Overview

Psychologists often encounter clients who cannot meaningfully engage with standardised assessments due to significant limitations in communication, attention, motor, sensory, or self-regulation skills. Yet current guidance tends to focus on minor adaptations for single impairments, offering little support for more complex assessment needs. To address this, we have been researching how Australian psychologists assess intellectual functioning in clients with diverse access needs.

In this webinar case studies will be used to introduce participants to a practical, ethical framework for moving beyond standardised procedures in assessing intellectual functioning. This session will introduce participants to:

• Planning for informal assessments
• Practical techniques for gathering and interpreting information about intellectual functioning
• Guidance on writing up findings clearly and defensibly

This session will contribute to your skills in conducting psychological assessments (competency 4) and adapting psychological practice and making reasonable adjustments for people with disability (competency 7.9).

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this event, participants should be able to:

• Identify situations where informal assessment is appropriate and apply ethical decision‑making approaches to each case to consider the risks and benefits.
• Use a structured framework to plan, justify, conduct and interpret the findings from informal assessments of intellectual functioning for clients who cannot engage with standardised IQ measures.
• Apply principles to develop reports based on informal assessments that clearly communicate the assessment approach used, justification for the approach, the findings and limitations.

Presenter(s)

About the presenter(s)

Dr. Karen Oakley is a Clinical Neuropsychologist, Board Approved Supervisor, and Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology at the University of Canberra. She teaches child and adolescent development in initial teacher education courses, supporting future teachers tailor teaching strategies to meet diverse developmental needs. Her clinical and research work focuses on understanding and supporting individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. Karen has worked across community health, schools, private practice, and university teaching clinics. She supervises and trains psychologists at all career stages, strengthening their applied understanding of neurodevelopmental conditions and promoting evidence-based assessment and formulation practices informed by the integration of observations, developmental history, and test performance.

Anastasia Davy has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (Honours) and Masters of International and Community Development. She has worked in diverse sectors including international development, social inclusion policy, fundraising, and senior management and governance of not-for-profit organisations. A common theme has been finding innovative approaches to increase the inclusion of marginalised groups. She is completing her Master of Clinical Psychology, provides neurodiversity consulting services to organisations, and is a student representative on the APS Psychology of Intellectual Disability and Autism interest group committee.

Karen and Anastasia are currently researching approaches to assessing people who cannot complete standardised IQ tests, particularly in the context of intellectual disability assessments.

Notes

Target Audience

This event is aimed at Psychologists who conduct assessments of intellectual functioning and want to build their skills in working with clients with complex/ multiple disabilities.

Please note:

• This is a Member Groups event. All communication will be sent to the registrants’ registered email address. This includes event reminders with details (such as the zoom link) and any pre-event or post-event resources, if provided by the facilitators.
• A post-event email will be sent within two weeks of the event’s completion to each registrant’s registered email address. This email will include the CPD certificate, event-recording and any additional resources shared during the session.

Duration of Access

This event will be recorded. The recording will be emailed to all registered within 2 weeks post event and available for viewing up to 90 days.

CPD

It is up to attendees to assess and determine how learning from this event aligns with the requirements of their learning plan. The providers accordingly do not make any representation that the event counts towards attendees’ CPD learning requirements. If an attendee determines themselves that the learning they complete aligns to their learning plan, then they can decide to count those hours towards their CPD requirements for the registration cycle.

The information in this presentation has been prepared in good faith and for educational purposes only. Therefore, the information is general in nature and should not be relied upon in the treatment of any condition and you should seek your own independent professional and/or legal advice concerning any specific issue. The APS accepts no responsibility for any errors, omissions or decisions relating to the information. The content should not be reproduced without permission or unless permitted by law.

If you are experiencing registration difficulties please contact APS Events Support.