At the appointment
The physical examination involves measuring your child and asking them to do a set of activities.
A nurse will measure your child鈥檚 height, weight and head circumference. There will also be other health professionals who do a range of activities to see how your child's cognitive, language and movement skills are developing.
The nurse on the team will measure your child鈥檚 height, weight and head circumference and take a set of observations including blood pressure.
The allied health team members you may see during your visit include our clinical neuropsychologist, social worker, speech pathologist and occupational therapist.
Aboriginal Care Navigators
The Aboriginal Care Navigators can support you before, during and between appointments. They can support families and young people culturally, assist families in navigating the health system, link you in with additional services and advocate for your health rights.
Clinical neuropsychologist
The clinical neuropsychologist will conduct a range of assessments investigating different kinds of thinking skills.
These may include activities looking at problem solving and reasoning, memory and learning, attention and academic skills.
The neuropsychologist may speak and gather information (including through questionnaires) from the child/young person's carers and teachers to understand how the child/young person functions in their natural environments, concerns about their development or behaviour and their strengths and interests.
Speech pathologist
The speech pathologist will complete an assessment about communication skills. This consists of a comprehensive language assessment looking at understanding (receptive language), use (expressive language), quality and understanding using everyday skills and memory.
There may be speaking skills assessment if there are concerns about the child/young person's speech.
Communication assessment may examine a child's social skills and how they use language to communicate effectively with others across a variety of settings.
Child, parent and teacher reports may be included, where necessary, to provide a meaningful and accurate representation of the child/young person's ability.
Occupational therapist
The occupational therapist will complete a motor skills assessment. This includes:
- motor skills such as object manipulation, speed, motor planning and pen and paper tasks
- gross motor skills such as balance, general body coordination and ball skills.
Informal writing and drawing tasks may be included in the assessment to gain a better understanding of handwriting ability.
Discussion will include gaining an understanding of the young person鈥檚 interests and strengths as well as any areas of concern (e.g. self-care, organisation).
If there are concerns related to sensory processing issues, these can also be discussed and assessed using carer and/or teacher questionnaires.
Carers and the young person will receive a written summary of the assessment results (at a later date) with any recommendations related to goals and concerns identified.
Social workers
Social workers provide counselling, information, and coordinated referrals to other services.
The social worker completes a comprehensive psychosocial assessment with your carer and/or you either ahead of time or on the day. This explores aspects of family life and wellbeing.