DS2 has finally got his psychological assessment thru......we go next week<<eek>>, advice on what to expect please

[psychomum5]

he was referred and pre-assessed last year for possible ADD. the psychologist lady we saw then said that some of his issues could well be just explained by him being the youngest in our family, plus also one of the youngest in his class (he is a late july baby), but she did agree that he definately shows traits of being ADD - in fact, the conclusion then was that he was as opposite as ADHD as possible (he really has a very short attention span, but is happy to just lie down singing rather than be hyper IYGWIM).

anyhoo.....

this morning I had a phone call from the main psychologist at southampton and she spoke to me about him to see if he still needs to be seen, and the concencus (sp?) is yes, so she said to bring him up next thursday.

she has said that it is a 3hr long appointment, and to bring him something to eat and drink as we will be having a break in that time.

I am fretting tho as to what they do for those 3hrs, and whether I am allowed in with him, what to tell him about it etc.

TIA for any help

Hi psycho, I have no experience with this I'm afraid so just bumping for you.

Hope it goes well.

thankyou for the bump

anyone??

please

not sure if this will help

thankyou...yes, very helpful...xx

Hi

DD1 (8) has bee through a 'battery' of assessments etc over the past year.
When she saw the child psyc (through Camhs)she played in a separate room for half an hour or so, while the psyc talked to dh and me. Then she came into the room and he just chatted to her and observed her.

She went back the next week for assessments -looking at things like verbal and non-verbal communication, concentration, memory, numeracy skills,etc. She had 2 of these sessions and each lasted about 90 mins, with a break in the middle.We weren't in the room while the tests were carried out.

When the tests were scored, any areas of concern were highlighted eg she scored poorly on numeracy, so was tested separately for dyscalculia.Also, he picked up on her non-verbal communication problems, so he involved a SALT.

I know it's worrying, but your ds probably won't even be aware that he is doing anything but 'playing'
Good luck. I'm certainly no expert, but am happy to answer an questions you have.

ah, thankyou.

did you say anything to her before the 'tests', ie, you have an appointment with a special doctor, or similar?

Yes, I explained that she would be talking to a children's doctor, so that he would be able to find ways to help her with her her worries (she always referred to her anxiety and meltdowns as her worrybug).

I played down the 'test' element -barely referred to it, as if it was no big deal - but explained that he needed to learn all about her before he knew what would help her best.

I also reassured her that he had talked to lots of other children and had helped them and that it was absolutely nothing to be worried about.
I tried to keep it simple, but she did ask me a lot of questions, so I used an analogy of when dh injured his knee- he needed to see a doctor,then a special knee doctor, have an xray etc, before they knew what was wrong and how to make it better.

How old is your ds?

he is 6 (well, he will be 7 in july).

he is used to going to hospital for appointments...he has a problem with his bowel, similar to IBS.

the reason for the fretting (on my part, he doesn;t know yet he is going next week), is that he is very much a mummies-boy so doens;t like leaving me. especially in new places.

if I have some idea what they might do tho (ie, the playing etc), then I can tell him that, and say I might pop into the next room while he plays a game of some kind. big it up for IYGWIM

How about ringing the psyc ahead of the appointment, for a general idea of what he will do. My dd is going to be doing a kind of play therapy with a behavioural therapist soon and I asked what would happen, so I had a kind of 'plan' for dd. She is now quite excited . .it's just me who's nervous!

still not got the letter thru for the number to ring about it.

am going to tell DS2 that he is going to a special place to play and tell a lady about how well he does at school, and that while he does that I will be having a coffee. he knows that I am stress right now about DD3 (she has a blood disorder), so I am hoping that using her (god forgive me) he will be ok about it all and not think too much about me possibly disappearing.