The purpose of the Comprehensive Needs Assessment is to understand the strengths, challenges and needs of the individual being assessed. This assessment consists of two parts: an Assessment of Functioning and a Medical Evaluation.

Assessment of Functioning

The purpose of this assessment is to obtain a detailed understanding of an individual’s level of ability across a broad range of areas, including cognitive abilities, speech and language function, and daily living skills. Some of the information collected during this assessment will be about:

medical and health history

family history

developmental and functional abilities.

An Assessment of Functioning can be performed by one or more medical and/or allied health professionals. This could be a medical practitioner (e.g. GP, paediatrician, psychiatrist), nurse practitioner, occupational therapist, psychologist, social worker or speech pathologist with relevant training and expertise.

The purpose of this evaluation is to understand if there are medical causes for the behaviours that have prompted a referral for an assessment. A Medical Evaluation involves:

a general physical examination

other specific medical tests.

A Medical Evaluation is completed by a medical practitioner, such as a paediatrician, psychiatrist or GP.