Autism Assessment for Children and Adolescents in Wollongong
Understanding how your child experiences the world, and whether a diagnosis fits, is what an autism assessment is for. At our Balgownie rooms we see young people from [4] to 18. Every assessment follows the National Guideline for autism assessment in Australia, and results are explained in plain language.
Parents come to us from many directions. A kindergarten teacher notices a child playing alone and struggling with change. A paediatrician asks for a detailed psychological assessment. A teenager who coped in primary school is now exhausted every afternoon and asking whether they might be autistic.
Some families have waited a long time to be taken seriously. Others are not sure whether their concerns are big enough to act on. Both are welcome here.
A good assessment is about far more than a label. It describes your child's strengths, the situations that drain them, and what will make school and home work better. Many parents tell us the most valuable part is simply understanding their child more clearly.
On this page you will find what the assessment involves, the signs that suggest one could help, how the national process works, each step at our practice, what can be done online, costs and Medicare, and how the report is used. It is one of the child and adolescent psychological assessments available at our Balgownie rooms.
What does an autism assessment involve?
An autism assessment involves a detailed developmental history with parents, direct observation of your child using structured activities such as the ADOS-2, questionnaires for home and school, and information from teachers and other professionals. These pieces are brought together to decide whether autism is present and what supports would help.
The developmental history is the foundation. We ask about early communication, play, friendships, sensory preferences, routines and interests, from infancy to now. Baby books, videos and early childhood reports can help jog memories.
The ADOS-2, or Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, is a standardised set of activities matched to your child's age and language. For younger children it looks like play. For teenagers it is mostly conversation. It allows the psychologist to observe social communication in a consistent way.
Questionnaires give parents and teachers a structured way to describe what they see. School input is important, because many children show different behaviour in a busy classroom than in a quiet assessment room.
Where helpful, we also look at language, thinking skills, attention, anxiety and sensory processing, as these often shape how autism presents.
An assessment can also conclude that a child is not autistic. When that happens, the report explains what else might account for the differences you noticed, such as anxiety, a language disorder, ADHD or trauma, and what to do next.
At our practice, one psychologist completes the history, observation, report and feedback, so the picture stays joined up.
What signs suggest an autism assessment may help?
An assessment may help if your child has ongoing differences in social communication, such as limited back-and-forth conversation or difficulty making friends, together with repetitive behaviours, intense interests, strong need for sameness, or unusual responses to sound, touch or taste. These signs usually appear early, although some are recognised later.
In younger children, signs might include limited pointing or showing, playing alongside rather than with others, lining up toys, distress at small changes, or delayed or unusual language.
In primary school, a child may find group work and playground games confusing, take language very literally, or have a deep interest that dominates conversation.
Teenagers often describe exhaustion from keeping up socially, feeling different from peers, and needing long periods of recovery after school. Some develop anxiety, low mood or school avoidance before autism is recognised.
None of these signs on its own means a child is autistic. What matters is a consistent pattern across settings and over time, which is exactly what a thorough assessment examines.
Many autistic girls and gender diverse young people mask their differences by copying peers. They may seem to cope at school and then fall apart at home.
For more on how these signs change with age, our guide on how autism is assessed in Australia explains what clinicians look for.
How does the National Guideline process work?
Australia's national autism assessment guideline sets out how these assessments should be carried out. It describes two parts: an assessment of the person's strengths and support needs, and a diagnostic evaluation. It allows a single experienced clinician or a team, depending on the situation.
The guideline was developed by Autism CRC to make assessments more consistent across the country, so families get similar quality wherever they live.
It also puts the young person and family at the centre. Your observations are treated as essential evidence, and your child's own views are sought wherever they can share them.
A key idea is that understanding a child's needs matters as much as the diagnosis itself. The report should describe functioning at home, school and in the community, not only whether criteria are met.
Single clinician assessment
- Suitable when the picture is fairly clear
- One experienced psychologist or doctor
- Draws on history, observation and reports from others
- Usually quicker and less costly
- Can refer on if more input is needed
Team or consensus assessment
- Recommended when the picture is complex
- Two or more clinicians from different disciplines
- May include speech pathology or occupational therapy
- Useful when other conditions overlap
- Takes longer and costs more
Most of the children and teens we see can be assessed by a single clinician. If your child's presentation is complex, we will say so early and discuss involving a speech pathologist, occupational therapist or paediatrician.
