Your advice for the assessment

It will help your child to give as much information as possible when you are asked to give advice as part of a statutory assessment.
If your child is under five look at our roadmap of typical development in the early years. Think about the following points about your child:

Your child’s birth and early years: Say when you first noticed any problems. Did anyone else notice? Did you get any help?
Health: eating, sleeping, medical issues
Play: does your child play with brothers and sisters? Do they join in games, just play alongside or take no notice of other children? Do they play with one object or one game most of the time or do they like to play in different ways? Do they watch a lot of television or play computer games a lot? Do they take part in outside clubs or sports?
Physical skills: Is your child more or less active than other children? Do they repeat physical movements? Do they walk strangely – on tip-toe, for example? Do they have problems with noise and light? How well do they use small objects such as spoons, scissors, pencils?
Communication: Does your child speak? Do they understand speech? Do they make eye contact when you communicate with them? Do they use face and hand movements, such as pointing, to show feelings or get what they want? How do they get on with brothers and sisters and other adults?
Behaviour: Does your child know how to share and take turns or do they find this difficult? Are they able to listen and explain their feelings or do they get frustrated and have tantrums? Are they happy and outgoing or aggressive, withdrawn?
School: Does your child enjoy school? Do they have friends, get on well with teachers? Have they experienced bullying? Are they often in trouble? Can they manage homework and follow instructions? Have they been getting extra help at school? How does the school see your child’s difficulties? Are they getting worse? What help do you think they need?
Your child’s view: Your child’s behaviour may be the best clue to how they feel about their life. Talk to them if possible about:

• what they like best and least at school
• what they are good at and what they find most difficult
• examples of where things go wrong
• examples of what helps them overcome problems