Summary
Why have an assessment? It helps us understand learning, thinking, emotional, or behavioural challenges — so we can find the best ways to support you or your child.
What do we look at? We assess thinking skills, school-related abilities like reading or maths, emotional wellbeing, and behaviours like attention or social interaction.
How can it help? Assessments can explain ongoing difficulties, highlight strengths, guide support plans, and help with applications for extra help at school, university, or work.
What’s involved? The process includes structured interviews, questionnaires, and structured tasks. Most people complete the tasks over two sessions of about two hours each.
Who will you meet? Assessments are carried out by one of our clinical psychologists with school experience, supported by Dr Dan Seal, a British Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years of experience, who provides clinical oversight and guidance on complex cases.
How much does it cost? We charge one clear fee for the whole process. Autism assessments have an extra cost. Some insurance plans may cover the fee – we recommend checking first.
Is it always the right step? Not always. If someone is very young, upset, or not ready, we may suggest waiting or exploring other types of support first.
If you would like to arrange a psycho-educational assessment or if you have any questions please call or send us a WhatsApp message to +6012 5089910. You can also email us at info@resolve.my.
If you’d like a more detailed explanation of the process please read on:
What’s in a psycho-educational assessment?
Psycho-educational assessments can be used to better understand a wide range of areas that affect daily functioning and well-being for children, teenagers or adults.
Assessments typically involve structured tasks, questionnaires and interviews that provide numerical scores. These scores can be used to evaluate an individual’s strengths and difficulties and compare their performance with typical patterns for their age group.
A psycho-educational assessment can measure:
- Cognitive (thinking) abilities – such as verbal and non-verbal reasoning, working memory, processing speed, and executive functioning
- Academic skills – including reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics
- Emotional wellbeing – how someone experiences and manages feelings like anxiety, sadness, and stress
- Behavioural patterns – such as attention, self-regulation, and social interaction
How Can a Psycho-Educational Assessment Help?
For many people, an assessment can be the first step toward receiving the right support — and feeling more confident in their ability to cope and thrive.
An assessment can:
- Identify whether specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, ADHD, language difficulties, executive functioning problems or processing speed issues are present
- Provide a clear explanation for ongoing struggles, which can reduce self-blame or frustration
- Help educators and family members better understand the individual’s needs
- Guide intervention planning by identifying areas of strength and difficulty
- Offer practical recommendations for support at school, university, or in the workplace
The fact that standardised assessments, give numerical scores, means we can spot abilities or difficulties that may not be obvious, even to experienced teachers, parents, or professionals. For example, a student might seem to be doing fine at school, but an assessment may reveal that they have much higher intellectual potential and are actually underachieving. Identifying these hidden strengths or challenges means we can offer more targeted and effective support to help each individual reach their full potential.
Another important reason for carrying out an assessment is when a formal report is needed to access certain types of support or resources. For example, students may need a report to apply for extra time in exams, changes to how lessons are delivered, or additional learning support.
In some cases, international schools require a psychological assessment report to help them decide whether a student can attend their school based on whether they can meet a student’s learning needs.
What Happens in an Psycho-Educational Assessment?
Our aim is to get the very best performance from each individual undergoing an assessment. We adapt the pace and structure to suit the person being assessed – even if that means taking more time.
In most cases, the assessment is completed over two meetings of around two hours each. This approach helps the individual feel more at ease and gives us the most accurate picture of their strengths and areas of difficulty.
Before the assessment, we will meet with parents or carers to gather important background information. We may also speak with teachers or ask them to complete a structured questionnaire. After the assessment, we will hold a feedback session with parents or carers to explain the results clearly and provide specific, practical recommendations. Where helpful, we can also share a summary of the findings with key teachers or others supporting the individual.
We will provide you with a full written report of the assessment, it’s findings and our recommendations within three weeks of the final assessment.
You can find a more detailed explanation of ‘what happens during a psycho-educational assessment’ on this page of our website. There, we outline each step of the process and describe how we introduce the assessment in a calm and supportive way.
How Much Does a Psycho-educational Assessment Cost?
We charge one flat fee for a psycho-educational assessment which includes all the steps listed in our detailed ‘What happens during a psycho-educational assessment‘.
Unfortunately, assessments can be quite costly due to:
- The length of time it takes to complete the assessment
- The cost of the assessment tools (each one must be purchased individually from the publisher & there is a per use fee)
- The time and care required to write a detailed, personalised report
You can see our fees for psycho-educational assessments on our fees page.
