Is my child on track?

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• Do you find yourself asking this question?
• Are you concerned about your child's development?
• Is your child meeting developmental stages that would usually be expected at that age?

​As parents / caregivers, we want the very best for our children.  As we watch them grow from babies into little people, most of us are forever watching over them to ensure that they are developing according to the typical developmental stages of growth.

​Sometimes however, despite the very best of support for our children, there can be delays in their development.

Some of the things you might notice about your child that might give you some concern:
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• very few words compared to other children of the same age
• delay in the onset of speech, or not speaking as much as other children
• delay or problems with walking, kicking a ball and other gross motor activities
• Difficulty following simple instructions such as 'Put your jumper in your bag'
• delay or problems with fine motor skills such as holding and manipulating small items
• difficulty with problem-solving such as selecting and comparing objects
• problems with social-emotional skills such as age-appropriately expressing needs and controlling emotions, and appropriate social interaction with others

​Like most parents, if you observe one or more of these things you are likely to start to worry:

• What could be wrong?
• Have we done something to cause this?
• What does it mean for our child's future? 
• What can we do?

This is where a screening assessment of your child's development may help

What is 'Screening'?

Developmental screening is a professional, yet simple method to detect, identify and understand problems or delays during typical childhood development.

Importantly, this then allows for the possibility of early detection and intervention to help your child reach his or her maximum potential.

The Developmental Screening we use is a highly researched and established method of detecting problems in the following 5 vital areas of your child's development between the ages of one month to 5 and half years:
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1. Communication
2. Fine motor skills
3. Gross motor skills
4. Problem-solving
5. Personal-Social

How does it work?

First, our Child Development Assessment Counsellor will meet with the parent/caregiver to discuss the situation and get relevant information.

Next, comes the screening which can be done in one of two ways:

1. We can provide you, the parent / caregiver with a form to complete at home watching your child,  or
2. Our Child Development Assessment Counsellor can provide activities for your child in our play-therapy room, observing and recording your child's behaviour and skills.

The Screening Assessment is then scored by our Child Development Assessment Counsellor who will then meet with you to discuss the results.

What happens after the screening assessment?

There are several possible outcomes:

1. If there are no issues to be concerning about, we will give you a brief report as to that effect.                                   
2. If the scores indicate that your child would benefit from skill development and further monitoring, we can provide you with some specific activities to work with your child in your own home.  We might also recommend that you return in six months for review screening.  If required, our Child Development Assessment Counsellor can provide some of these activities directly to your child in our play-therapy room on an ongoing basis.

3.  If the scores indicate that further assessment is needed, we will recommend and assist you with a referral to other health professionals depending upon the area of delay: for example, if the scores reveal a need for further fine or gross motor, referral to an Occupational Therapist may be appropriate. 

4.  If the scores highlight issues in the area of Problem-Solving, we may suggest a full intellectual assessment, to further examine the possibility of intellectual delay.  If further assessment in the personal-social-emotional area is deemed necessary, a referral for an assessment for the Autism Spectrum may be necessary.

If you are currently seeing other health practitioners, we will work closely with them, providing them with the results of the Screening Assessment if you would like us to do so. 

We will also encourage you to allow us to share the results with your GP.

Cost?

Given the importance of this issue, we have kept our costs down during the introduction phase of this service.
The full cost of $225.00 includes:

• Interview with, and support from our Child Development Assessment Counsellor
• Provision of the Screening Assessment form (for the parent/caregiver to record child's behaviour at home)
• Scoring and interpretation of the Screening results
• Follow-up interview to discuss the results
• Written report summary of results
• Written report to your GP if required, of summary of results and recommendations

Nikki Sienkewitz
Our Child Development Assessment Counsellor

ABOUT NIKKI

Please note this cost does not include:

• Therapy intervention sessions after the Screening Assessment if required
• Observation of child by the Child Development Assessment Counsellor to complete the Screening Assessment

Payment plans can be organised.

Contact us for further information 
Contact us here and our Child Development Assessment Counsellor will get back to you to discuss your questions and make arrangements for your screening appointment.

Contact us