller picture than cognitive testing alone, and is essential for identifying a Learning Disability where this is in question.
We will also take a developmental history, asking about your child's early development, education, and any concerns you have noticed.
Once all the information has been gathered, your psychologist will write up a full report. We will invite you to a follow-up meeting which will give you chance to reflect on the results and ask any questions.
What are the potential outcomes?
You will receive a written report describing your child's cognitive profile, including how their performance compares to other children of the same age. The report will identify relative strengths and areas of difficulty, and offer recommendations for school, home, or further support.
If your child is aged 5 or over and meets the criteria for a Learning Disability, they will receive this as a diagnosis. For children under 5, significant developmental concerns will be diagnosed as Global Developmental Delay.
Eligibility
Your child must be between 3 and 18 years old.
Your child does not need to be speaking. For non-speaking children or those with significant speech and language differences, we use a Nonverbal Index: a standardised cognitive score (similar to IQ) that assesses ability without requiring spoken responses.
Location
Testing takes place in-person in Leeds. Follow-up meetings can be in person or online.