Your Child's Assessment Journey

Having your child assessed for a neurodevelopmental condition can feel daunting, whether the recommendation has come from their school, doctor, another professional, or from your own experiences.

This article explains what to expect from your child's assessment with ProblemShared, including each stage of the process and answers to some common questions.

Remote Assessments for Children and Young People

ProblemShared accepts private referrals for Children and Young People between ages 7 to 17 for Autism, ADHD, and Specific Learning Differences. For Right to Choose referrals, please see our dedicated support articles.

We do not currently offer neurodevelopmental assessments for children below the age of 7 years old. 

Accurately diagnosing children under 7 years old through a remote assessment can be incredibly challenging. Some symptoms of neurodevelopmental conditions can be difficult to distinguish from normal developmental behaviours in very young children this way. Research has shown that children this young respond much more effectively to play-based observational assessments, which cannot be practically hosted online.

Especially for Specific Learning Differences, children under 7 years old are still undergoing significant developmental changes, including language acquisition and literacy skills, so it can be difficult for our assessors to tell between typical developmental variations and signs of Dyslexia or Dyscalculia in this age group.

If your child is under 7 years old, and you'd like them assessed, we recommend speaking with your GP about a face-to-face assessment that will be more accurate and better suited to their needs.

If your child is 17, and will turn 18 while they're with our service, we'll make the relevant adjustments so they're assessed as an adult. This may involve new forms needing to be completed, but our Assessment team will be in touch to let you know what is required.

Some young people going through the process of neurodevelopmental assessment don't want their parents or guardians to be involved. To explore more on this topic and learn about Gillick Competence, have a read of our Help Article Understanding Gillick Competence.

The Assessment Journey

There are several different stages to the assessment journey, and you can read about these in detail below. After your referral has been received, you'll go through:

• Enrolment
• Pre-Assessment
• The Waitlist
• Being Assessed
• The Outcome
• Post-diagnostic Care

Enrolment

When we receive your child's referral, the first stage is their Enrolment. You'll receive an email from us letting you know the steps you need to take, including signing up on our website and accessing your child's Dashboard. 

You'll have a handful of enrolment tasks to complete, and the next stage depends on your referral.

For health insurer referrals, you'll be able to book your child's Initial Needs Assessment. This is a 30-minute appointment with one of our clinicians to determine how best we can support your child and make a plan for their assessment journey with our service. We usually advise that children 12 years and older should be present for this appointment so they can be as involved with the process as possible for their understanding.

For Right to Choose referrals, you'll go straight into Pre-Assessment.

Pre-Assessment

Before your child goes on the waitlist for their assessment, there will be some pre-assessment forms for you to complete on their Dashboard. You will have seven weeks to complete them.

These forms help the clinician understand your child's developmental history and any current challenges before the assessment.

The forms you'll need to complete will depend on the type of assessment your child is having. There will be forms for both you and your child's school to complete.

Our Help Article Issues Uploading Forms and Documents contains helpful information and resources for this part of your journey.

The School Feedback Questionnaire

We recommend sending your child's school forms to their SEN Department or Student Support team as soon as possible. These forms are very important, and we cannot proceed with the assessment without them.

If it's taking longer than expected for the school to return the form, let our Client Support team know at help@problemshared.net.

You can also submit some of your child's school reports as additional evidence if you'd like to.

If your child is between schools, you can ask their previous school to complete the form as they'll have the most information for them.

The SNAP-IV Form

Our team have written a helpful article to help you complete your child's SNAP-IV form if one is required.

The Waitlist

Once we have received your completed forms and your child is on our wait list, our assessment team will check the content of your forms to ensure that we have everything we need prior to your assessment.

Checking the forms while your child is on the waitlist, rather than beforehand, mitigates any possible delay to your wait time as it means any new or further information that is required can be provided while you're waiting.

If our team does need more information, they'll send you an email letting you know what is required.

Your place on the waitlist won't be affected if you need to send in amended forms. However, your child may be discharged from our service if we do not hear back from you.

Being Assessed

The Assessment team will contact you with the first availability for the assessment once your child reaches the top of the waitlist. The appointments you have booked will be different depending on what your child is being assessed for. 

ADHD

There are two sessions for an ADHD assessment. The Observational Session is the assessment itself. The Feedback Session is usually held the next day, and this will be when you learn the outcome of your assessment.

Autism

There are three sessions for an Autism assessment, and these usually take place all on the same day.

The Observational Session is scheduled for 9:30am and is for your child and their assessor to attend, though another parent can be present for support. The Collateral Interview runs alongside the assessment and is for the parent to attend, scheduled at 9:45am to give you time to settle your child for their appointment first. The Feedback Session is scheduled for later in the afternoon.

The Assessment team will explain more about the structure of these sessions when your child's assessment is booked.

Specific Learning Differences

There are two sessions for Specific Learning Differences assessments, and the timings can vary. The Assessment is for your child and an adult to attend.

The Outcome

During your child's Feedback Session, the assessor will deliver the outcome of the assessment to you.

They'll also have a discussion with you about what post-diagnostic care is available to your child, and in some cases, recommendations for further assessment.

Within 4-6 weeks of your child's assessment, you'll be sent their diagnostic report, which will contain the official diagnosis as well as the content of the assessment. The report will also come with some supporting informational documents, including some recommendations made by our clinicians.

Post-Diagnostic Care

Depending on multiple factors, your assessor will recommend certain pathways for post-diagnostic care for your child. 

These pathways can include:

• Psychoeducation for parents to learn more about your child's diagnosis
• Education Navigation for us to tailor a support plan for your child with their school
• Medication for children diagnosed with ADHD
• Talk Therapy for children to engage with a therapeutic approach

Attending Your Child's Sessions

Do I need to attend?

For older children, it may be easier for us to talk with them alone, or it may be that your child wishes to have you present.

If you do wish to be with your child during the assessment, you are welcome to sit next to them if it's comfortable.

We know it can be difficult to sit back and not intervene, especially when you know your child is nervous. However, we ask that when a question is directed to your child, please try to let them answer first.

Can my child attend alone?

Some young people may feel more able to talk freely with their assessor about their experiences when their parents aren't present.

If this is the case for your child, we'll take the lead in the conversation and help them to feel as comfortable as possible. We can then speak with yourself as their parent or guardian separately, to gather your perspective.

What if my child finds engaging difficult?

We know that being online can be a slight barrier to some young people, and they may find it difficult to engage with a person who is not physically in the room.

If your child struggles with sitting for a long period or engaging online, they may need to:

• Move about during the assessment
• Do something else whilst talking to us
• Come and go throughout the assessment

We will try to accommodate these needs as much as we can while still making sure we can complete the assessment safely and effectively.