The only time we would need to add to the assessment fee is if a formal diagnosis of autism is required. A psycho-educational assessment can identify signs that suggest autism and provide recommendations based on those findings. However, confirming an official diagnosis involves a more specialised assessment process using a gold-standard tool that takes several additional hours to complete. Please contact us if you would like more information or are considering this option.
Some insurance companies will cover the cost of the assessment. We recommend getting a guarantee letter from the insurance company to avoid unexpected costs or delays in reimbursement. This letter confirms in advance whether your insurance will cover the assessment and what documentation may be needed.
Universiti Kembangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in Kuala Lumpur, has a Health Psychology Clinic which does a briefer version of the learning assessment for a much more affordable rate. You can find out more information via their website.
Who Conducts the Assessments?
Psycho-educational assessments are conducted by one of our clinical psychologists, with clinical oversight from our Clinical Director, Dr Dan Seal, a British Clinical Psychologist with 23 years of experience. Dr Seal is available to consult on complex cases and to support the team when parents have questions that require additional clinical input.
Dr Dan has conducted hundreds of psycho-educational assessments, having worked with the Dyslexia Association of Singapore and the Neuropsychology Department at the renowned Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London. If we encounter an unusual or complex profile, we have access to a trusted network of experienced psychologists overseas whom we can consult for guidance. All consultations are done anonymously, without sharing any identifying client information to maintain confidentiality.
Our clinical psycholgists will explain the findings of the assessment to you, and with your permission, to relevant professionals such as teachers. If you would like an online consultation with Dr Dan to explain the findings you can opt to pay for an additional consultation with Dr Dan (see our fees page here).
Are Share Resolve’s Assessment Reports Accepted Overseas?
To date, our reports have been accepted by every school, examining board, and university we have submitted them to. We expect this to continue, as our locally qualified psychologists conduct assessments under the guidance of Dr Dan, following standards recognised by authorities in countries such as the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia. In situations where schools or exam boards may not be familiar with Malaysian-based assessments, Dr Dan’s countersignature adds further reassurance as he holds British qualifications and registrations that are internationally recognised.
Confidentiality
When you pay for an assessment, the report and its findings belong to you. We will never share the content of your report without your permission. The only exception is if we believe it is necessary to share limited information to prevent serious harm to someone. Even in such cases, we would only share what is directly relevant to keeping someone safe.
You are under no obligation to share the results of your assessment with anyone. That choice is entirely up to you. We are committed to reporting our findings accurately and responsibly, based on the evidence gathered. While we cannot remove or change key findings, we are always happy to review the wording to ensure it is clear, constructive, and sensitive to your needs.
When an Assessment May Not Be Advised
There are some situations where a psychological or educational assessment may not be appropriate or helpful. If you’re unsure whether an assessment would be useful, we encourage you to meet with one of our psychologists first to discuss your concerns. In many cases, we can recommend helpful next steps that do not require a full assessment. If you later decide to go ahead with an assessment, the consultation fee will be deducted from the total assessment cost.
We may suggest delaying or not proceeding with an assessment in the following circumstances:
There is already enough information to guide support
Sometimes, informal sources like classroom observations or teacher feedback provide sufficient insight to begin support. If a full assessment wouldn’t change the plan or add meaningful new information, it may not be necessary. For example, if the main concern is emotional, such as anxiety or low mood, our psychologists can often provide effective help through consultations and therapeutic work without formal testing.
The individual is currently experiencing high emotional distress
If someone is going through a period of intense stress, bereavement, depression, or trauma, their assessment performance may not reflect their usual abilities. In such situations, emotional support or therapy is often the priority, with assessment considered later.
The individual is too young
If a child is under 7 years old, we recommend speaking with our psychologists first. It may be more appropriate to consider early interventions or support strategies rather than proceeding directly with an assessment.
The person is unwilling or unable to engage
If the individual is not ready or declines to participate in an assessment, any results we obtain may not reflect their true ability. We recommend meeting with our psychologist to explore whether the person can be supported to engage, or whether it’s better to revisit the idea of assessment at a later time.
The individual is not learning or working in English
There are currently no standardised psychological assessment tools developed specifically for use in Malaysia. While some psychologists attempt to translate tests into Malay or Chinese, doing so can reduce the accuracy and validity of the results. For this reason, we typically recommend assessments only for individuals who are learning or working primarily in English but our psychologists would be happy to discuss alternative ways of helping.
Further information & how to arrange an Assessment
If you would like to arrange a psycho-educational assessment or if you have any questions please call or send us a WhatsApp message to +6012 5089910. You can also email us at info@resolve.my.
