The appointment is coming up: how to prepare

After months of waiting it is finally set: the assessment appointment. Many parents then feel two things at once, relief and pressure. What if I forget something important? What if my child has a bad day?

First things first: an assessment is not an exam. Not for you, not for your child. It is a stocktake that brings several sources together. Nobody expects you to be perfect. Your job is not to deliver a diagnosis. Your job is to give a clear picture of your everyday life.

What happens at an assessment

The exact process differs from place to place, but the building blocks are similar: conversations with you, often questionnaires for parents and sometimes for school or nursery, direct contact with your child, sometimes standardised tasks or play situations. No single source decides. It often takes several appointments, and the result frequently comes later, in a conversation or in writing. Knowing that in advance makes the day calmer.

What to bring

• Your observations. Concrete scenes from everyday life are the most valuable part of your contribution. A short list of the three to five situations that burden you most gives the conversation structure. If you have been collecting with Momente verstehen: print the report via "Für den Termin mitnehmen" or keep it on your phone.
• Existing documents. The child health record booklet (U-Heft or Mutter-Kind-Pass), earlier reports (for example occupational or speech therapy), feedback from school or nursery, a list of current medications. When booking, ask whether a referral is needed.
• Hearing and vision sorted. Many assessments first want to rule out that hearing or sight explains the difficulties. If it has not been checked in a while, raise it with your paediatrician beforehand.
• Your own questions. You are allowed to ask: what will you look at? How many appointments will it take? When and how do we get the result? What happens next? Written questions survive even an exciting morning.