If you have just booked an assessment for your child, you
may be wondering, now how do I tell them? What will they think? After all, it
took a lot of time and energy to just consider an assessment, let alone the
tons of research looking for and trying to understand what the right assessment
for your child might be.
As every family is different and unique in their value sets
and reasoning for seeking out an assessment, we never assume what will be the
best approach for your child when it comes to sharing that they will be
undergoing an assessment; however, over the years, we have found the following
can be helpful for not only explaining the assessment process but also easing
any potential worry or nervousness.
Ask your child about their strengths and what they think might be difficult for them. Examples of difficulties can include getting along with others, making friends, talking about feelings, focusing, or certain academic subjects.
If your child identified areas of difficulty, you could let them know that we will work on finding out the strengths in their learning style to support the areas of need, so the identified areas don’t have to be so difficult.
Tell your child ahead of time that they will be meeting with some friendly folks to figure out how they learn. Even better, look at our website. On the Teams page, you can show your child pictures of who they will be meeting with.
You can set up an “assessment comfort kit” with your child leading up to the assessment. Items may include nut-free snacks, comfortable clothing, preferred toys, and images of pictures that make them smile (such as of a family pet or friend).
Lastly, explain the process so they know what to expect. You can let them know the dates of the assessment, that they will be talking with the team about their interests and hobbies, and that they will have the chance to play some games and engage in different activities such as puzzles, to identify their unique learning style.
