NDIS Plan holders who require a comprehensive psychological assessment, please contact us on 4932 0432 or 49481226.

What is Autism?

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is classed as a neurodevelopmental disorder which impacts the way people interact with the world, including how they think, socialise and communicate. At Lifewise we recognise Autism as a form of neurodivergence, in other words, a different way that someone’s brain works compared to the neurotypical population.  The challenges that arise are often due to the neurodiverse person attempting to live in a world designed for neurotypical people.  An autism diagnosis can help with understanding the autistic person’s experience and provide appropriate strategies and accommodations to make their life easier.  Autism is often identified in early childhood, but it may only become obvious later on as expectations change and increase.  Difficulties may be observed in making friends, coping with changes, being very literal, sensory sensitivities and trouble with nonverbal communication.    Our clinicians are also experienced at identifying the different way that autism can present in girls and women.  When autism is missed and appropriate supports are not provided it is common for adolescents and adults to present with anxiety or concerns with their mood.

To understand the process for booking an ASD assessment click the button below:

Understanding Learning Difficulties

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder in reading.  Difficulties are often first noticed when a child starts school.  Children may be observed to:

·         struggle learning the alphabet and recognising letters

·         have trouble associating letters with their sounds

·         have trouble understanding how words break apart into sounds

·         have trouble sounding out words

·         avoid tasks that involve reading

When difficulties with early reading skills are observed it is important for the child to receive targeted evidence-based intervention focused on improving their reading skills.  These programs usually focus on phonological awareness, vocabulary and reading strategies. If after an extensive period of intervention the difficulties persist then a formal assessment for dyslexia is warranted.  This is often around Year 2 as this allows sufficient time for children to develop early literacy skills.  Difficulties may also be identified later as academic demands increase, support that were available in primary school are no longer provided. 

It is also important to check for any hearing or vision difficulties which may be impacting the child’s learning.

What is dysgraphia?

Dysgraphia is a specific learning disorder which is characterised by difficulties with handwriting, including spelling, word spacing and sizing and legibility.  It occurs in the absence of an intellectual disability.  Dysgraphia is not a primary motor disorder, although fine motor deficits are common.

Early signs of dysgraphia include:

• Trouble with the mechanics of writing such as forming letters and shapes

• Tight or awkward pencil grip

• Difficulty with word spacing and sizing

• Frequent spelling errors

Later signs include:

• Trouble with sentence structure or following rules of grammar when writing, but not when speaking

• Difficulty organising or articulating thoughts on paper

• Pronounced difference between spoken and written understanding of a topic

• Incomplete writing of words or sentences.

• Words written in the wrong order

• Extremely slow writing

What is Dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia is a learning disability which affects the ability to understand, learn and apply mathematical concepts.  Children with dyscalculia do not have an intellectual disability and may do well in other academic areas.  Not all children who struggle with maths have dyscalulia, as children with visual or auditory processing issues, ADHD or dyslexia can also struggle in maths.

In young children difficulties may present as:

• Trouble learning to count

• Difficulty recognising numbers

• Difficulty identifying patterns and placing things in order

• Difficulty associating numbers to quantities

• Difficulty remembering numbers

• Difficulty understanding which of two digits are larger

Later on difficulties may include:

• Needing to use fingers to add single-digit numbers

• Struggling with mental arithmetic

• Struggling to learn times tables

• Having difficulty understanding and remembering concepts (eg. Fractions)

• Having trouble remembering mathematical rules such as the order of operations.

• Struggling with different units of measurement

• Struggling with reading clocks and estimating time

• Avoiding or become anxious around maths homework or tests

• Having a poor sense of direction