Psychological assessment refers to the comprehensive integration of information from a variety of sources: including formal psychological standardised tests, informal tests and surveys, structured clinical interviews, interviews with others, school and/or medical records, and observational data to make inferences regarding the mental or behavioural characteristics of an individual.
Psychological assessments of children/person with special needs refers to a dynamic process of determining their qualitative and quantitative needs.
Psychological assessments of children with special needs are useful for two purposes:
1. As a guide to diagnosis, classification and eligibility determination
2. As a guide to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of intervention programs.