What to bring
- School reports for the last two years
- Any previous assessment reports — speech, occupational therapy, paediatric, psychological
- Glasses and hearing aids if your child uses them
- A list of current medications
- Any correspondence from the school, including individual learning plans
- A snack and a water bottle
What to tell your child
Be honest and keep it low-key. Something like:
"You're going to meet someone whose job is to find out how you learn best. There'll be puzzles and questions and some of them get tricky on purpose. It's not a test you can fail."
Avoid calling it a test, and avoid promising it will be fun. Both set up trouble.
On the day
A normal night's sleep and breakfast matter more than anything else. Assessment sessions typically run two to three hours with breaks.
You will usually wait in the waiting area rather than sitting in — children work differently when a parent is watching, and we need to see how they work on their own.
Afterwards
Expect your child to be tired. It is concentrated mental effort.
A written report follows in two to three weeks, and you will be booked in for a feedback session to go through it. Bring your questions written down — most parents find they forget half of them otherwise.