What the assessment actually involves
A good neurodevelopmental assessment was never mostly about a clinician watching a child in a room. It's built from several sources of information, and most of them aren't location-dependent:
- Developmental history — a detailed interview with you about your child's development from early years onward
- Validated rating scales — completed by you and, where possible, your child's school, using recognised standardised tools
- Information from school — how your child is in a setting the clinician was never going to see anyway
- Direct clinical observation and interaction with your child, by video
- Clinical synthesis — the specialist weighing all of it against diagnostic criteria
Only one of those five changes when you move online. The rest are identical. That's the core reason online assessment works for most children — and it's also why information from school matters so much, which is why we ask for it rather than treating it as optional.
Where online is genuinely better
This isn't just a fallback. For a fair number of children it produces a truer picture:
- Your child is at home. Unfamiliar clinical rooms make a lot of children present atypically — some shut down, some ramp up. Home is where you see them as they actually are.
- No travel, no waiting room. For anxious children, or children who find transitions and sensory environments hard, removing a stressful journey and a busy waiting area removes a real distortion.
- Easier to involve both parents, including one who works away or lives elsewhere.
- Sessions can be scheduled around school, so your child isn't pulled out of lessons.
- Access. If you're rural, have no car, or have other children to work around, online may be the difference between an assessment happening and not.
When we'd tell you to be seen in person
Online isn't right for everyone, and we'd rather turn you away than take a fee for an assessment that won't serve your child. We're more likely to recommend in-person, or a route other than ours, where:
- Your child is very young, where close observation of play and interaction matters more and is harder to do well on video
- There are significant communication differences that make video interaction difficult for your child
- The picture is complex or unclear — several conditions in play, or significant mental or physical health needs alongside
- A physical examination is likely to be needed as part of working out what's going on
- Your child can't engage with a screen for a meaningful length of time
We look at this on the free 15-minute call, before anyone pays anything. If we don't think we can do a proper job for your child online, we'll say so and point you elsewhere.
How our assessments run
- Free 15-minute call. You tell us what's worrying you. We tell you honestly whether an assessment would help, and whether online is right for your child.
- Questionnaires and history. You — and your child's school where possible — complete validated rating scales online, and we take a detailed developmental history.
- The assessment appointment. A thorough video consultation with the specialist paediatrician. Not a rushed slot.
- Report and feedback call. A detailed written report with clear conclusions and practical recommendations for home and school, plus a call to walk you through what it means.
Who carries out the assessment
Assessments are led by Dr Dheepthi, an MRCPCH-qualified specialist paediatrician with more than seven years' experience in children's health and development, including ADHD and autism spectrum presentations. You'll know who is assessing your child before you book — you won't be handed to an unnamed clinician.
We assess and write the report. We do not prescribe medication. If medication is likely to be part of the picture for your child, that's a separate pathway through your GP or an NHS service, and it's worth understanding that before you book.
Practical things that help on the day
- A quiet room with a door, and as few interruptions as you can manage
- A laptop or tablet rather than a phone where possible — a bigger, steadier picture makes observation easier
- Test the connection beforehand, so the first few minutes aren't spent troubleshooting
- Have your notes to hand — the diary, school reports, anything you've been keeping
- Don't coach your child. It's genuinely more useful to us if they're simply themselves
General information about how our online assessments are carried out. Not medical advice and not a diagnosis. Suitability for online assessment is decided case by case on the free screening call. In an emergency call 999, or 111 for urgent NHS advice.