Home visit before assessment - is this normal?

[mm22bys]

Hi,

I am not sure where to post this, but hopeing someone may be able to reassure me...

DS is 8 months old and he has been referred to the Child Development Team to assess his development. He has two appointments, on two consecutive Thursdays.

I got the appointment later today and they are going to arrange a home visit before the appointment, they say to discuss what will happen at the actual appointment.

I am really scared about this. Are they actually checking up on me and my parenting, state of house, etc? If it is actually "just" to discuss the appt, why can't this be done over the phone, or at the clinic the week before?

(I also posted this to Behaviour / Development but got zero response so thought I would try here! Thx...)

could it could be because he is more likely to do more in his home environment to check his development
And the two sessions after will be checking with certain tests rather than just observation

I dont think health proffessional expect your house to be spotless with children

Who is the letter actually from ?
Your health visitor might be able to help and if you take the letter to her she can have a dig around and probably explain it to you.
i must admit i`ve never heard of home visit before a child development check.
Could it be social services coming to do an assessment ?

mm22bys,

I don't know why they are coming to your house per say. But I can tell you that it is not unusual to want to see a child in thier "natural environment." It helps the assessor understand what kind of stimulation the child is exposed to at home.

If you are concerned call them and ask them exactly what should you expect from this vistit.

I agree with Leati and Peanutbear - that it's often felt that the professionals get a more accurate impression of a child by doing a visit at their home, rather than in the artificial environment of the doctor's surgery. eg. when the child health nurse filled out the forms for DS to be referred for speech therapy, that was done at home.

If you post more details of what the check is for (am presuming that it's NOT a routine check), then some MNetters may have been in the same position and can advise as to normal procedure.

No it's not Social Services! If it was them I really would be freaking out.

It's a long story, but there have been various concerns about DS since he was about 3 months old and while he has been seen by several consultants (neurologist, opthalmologist, pediatrician), and pretty much been given the "all-clear", there are still some concerns regarding his development, and so his hv referred him to the "Child Development Team" to assess him.

He has 2 appts on two consecutive Thursdays with various members of their team (one in the afternoon and the next one is in the morning), and this "home visit", which is supposedly to let me know what to expect at the appts, and to let me ask any questions.

I am going to phone them on Thursday to find out what this is all about because I do feel a bit intimidated by the prospect of being under their scrutiny!

Thx,

I would always see a child in their natural environment as part of my assessment. (OT) I consider it my first port of call, mainly because if I then go into school or the child comes to a clinic then they already know who I am. They get to meet me in a safe place where they feel secure to talk to me, but it would depend on who was coming to see you really as to their reasons.

Thanks Sorkycake. I'm going to phone them on Thursday to try to find exactly why and who is coming.