How do I prepare for my child's ADHD assessment?
4 min read
In a nutshell
You do not need to have every answer before your child's assessment. The most useful preparation is to bring together a clear picture of your child's history, current challenges, strengths and experiences across different settings.
Start with what you already have
Preparing for an ADHD assessment does not mean collecting every document your child has ever received.
Begin with the information you already have.
That might include:
- school reports
- previous assessments or specialist reports
- examples you have noticed at home
- information from your child's teacher
- relevant medical or developmental history
You can always add more information later.
Think about patterns, not isolated incidents
Clinicians are usually more interested in recurring patterns than one difficult day.
It can help to think about questions such as:
- What concerns have persisted over time?
- Where do these challenges occur?
- How do they affect everyday life?
- What seems to make things easier or harder?
- What strategies already seem to help?
Specific examples are often more useful than broad descriptions.
Good to know
For example, "needs five or six reminders to get ready most mornings" is usually more useful than simply saying "very disorganised."
Gather information from different people
A thorough ADHD assessment usually draws on information from more than one source and more than one setting.
Parents, teachers and, where appropriate, children themselves each see different parts of a child's life.
No single person sees everything.
Bring together existing reports
Previous school, psychology, speech pathology, occupational therapy or medical reports may provide useful background.
You do not need every report before your assessment begins. Focus on the documents that help explain your child's history or current functioning.
Do not worry if something is missing
Many parents worry that a missing report or delayed teacher response will derail the process.
That is very common.
Your clinician can review the information that is available while recognising where gaps remain.
How Threadline helps
Threadline guides you through collecting the information commonly used during an ADHD assessment.
Instead of managing questionnaires, teacher input and reports across separate emails and folders, Threadline organises the information into one Assessment Package.
The Assessment Package does not diagnose ADHD or make clinical conclusions. It helps your clinician begin with a more organised picture of your child.