What we measure, and why
GiraffeLens is a psychoeducational assessment for children. It is built on the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of cognitive abilities, the model behind every major modern intelligence test. It also covers the academic skills measured by the WIAT and Woodcock-Johnson tests, the behavioural domains of the DSM-5, and the DSM-5 autism criteria. Our questions are original and made for screening, but the skills they measure are the ones psychologists test.
Cognitive abilities
Fluid reasoning (Gf)
GiraffeLens module: Pattern Reasoning
Working out problems your child has never seen before. This skill is a strong predictor of maths reasoning and harder reading comprehension.
What difficulty looks like: Struggles with maths concepts even when they know the facts; finds 'why' questions and strategy games hard.
Clinical counterpart: WISC-V Fluid Reasoning Index (Matrix Reasoning, Figure Weights); Raven's Progressive Matrices
Visual-spatial processing (Gv)
GiraffeLens module: Shape Twins
Picturing, rotating, and comparing shapes in the mind. This helps with geometry and harder maths, plus diagrams, maps, and design subjects.
What difficulty looks like: Trouble with jigsaw puzzles or reading maps and diagrams; geometry much harder than arithmetic; reversed letters that last past the early years.
Clinical counterpart: WISC-V Visual Spatial Index (Block Design, Visual Puzzles); Shepard-Metzler mental rotation
Working memory (Gwm)
GiraffeLens module: Memory Span
Holding and re-ordering information in the mind. It supports mental maths, multi-step instructions, and reading comprehension, and it matters more as children get older.
What difficulty looks like: Loses track of instructions; re-reads text; mental maths is much harder than maths on paper.
Clinical counterpart: WISC-V Working Memory Index (Digit Span, Picture Span)
Processing speed (Gs)
GiraffeLens module: Symbol Speed
How quickly your child makes simple visual decisions. It predicts how smoothly children read, write, and do maths, especially in the early grades.
What difficulty looks like: Bright but slow to finish; runs out of time on tests; copying from the board is laborious.
Clinical counterpart: WISC-V Processing Speed Index (Coding, Symbol Search)
Verbal comprehension (Gc)
GiraffeLens module: Words & Ideas
Word knowledge and verbal reasoning. This is the single strongest broad predictor of reading comprehension and written expression.
What difficulty looks like: Limited vocabulary for age; trouble explaining ideas or understanding figurative language.
Clinical counterpart: WISC-V Verbal Comprehension Index (Vocabulary, Similarities)
Academic skills
Reading comprehension
GiraffeLens module: Reading Comprehension
Understanding a passage, recalling facts, drawing conclusions, and working out word meanings in context. This is one of the six DSM-5 specific learning disorder symptom areas.
Clinical counterpart: WIAT Reading Comprehension; WJ-IV Passage Comprehension
Spelling & orthography
GiraffeLens module: Spelling & Word Skills
Spelling that stays hard even with good teaching is a common sign in dyslexia screening and a DSM-5 SLD marker.
Clinical counterpart: WIAT Spelling; phonics screeners (e.g. the paradigm behind CTOPP-2)
Maths fluency
GiraffeLens module: Maths Fluency
Knowing number facts by heart frees up working memory for problem-solving. We measure this with a timed task, the same approach as TOWRE-style fluency testing.
Clinical counterpart: WIAT Math Fluency; KTEA-3 math fluency subtests
Mathematical reasoning
GiraffeLens module: Maths Problem Solving
Using number knowledge to solve real problems. Comparing fluency with reasoning shows whether a child struggles with the facts or with the concepts. That is an important difference.
Clinical counterpart: WIAT Math Problem Solving; KTEA-3 Math Concepts & Applications
Behaviour & wellbeing
Attention, hyperactivity & impulsivity
GiraffeLens module: Attention & Self-Regulation (parent questionnaire)
ADHD-type difficulties only count when they show up in more than one setting for 6+ months. Parent report is one of the two main sources clinicians rely on. GiraffeLens offers the other too. You can share an optional teacher questionnaire through a private code, so your report compares home and school.
Clinical counterpart: Structured around the two DSM-5 ADHD symptom domains screened by Conners-4, Vanderbilt and SNAP-IV scales
Emotional & social wellbeing
GiraffeLens module: Social & Emotional Wellbeing (parent questionnaire)
Anxiety, low mood, friendship trouble, and defiant patterns all affect learning, and they are often mistaken for 'laziness' or 'behaviour problems'.
Clinical counterpart: Covers the emotional-symptom, peer-relationship and conduct domains screened by instruments such as the SDQ and CBCL
Autism
Our autism screen follows the two DSM-5 criteria, social communication (A) and restricted, repetitive behaviour and sensory differences (B), modelled on the construct coverage of the SCQ, SRS-2, CAST and AQ. It flags whether a full assessment by a qualified team is worth pursuing. It is never a diagnosis, and it has quick and full versions.
Social communication & interaction
GiraffeLens module: Social Communication (parent questionnaire)
Back-and-forth conversation, eye contact and gestures, reading other people, and making and keeping friends. These are the social-communication differences at the heart of autism.
What difficulty looks like: Conversation feels one-sided; little eye contact or few gestures; struggles to make or keep friends, or prefers to play alone.
Clinical counterpart: DSM-5 autism Criterion A; the social-communication domains screened by the SCQ and SRS-2
Repetitive behaviour, interests & sensory
GiraffeLens module: Repetitive Behaviour & Sensory (parent questionnaire)
Routines and a need for sameness, repetitive movements or speech, intense focused interests, and strong reactions to sound, texture, light or taste. A child needs differences in both area A and area B for autism to fit.
What difficulty looks like: Very upset by small changes; repeats movements or phrases; one or two intense interests; covers ears, or refuses certain clothes or foods.
Clinical counterpart: DSM-5 autism Criterion B; the restricted/repetitive and sensory domains screened by the CAST and AQ
What we deliberately don’t do
- No IQ scores.Standard scores (mean 100, SD 15) need a normative sample and a standardised, one-on-one test session. Instead, we report ranges based on what is typical for a child's age, and we stay honest about what an online screener can claim.
- No diagnoses. ADHD and specific learning disorder are clinical diagnoses that need a registered psychologist. We point out patterns and tell you when follow-up makes sense.
- No copyrighted test items. WISC-V, WIAT, Conners, and SDQ items are restricted and licensed. Every GiraffeLens question is original, based on the same skills but not copied from those tests.