Your child's first assessment: what to expect

You have booked the first assessment and are now waiting for the day. It is natural to feel nervous, wondering what will be asked of your child, whether they will cooperate, what you will find out. The good news: it is not an exam. Your child cannot "fail" it, and you are not graded as a parent.

The initial assessment has a simple purpose: finding out what your child can do now, what they enjoy, and where they need support. The plan is built from this. It is not a diagnosis, which a specialist doctor makes. Here is how it usually goes, and how you can both prepare.

What usually happens

Every centre organises its assessment in its own way, but most share a few common parts:

A conversation with you: about your child's early years, health, sleep, food, an ordinary day at home, and what worries you. You know them best, so this part matters a great deal.
Observation and play: the therapist plays with your child, offers toys, asks for small things, and watches how they communicate, play, and react to someone new or a change.
Structured activities: depending on the tool the centre uses, the therapist sets tasks across several areas: communication, play, social skills, independence, motor skills.
Sometimes, questionnaires: for you and, where relevant, nursery or school staff. They show how your child manages where the therapist cannot see.

Much of the assessment may feel like "just play" to you. For a therapist, how a child plays says a great deal.

An adult’s and a child’s hands joining colourful wooden puzzle pieces.

How long it takes

Often, the assessment takes more than one meeting. A child gets tired, may feel uneasy somewhere new, or may simply have an off day. A few shorter meetings give the team a truer picture than one very long one.

This depends on the centre, the child's age, and what is being assessed. Ask in advance how many meetings there will be, and how long each lasts. After the last one, the team still needs time to write the report, so ask when you will get it too.

If your child has had enough, it is fine to take a break or continue another day. A calm child shows more of what they know than a tired one.

How to prepare your child

Tell them simply what is coming: "We are going somewhere new, where we will play with someone." If the centre has photos of the room or the entrance, look at them together first.
Choose a good time for them, if you can: not after a bad night, not at nap time, not when they are hungry.
Bring whatever settles them: a favourite toy, a snack, water, a change of clothes.
Do not rehearse the "answers": the team needs to see what your child does now, including what is hard for them. Otherwise, the plan starts from a picture that is not the real one.

How to prepare yourself

Note down concrete examples: instead of "does not listen", write what actually happens: "When I call them to the table, they keep playing until I come right up to them." Examples help more than labels.
Make a list of what they like: toys, games, cartoons, foods. The therapist will use these to draw them into activities, and to motivate them.
Bring anything you have in writing: medical letters, earlier assessments, notes from nursery.
At the end, say what was different: if your child behaved differently than at home, more withdrawn or more agitated, say so. It helps the team read what they saw correctly.

Allow yourself to feel nervous too. You can ask for a break, bring the other parent or someone close to you, and note down questions as you go.

An adult holds a child’s hand as they sit side by side.

What you receive afterwards

After the assessment, you will usually receive:

A written report: what your child can do now, area by area, and where they need support. A good report uses words you understand, not just scores.
A discussion of the results: preferably face to face, with time for questions. You do not need to understand everything at once, and can always come back with questions.
An intervention plan: the first goals, the recommended therapies, how many sessions a week the team proposes, and when the next assessment will take place.

The report is a starting point, not a verdict. It shows where your child stands today, so the team knows where to start from and can later see how far they have come.

Questions worth asking

What assessment tool did you use, and what does it show?
What do you think my child was not able to show in these meetings?
Why did you choose these particular goals to start with?
What can I start doing at home this very week?
When will you repeat the assessment, and how will we compare the results?
What does this term mean? No question is too simple.

In closing

The first assessment is the start of a collaboration, not a test someone has to pass. The more you tell the therapists about your child, the better suited the plan will be for them.

In TempoApp, the centre records your child's assessments and can compare results over time, and the plan's goals are linked to the programmes worked on in sessions. What this means for your child is best explained by the team working with them.