Child Development

Do you have concerns about your child’s development?

It can be difficult to know where to start when you have concerns about your child’s development. Dr Dawkins offers comprehensive Child Development Checks as a starting point to help identify your child’s areas of strengths and needs.

She appreciates that the various diagnostic and support pathways can be daunting for families to navigate. She aims to provide clear explanations of the available diagnostic and therapy pathways, and offers education so families can start implementing strategies while on the waitlist for other services.

A comprehensive child development check might be suitable for children where there are concerns regarding:

• Speech and language development
• Fine motor and/or gross motor skills
• Social, emotional and/or behavioural issues
• Neurodiversity, including suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD. Please note, Dr Dawkins does NOT provide formal Autism Spectrum Disorder nor ADHD diagnosis. She offers thorough developmental screening and management planning, and where indicated, will refer onwards for a formal diagnosis. 

Tips to make the most of your initial consultation:

• Request a 40 minute initial appointment for a “Child Development Check”
• It takes time to get to know children and understand their strengths and needs. Patients should expect to attend 2-3 appointments to address developmental concerns. This is to allow adequate time to complete thorough assessment, management planning, and patient education.
• Bring your child’s “purple book”
• Bring relevant reports from daycare/school/therapists/other health professionals
• Register your family for the Extended Medicare Safety Net to maximise your Medicare rebates

What to expect at your initial Child Development Check appointment:

• Play-based introduction and rapport building
• Thorough discussion of caregiver concerns
• Detailed review of birth history, medical history, and development to date
• Completion of developmental questionnaires and screening tools
• Initial physical examination as required
• Referral for initial investigations and assessments as required (e.g. hearing test, vision test, blood test)

What to expect at subsequent assessment and review appointments:

• Ongoing play-based rapport building
• Additional physical examination as required
• Play-based observational assessment of communication, social interaction, and fine/gross motor skills
• Assessment of speech/articulation as required
• Assessment of reception and expressive language as required
• Arranging further investigations and assessments as required
• Formulation of an individualised management plan to support children to reach their true potential
• Education around strategies to enhance speech, language and communication development
• Referral to other specialists and supports as required (e.g. Paediatrician, Psychiatrist, ENT, Physio, OT, Speech Pathology, Child Development Service, Wanslea)
• Ongoing review, re-assessment, and updating management plan as required
• Ongoing support to enhance speech, language and communication development as required