School Psychology Blog

In Victoria, children must be five years of age or older by the 30th of April in the year they start school. Often parents question why the 30th of April is the cut off date and there is clear explanation why. Children develop at different rates and the decision to begin school often only based on age.

Is my child ready for school?

How do you know if your child is ready for school?
Preschool field officers may visit your child’s preschool to assess your child. They may use a check list to assess your child in the following areas:

• Play skills
• Social development
• Cognitive development
• Fine motor skills
• Language and communication skills
• Emotional development
• Self care skills
• Gross motor skills

Is my child ready for school?
If you have doubts about your child being able to begin school and cope academically, it might be a good idea to have them assessed with a standardised intelligence test. This gives parents a clear indication of where their child fits or stands compared with children of a similar age.

You should also talk with your child’s preschool teacher. They are experts in this area as they see large numbers of children and can offer a professional opinion based on a child’s developmental stage.

Preschool teachers may also recommend a cognitive assessment to test intellectual capacity. There are also many other reasons to conduct a cognitive assessment.

Can my child start school early?
The answer is yes – but it is often a lengthy process! Parents will need to provide evidence that their child is emotionally ready for school and that they are academically ready for school.

• Evidence that a child is emotionally ready can be gained from a child’s preschool teacher.
• Evidence that a child is academically ready needs to be assessed by a qualified psychologist.

School Psychology Services offers an assessment that tests the intellectual capacity of young people. This assessment is called the Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI – pronounced “WHIP SEE”). This test assesses intelligence. For a psychologist to support an early entry to school, a child must be in the gifted range on this test. The gifted range means that they are exceptional, not just above average.

More information about early entry to school in Victoria is available from the Department of Education.

I have always liked the poem, Don’t Quit. When things are not going our way it is important to persevere and move forward in the best way we can.

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victors cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit!
- ANONYMOUS

The secret of raising smart kids is to promote the “don’t quit” attitude. Teaching young people the value of perseverance is a quality not often promoted in schools or in society.

Those moments when a young person struggles with a new concept is the only time that they are learning!

Great he is learning something new!

When they find something hard or difficult that is when they are able to learn new things. We need to promote effort, rather than success – then we can raise really smart kids. We need to focus on not quitting and perservering when things get tough, that way young people can learn the value of hard work and experience real success.

Why use a WIAT to assess children?

I am often asked about the WIAT (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test). The WIAT is an individually administered test that takes from 30 to 90mintes to administer.

An achievement test measure how an individual is going in certain areas of academic school work.

The WIAT gives a good overall summary of functioning in the following areas: reading, maths, written language and oral language.

If an individual has a high or average IQ and is significantly below average in reading, maths or written language they may have a specific learning disability in a certain area. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability associated with problem in reading.

If an individual has an extremely high IQ, but is under achieving at school, they may fall into the category of “gifted – learning disabled”.

A WIAT is a good way to see how a child is going in a variety of academic subjects compared to other people their own age.

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Year 10 in Victoria is often seen as a transitional year for students. Many students are given the opportunity to sample a VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) subject. This prepares them for what lies ahead in Year 11 and 12. Many schools also implement specialised programs at Year 10 to help students with subject selection and study skills. Work experience is also common at this year level.

Why Assess at Year 10?

Psychological Testing is beneficial at Year 10 for several reasons. Psychological Assessment seeks to answer some of the following questions:

• Is there is reason why a student does poorly on exams and tests?
• Is the student capable of achieving success in certain subjects? This will assist with planning for relevant subject selection.
• Should a student take verbally based subjects or opt for more practical subjects?  This will review an individual’s best learning style.
• Is the student under achieving? If so, is there a reason for this?
• Are there problems with the speed of processing information? If so, does the school need to apply for extra time for exams?
• Is the student struggling with reading and comprehension?
• Does the student experience problems with short term memory? If so, does the student need memory strategies?
• Does the student have problems with visually or verbally presented information? If so, do teachers need to modify the way the material is presented in class?
• Does the student have an auditory processing difficulty? If so, what needs to be put in place for the best possible outcomes?
• Does the student have a specific learning disability? If so, what specific help does the student need?
• Does the student need a specialised tutor to assist them in certain subjects?
• Does the student need help with organisation and planning?
• What areas will a student naturally succeed in?

The best way to answer many of these questions and many more is to conduct a full WISC-IV and WIAT –II assessment. This will give a learning profile that reflects both cognitive ability and academic achievement. Students many then benefit from specialised coaching programs that are designed to assist with maximising their potential to achieve VCE success.

One of the books that I enjoy using with young clients (ages 3 – 8 years) is called Angry Octopus by Lori Lite.  It is a nice little relaxation story for children.

When reading through the story, I ask the client to do the exercises as we read it. Sometimes the young person asks about how the octopus actually breathes under water! We often have a lively discussion about breathing and how it is important to relax and be control both our thoughts and emotions.

We often reflect upon situations where we might get angry and how we can express irritation or frustration in positive and assertive ways, rather than in angry and destructive ways.

I will then ask the client to complete this simple worksheet and practice the relaxation exercise during the week.

Intelligence testing of very young children can sometimes be problematic because young people develop so rapidly.

However, there are many benefits for psychological assessment and often the more information and the early the information is gathered, the more tailored the intervention programs can be.

Assessment is a way of gaining some understanding of a child in order to make informed and appropriate decisions.

Child Testing

Why should a child be tested?

