Your independent assessment will take around three hours.
The assessment is in four parts, a conversation, an activity, a questionnaire and 3 to 4 assessment tools.
The assessments you do will depend on your age and disability.
If one of these assessments is the Vineland 3 Domain assessment, someone who knows you and the impact of your disability well will also need to be at your assessment.
This is because a large part of the Vineland assessment is done without you in the room. Once you have left the room the assessor will ask the person you bought with you, questions about your daily living skills, communication and activities outside the home.
This person does not have to be a plan nominee.
In your conversation with your assessor, you can talk about:
- Your routine – how you go about the tasks and activities of daily life
- Your impairment – what supports you need at home and in the community
- Your informal supports – who helps you at home, and what they help you with
- Your environment – are there any barriers at home for the tasks of daily life, and whether you need assistive technology items to enhance your independence.
For your activity, you can do:
- something that you enjoy, like a hobby
- a homework assignment
- an everyday task, like preparing a snack or cup of tea.
Your assessor will be with you while you complete your chosen task.
During the questionnaire, your assessor will ask you a range of questions. The questions will depend on your age, and could include:
- Do you have any life changes planned in the next 12 months, like starting or leaving school, job training, volunteering or looking for work?
- Who you currently live with?
- How do you go about learning a new task?
- What are your transport arrangements?
- Do you have any disability-related health supports?
It’s important to talk to your assessor about your good and bad days, so they can build an accurate picture of your functional capacity.
If you are under 18, the assessor will need to meet with you to do the activity part of the assessment.
Afterwards, the assessor will talk to your parent or guardian to do the rest of the assessment.
If you are over 18, the assessor will complete the assessment with you, and talk to someone who knows you and the impact of your disability well.
