Referral to the service will be made directly by school Principals (or nominees). Schools are asked to make referrals according to the following guidelines.

1. Assessment requests should be made only for enrolled students with a possible intellectual disability or severe language disorder with critical educational need (SLD-CEN). Children with possible autism spectrum disorder would normally be referred in the first instance to the Regional Co-ordinator or the local SSSO. The child must be enrolled in a government school, or provisionally enrolled in a Special School, before a referral can be made.

2. Prior to making contact with Lewis and Lewis, initial information regarding the student should be collected from school, preschool staff or early intervention agencies, parents and any district/network staff or other professionals working with the child.

3. The initial contact with Lewis & Lewis will be by telephone. You will either speak directly to a ‘hands on’ psychologist or speech pathologist, or will be asked leave your name and telephone number by the paging service. If the latter is the case your call will be returned within twenty-four hours.

4. If the collected information indicates a need, a formal referral will be accepted by Lewis & Lewis.

5. Referrals for assessment will need to be made using the referral form supplied by Lewis & Lewis. Principals should ensure that parental consent is obtained on the Lewis & Lewis consent form prior to returning the completed referral form. Where the referred child is a preschooler Principals are asked to ask preschool teachers or case workers to complete the material on their behalf.  The Principal then returns the material to Lewis & Lewis.

6. If this initial screening process indicates a need, appropriate assessments will be organised by Lewis & Lewis.  The assessment will normally occur in the school.  It is expected that parents of preschoolers will be invited to the school with their child, by the Principal or nominee.

7. Written reports and feedback will be provided to the school within a short time frame of receipt of the completed referral from schools. Generally, parent and school feedback occurs immediately following the assessment.

8. Referrals for assessment will only be accepted from the Principal (or an authorised school nominee) as the school is our contracted client. No other agencies can make direct referrals to this assessment service.

9. In the case of a referral for severe language disorder with critical educational needs, the referral should include evidence of clear hearing. (Generally, one assessment from a referring speech pathologist would normally be expected, or at least evidence of intervention).

Types of information collected could include a combination of the following:

• Previous cognitive or language assessment results
  
• Where no previous testing has occurred it is advised that local staff should have administered measures indicating a potential need for formal assessment
  
• History of intervention
  
• In the case of SLD-CEN evidence of difficulties in other areas other than language (eg. behaviour, self help skills, motor skills)
  
• Relevant background information (eg. medical reports, family history, hearing assessment)

1. What if we are not sure whether to refer the student to the Lewis & Lewis Assessment Service?

Lewis & Lewis accepts referrals of students K-12. The referrals are for students who potentially have an Intellectual Disability or a Severe Language Disorder with Critical Educational Need. You can always contact Lewis & Lewis Psychological Consultancy Services by telephone and discuss individual students with them (please ensure that you are talking to a Lewis & Lewis person and not the paging service, if it is the latter, leave your contact details).

2. What happens if the results of the assessment indicate that the student is not eligible for the Program for Students with Disabilities?

A report including educational and programming recommendations will be provided for each student assessed by the service. Lewis & Lewis staff will provide an opportunity to meet with the parents and school nominee to explain the assessment results and the recommendations. Soon afterwards, the Lewis & Lewis staff will ‘hand over’ the case to the school/network/region to place in the Confidential Student File.

3 . How long will the Lewis & Lewis Assessment Service take to complete the assessment?

Reports and recommendations from completed assessments will be provided to schools within a short time frame following Lewis & Lewis receiving the completed referral information forms from the school.

4. What about students with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Severe Behaviour Disorder?

These students should be referred back to the local Student Services network or the Regional Student Disabilities Coordinator.

5. How can we get to know the Lewis & Lewis personnel? How can we establish good working relationships with them?

Lewis & Lewis staff offer briefings related to their services. You will talk to them over the phone and have an opportunity to meet them when they visit your school to complete an assessment.

6. Where will the assessments be carried out?

Assessments will usually be school-based. At peak times, if it is convenient to schools, Lewis & Lewis may negotiate with them to have some assessments undertaken at a convenient network/region location.

7. What will happen when the assessments have been completed?

A report and feedback will be provided to the parents and school when the assessments have been completed. At this point, the Lewis & Lewis involvement will be completed. Lewis & Lewis staff will be available to consult with any future case manager to provide further information about the assessment, if required.

8. What will happen if the assessment results indicate that the student may be eligible for support through the Program for Students with Disabilities?

In addition to the report and feedback described above, relevant PSD attachment reports would also be provided. These should be included with the application for support through the Program for Students with Disabilities. Schools will need to organise the application for support, by completing the Educational Needs Questionnaire. The Student Disabilities Officer at the Regional Office can help with the application process.

9. When can referrals be made for assessments by Lewis & Lewis Psychological Consultancy Services?

Schools are encouraged to make early referrals where possible. At peak times, Lewis & Lewis may need to prioritise referrals. Schools are particularly advised to make early referrals for assessments for new students who will be commencing at the school in the following year. Referrals are accepted throughout the year.

10 . Does Lewis & Lewis have a privacy policy?

Yes. The following statement outlines Lewis & Lewis' commitment to maintaining the privacy of all collected personal and sensitive information. This statement can be found on current referral and consent forms. The statement may also be downloaded or viewed online.

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