• To screen for any cognitive deficits.
• To assess for eligibility for funding.
• To understand a child’s learning profile or preferred learning style.
• To assess for learning disorders (such as reading, mathematics or writing disorders, including dyslexia).
• To provide intervention programs for children with specialised needs.
• To assess gifted children in order to provide appropriate and stimulating learning environments.
• To test for school readiness.
• To gain early access to school or to remain in kinder another year.
• To identify developmental delays and provide appropriate interventions for psycho educational disorders or problems as early in a child’s life as possible.
• To understand uncharacteristic behaviours and/ or emotional issues that are presenting at either home or school.

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Spelling well helps us communicate efficiently with the outside world. Everyone needs strategies to help spell words correctly.

Learn the sounds of the a..b..c

We have compiled a collection of spelling strategies that can assist individuals to spell better.

Tips include:

• Learning a variety of spelling strategies.
• Making up your own strategies to help with difficult words.
• Using a glossary for new and unusual words in various academic subjects.
• Learning to conquer your own personal “spelling demons”… and a whole lot more!

To download a tip sheet on spelling strategies click here.
Spelling is something we can all work on – let us all be the best spellers we can be!

We have just launched a new product for professionals – Counselling Worksheets!

This is an exciting new resource that will help professionals manage sessions with ease and confidence!

They are an excellent resource for the counsellor starting out, or those who have been in the profession for years! This resource includes a set of 100 practical counseling worksheets suitable for school age children.

They are designed to guide counselling sessions to help focus on the most relevant issues to quickly achieve positive outcomes.

These have been developed over several years and finally we have decided to share with professionals our “tricks of the trade” and creative ideas for an affordable and reasonable price. They are within the price range of every professional. For a limited time they are being sold at less than half price – as we want to share this exciting resource with as many people as possible.

The worksheets are based on trusted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy principles.

They are practical and simple to use. Each worksheet comes with counselling notes. These notes clearly explain how to work with clients.

You can purchase these counseling worksheets online and they can be printed directly from a computer and used within a session or as a homework activity.

Topics include:
•    Beating anxiety
•    Overcoming depression
•    Increasing emotional intelligence
•    Problem solving skills
•    Coping strategies
•    Developing a positive mindset
•    Understanding self
•    Stress management
•    Relaxation
•    Goal setting
•    Motivation
•    Friendships
•    Checklists – common disorders in schools
•    Learning questionnaires
•    Transition issues

We hope you enjoy using these resources, as we feel they are a valuable resource for all psychologists and school counsellors working with young people. Order your set today!

Why conduct assessment?

Assessment is useful to identify an individual’s learning ability.  More information on Psychological Assessments for students can be found here.

Usually I recommended both a WISC ( Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) or WPPSI-III (Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence) and a WIAT ( Wechsler Individual Achievement Test) as these two tests give the best indication of a student’s cognitive ability and academic achievement levels.

The scoring of these two tests is done in such a way that when used in combination can predict any discrepancies between intelligence and achievement. Assessment may also be helpful to identify learning disabilities (such as dyslexia), giftedness or under achievement.

The most common is when a child has an average or above average intelligence and is below average in achievement. This is usually due to a specific learning disability in reading or maths.

However, the most important reason for conducting assessment is to develop an individual learning plan for each individual. Everyone learns differently, however, once you know strengths and weaknesses, learning programs can be tailored to an individual’s needs.

For example, if a student struggles with decoding words, then they need to work on a phonics based program. If they are having problems with reading comprehension, then a learning program should target comprehension.

Dyslexia is a learning disability, where it manifests itself as a difficulty with reading and written language.  It is believed to be a brain –based condition.

Basically people with dyslexia are processing language differently to others.
Some have referred to dyslexia as a “gift” because often these people need to find creative ways to solve problems. Despite their difficulties in decoding written language, they can find ways around this and end up solving problems in different ways.  However, for a young person learning to read – it can be frustrating!

Assessment can also identify issues with auditory processing.  Auditory processing is the ability to encode auditory information. Problems in auditory processing may lead to problems in auditory working memory and auditory sequencing. Many dyslexics have auditory processing problems including history of auditory reversals. Auditory processing disorder is recognised as one of the major causes of dyslexia.

Assessment is also useful to detect any difficulties as early as possible. If you detect a problem in learning early, then early intervention is essential.

A qualified Educational Psychologist is the best person to conduct these assessments. They can then provide details recommendations for each individual.

Students with learning problems often suffer from a low self esteem.  Counselling is often recommended to help individuals understand that they are not “dumb” or “stupid” – they simply learn differently!

The pace that society moves in this techno-gadget new world order is amazing! Young people are experts at multitasking – homework, talking with friends and surfing the net while sending a text is common in a young person’s bedroom!

People are becoming techno junkies – they are afraid to be away from their computer for too long.

The brain processes of individuals needing to always be connected are similar to those addicted to drugs. Sometimes it seems that there is no escape!

What can parents and teachers do if they suspect a young person is addicted?

Key Ideas:

• Explain to the individual the problems associated with addiction (i.e. Social withdrawal, bright lights at night may affect sleep, importance of reducing number of hours “Plugged in” etc ).
• Individual must recognise there is a problem – if any progress is to be made.
• Limit technology use – where possible. However, withdrawal may result in increased levels of anxiety.
• Suggest an alternative to technology use, such as talking with friends face to face, doing some exercise or reading a “paper” book.

Useful Information:

• Kids and Tech: How much is too much?
• Personal Tech Addiction Snares Teens, Adults
• Teenagers at Risk of Internet addiction
• The rise of Technology addiction
• How to Tell If You Are Addicted to Technology