The first contact we make with you is generally via a phone call or email. We strive to provide a family centred approach, where you are supported in telling us your child’s story. We need to collect some personal details, such as your name, child’s name, age, date of birth, developmental history, preschool/school and general health details. You may provide this information over the phone, email, via questionnaire and in more detail at the initial appointment.
Generally an assessment of your child’s communication, social and play skills is required. Assessment of reading, reading comprehension, spelling and written language skills is also within the skill set of our speech pathologists. There are many types of assessments. Young children are generally assessed via a combination of informal observational play based assessment, supported by parental interview and developmental checklists. Older children, who can sustain attention and co-operation , are generally assessed via standardised norm references assessment protocols.
Assessment reports are included in the initial assessment fee. At times, 2-3 sessions may be required to complete a detailed diagnostic assessment. We aim to provide you with the assessment report within 3 weeks of the initial appointment. However we are usually able to inform parents at the first appointment whether or not ongoing speech pathology sessions are recommended.
If your child has attended speech pathology elsewhere and you have a current sufficiently detailed speech pathology assessment report (within last 6 months), we will not need to undertake another full assessment. The initial consultation will generally involve a review of skills and commencement of intervention.