Bringing your child for a developmental assessment can feel like a big step, and most parents arrive not quite sure what they have signed up for. Here is what actually happens, and what you can do to make it worth the visit.
Before you come
When you book we ask a few short questions about your child and what is worrying you. Someone from the team will call you to confirm the appointment and answer anything you want to ask first — we aim to do that within one working day.
You can be seen at one of our centres or online. Online works well for a first conversation and for follow-up; where a child needs to be watched closely and played with, in person is usually better. If you are unsure which you need, ask us and we will tell you honestly.
What to bring — the part that makes the biggest difference
Your own notes. Not a polished summary. The raw thing: what you have noticed, roughly when it started, what makes it better or worse. Dates are useful. If you have kept a log, bring the log.
Short videos on your phone. This is the single most useful item most parents do not think to bring. Children very often do not do the thing you are worried about in an unfamiliar room in front of a stranger. Thirty seconds of film is worth a great deal of description.
Anything anyone else has written. School or nursery reports, a teacher’s email, previous assessments, hearing test results, discharge letters. Even if you think they are irrelevant.
Your questions, written down. You will forget them otherwise. Everyone does.
What happens in the room
You will meet more than one person. Assessment is multidisciplinary because the things that get confused with each other belong to different professions — a language disorder can look like social withdrawal, a hearing difficulty can look like inattention, and an unrecognised learning difficulty can look like almost anything.
Much of it will not feel like testing. We get to know your child through play, watch how they use what they have, and try things that stretch them a little. We take a careful developmental history from you, which is often the most informative part of the whole appointment. We explain what we are doing as we go, in plain language, and you can stop and ask at any point.
It is not a test your child can fail. There is no pass mark and nothing to prepare them for.
If your child does not “perform”
This happens often and it is not a wasted appointment. Children are tired, shy, unwell, or simply having a good day when you needed them to have an ordinary one.
Tell us. “He does not normally do that” and “she can usually manage this” are real clinical information, not excuses. It is one of the reasons the history and your videos matter so much: we are building a picture of your child’s life, not marking a performance.
What you leave with
We talk you through what we found and what it means, in language you can repeat to someone else. You get a written plan setting out what would help and who should do it — written so that a school or another clinician can act on it, not only so that you can read it.
Where it is useful, we will write to or speak with your GP, your child’s school, or another professional involved.
What if the answer is not clear?
Sometimes it is not, especially with very young children, and we will say so rather than reach for a label to round the appointment off neatly.
“Not yet clear, here is what we will watch, here is what would change the picture, come back at this point” is a legitimate and often correct outcome. So is “nothing here needs a diagnosis, and here is what will help anyway”. A first assessment that ends without a label is not a failed assessment — it is a baseline, and if anything does change later, someone will know exactly what it changed from.
Between visits
Our app gives you activities and guidance matched to the plan, so the time between appointments is not dead time. If something changes or worries you before your next visit, contact us — you do not have to wait for the appointment.
Where to start
You can book an appointment, or read more about how we assess and the conditions we see first. If you are not sure whether an assessment is the right next step at all, ask us — sometimes it is not, and we would rather tell you that.
This article is general information about how our appointments work. It is not a diagnosis and not advice about your individual child. If you have an urgent concern about your child’s health, contact your doctor.