Like the practice itself, Occupational Therapy assessments come in a wildly varied array of shapes and sizes. Your therapist will always be happy to answer any questions you have about assessments and which one may be best for your child. We may use one or a combination of the following methods to assess your child’s level of functioning.
Standardised Assessments use a very structured and uniformed way of your assessing your child’s capabilities. Often these assessments target a specific skill are and have standardised scores from typical populations which allow for a comparison between your child’s current level of skill and that of their same aged peers.
Parent rated measures /checklists give us information about what your child is doing and what the next step is
Observations may not look like much of an assessment, but they certainly are! Your therapist has spent years honing their observational skills in order to identify every step in every activity of daily living you can imagine!
Parent Interviews are one of the most vital parts of an OT assessment. It is not uncommon for parent interviews to be used in combination with any or all of the assessment styles outlined above. It is through parent interviews your therapist can help plan goals which will mean the most to you, your child and your family. No one knows your child the way you do.
“There needs to be a lot more emphasis on what a child CAN DO instead of what he cannot do” – Temple Grandin