How to prepare my child for a cognitive assessment

As a parent, it's natural to want your child to do well in a cognitive assessment, especially if it's for school or a potential diagnosis. However, it's important to approach your child with care when it comes to preparing your child.

Cognitive assessments measure a child's cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention, problem-solving, and reasoning. These tests provide valuable insights into your child's strengths and areas for growth, but they are not meant to be "studied" for like a regular exam. In fact, trying to coach your child before the assessment can lead to unnecessary pressure and potentially skew the results.

Children often feel stressed if they focus too much on the outcome. The best approach is to encourage your child to be calm and relaxed, ensuring they know the assessment is simply a tool to understand their unique learning needs rather than a test to "pass" or "fail." If you need

support, focus on helping your child develop healthy habits like getting enough rest, eating well, and reducing anxiety through relaxation techniques.

You can also talk to your child about what to expect in the assessment, explaining that the examiner will guide them through tasks in a friendly and non-judgmental way. The language that you use with your child can be focussed more on activities and picture puzzles with a friendly person who is like a teacher rather than using words like test, exam and assessor. Ultimately, the goal is for the assessment to reflect your child's natural abilities and not be influenced by coaching or external pressures. Trust the process, and remember that the results will help ensure your child gets the right support moving forward.

The best support that you can provide for your child is to ensure that they sleep well the night before, eat a filling and healthy breakfast with low sugar, and pack them a snack and bottle of water on the day. Speaking positively about the experience will help your child be themselves and do their best.