What happens at each step of the autism assessment at our practice?
At our practice the assessment follows six steps: an intake call, a parent developmental interview, questionnaires and school input, an ADOS-2 observation session with your child, then scoring, the written report and a feedback meeting. From interview to feedback, allow roughly five to seven weeks.
You receive a written outline of each step and the total fee before anything is booked.
Intake call
We talk through your concerns, check whether autism assessment is the right starting point, and explain the options.
Developmental interview
A long conversation with parents, usually 90 minutes to two hours, covering history from pregnancy to now.
Questionnaires and school
Forms for parents and teachers, and with consent, a call with school staff.
Observation session
The ADOS-2 and related activities with your child, in a relaxed room with breaks.
Scoring and report
All information is integrated, and the report is written with practical recommendations.
Feedback session
We explain the outcome, answer questions, and talk through next steps.
To prepare your child, keep it simple. Tell them they are coming to do some activities and talk with someone whose job is to understand how kids think and learn. Bring any comfort item, snack or fidget that helps them settle. Visual schedules are welcome if your child uses them.
Can an autism assessment be done by telehealth?
Much of the process works well over video, especially the parent interview, feedback session and questionnaires. The direct observation with your child is usually completed in person, because the ADOS-2 is designed for face-to-face use and the National Guideline stresses the value of direct observation.
Families living further away usually need to travel to Balgownie just once, for the observation session. Everything else can be done from your lounge room.
Video parent interviews work well and can be split across two shorter sessions if that suits your family.
Some teenagers are comfortable with an initial conversation online before meeting in person. That can reduce anxiety about the observation day.
Be careful with services that offer a complete autism diagnosis entirely online after a short call. Without direct observation, school input and a thorough history, the report may not be accepted by schools, paediatricians or the NDIS.
If an in-person visit is truly impossible, talk to us. In some situations, recorded home videos, a detailed school observation from staff, and an extended online interview can support an assessment, but we will be clear about any limits this places on the conclusions.
Our telehealth psychologist page explains how video appointments work for both therapy and assessment.
How much does an autism assessment cost, and what does Medicare cover?
Our fee for an autism assessment is [$ total fee to confirm], and it is not bulk billed. If your child is under 25 and has a referral from a paediatrician or psychiatrist, up to four assessment sessions may attract a Medicare rebate of $101.55 each under item 82000, which reduces the out-of-pocket cost.
| Cost item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total assessment fee | [$ total fee to confirm] |
| Medicare item | 82000, for psychologists |
| Rebate per eligible session | $101.55 |
| Sessions that can be claimed | Up to four, for assessment |
| Who must refer | A paediatrician or psychiatrist |
| Session format for rebate | In person, at least 50 minutes |
The Medicare pathway is designed to help the referring doctor make the diagnosis. In that case, our report supports the paediatrician or psychiatrist, who confirms the diagnosis. Without a specialist referral, the assessment is private and the psychologist makes the diagnosis directly.
Both routes are valid. Choosing between them usually depends on whether your child already has a paediatrician and how long the wait for one would be.
The four rebated assessment sessions are a lifetime limit shared with other allied health professionals, such as speech pathologists and occupational therapists. If your child has already used some of them elsewhere, fewer will be available for our assessment. We check this with you at the intake call.
When the developmental interview is booked, we ask for a deposit of [$ deposit to confirm]. The remaining balance is payable before we release the report. Check with your health fund too, as some extras policies pay toward assessments.
Our Medicare rebates for psychology page covers item 82000 and the other Medicare items in more detail.
How is the autism report used for NDIS, school and the paediatrician?
The report is used to explain your child's diagnosis and support needs to the people who can help. Schools use it to plan adjustments. Paediatricians use it for diagnosis and medical care. For NDIS access requests, it provides evidence of diagnosis and how autism affects daily life, although the NDIS makes its own decision.
For school, the recommendations often cover sensory adjustments, visual supports, predictable routines, quiet spaces, and help with group work and transitions. We can meet with teachers to go through them.
For the NDIS, the most useful reports describe functional impact in detail: communication, social interaction, learning, self-care and self-management. Our reports are written with this in mind. Children under nine may be supported through the NDIS early childhood approach.
For paediatricians, the report gives the developmental history, observation results and diagnostic reasoning they need, especially if medication for anxiety, sleep or attention is being considered.
Reports are written to be read by your child one day. We describe differences respectfully and highlight strengths, because the way a diagnosis is explained shapes how a young person comes to understand themselves.
You decide who receives the report. We only share it with your written consent.
Many families continue with therapy after assessment. Our child psychologist service supports autistic children with anxiety, emotional regulation and social confidence, and our school refusal support helps when attending school has become too hard.
When is a combined autism and ADHD assessment better?
A combined assessment is better when a child shows signs of both autism and ADHD, such as social differences alongside marked distractibility, impulsivity or restlessness. The two conditions frequently occur together, and assessing both at once gives a clearer, more useful picture.
The overlap can be confusing. Difficulty sitting through a lesson might come from sensory overload, from ADHD, or both. A combined assessment tests these explanations directly.
It adds attention rating scales and cognitive testing to the autism process, while sharing the same history, observation and school input.
Sensory processing is often a central part of both. Knowing whether noise, lights or clothing textures are driving a child's restlessness changes the advice for home and the classroom.
If signs of ADHD appear during an autism assessment, we will talk with you about extending it rather than starting again later. The combined ADHD and autism assessment page explains the structure and fees.
Do you assess adults for autism?
We do not currently assess adults for autism [confirm adult assessment availability], as our assessment service is set up for children and teenagers. If you are an adult wondering whether you are autistic, a GP can point you towards clinicians with adult assessment experience.
Parents sometimes recognise their own experiences while their child is being assessed. Autism has a strong genetic component, so this is common and understandable.
We can still support you in your role as a parent, and help you make sense of what you are noticing in yourself as you learn more about your child.
Many autistic adults describe a diagnosis later in life as a relief that finally explains years of feeling out of step. If that is where you are heading, it is worth finding a clinician who works with adults regularly, because autism in adults, particularly in women, can look quite different from the childhood picture.
How do I book an autism assessment?
Phone 0435 165 763, or book online and note that you are after an autism assessment. We will start with an intake call, confirm whether Medicare applies, send the fee outline, and book the developmental interview. Our assessment waitlist currently sits at [waiting time to confirm].
If you want to use the Medicare rebate, ask your paediatrician or psychiatrist for a referral that mentions a suspected complex neurodevelopmental disorder or autism, and send it to us before the first appointment.
If your child is already on a waitlist for a paediatrician, there is no need to wait. Starting with us means the paediatrician receives a completed assessment. Keep in mind that the Medicare rebate only applies to sessions held after a specialist referral is in place, so sessions completed privately beforehand cannot be claimed later.
Gather anything that shows your child's development: baby books, early childhood reports, school reports, and letters from speech pathologists or occupational therapists.
Consent forms, cancellation policy and practical details are in our new clients guide. To learn more about the practice and its range of services, see the Perfectly Aligned Psychology homepage.
Autism assessment questions
Can a psychologist diagnose autism in Australia?
Yes. An appropriately trained psychologist can diagnose autism in Australia, following the National Guideline. If you are using the Medicare pathway, the referring paediatrician or psychiatrist makes the final diagnosis, drawing on our assessment. Without a specialist referral, the psychologist diagnoses directly.
How long does an autism assessment take?
Allow about five to seven weeks in total. Your child typically comes in once for observation, and the written report follows roughly [3 to 4 weeks] later, before we meet to discuss it. Delays usually come from waiting for questionnaires or school input.
Is the assessment enough for NDIS?
The report can support an NDIS access request, but the NDIS decides eligibility itself. It looks for evidence of diagnosis and of how autism affects daily functioning. Our reports describe functional impact in detail. Your child may also need reports from other professionals, such as a speech pathologist or occupational therapist.
Do you assess adults for autism?
Not at this stage [confirm adult assessment availability]. The service is designed around young people under 18. An adult seeking assessment is best starting with their GP, who can recommend a clinician experienced with autistic adults.
Is the autism assessment bulk billed?
No. The autism assessment is privately billed. If your child is under 25 and referred by a paediatrician or psychiatrist, up to four sessions can attract a Medicare rebate of $101.55 each under item 82000, which reduces the gap. Extras cover may add a little more.
Understand your child more clearly
Start with a short intake call. We will explain the process, the costs and whether Medicare can help.