Thank you for accompanying your child to their research visits.
Please let the team know if there is anything you need help with or any special needs your child may have.
If you have any concerns or questions, we are always happy to discuss these with you.
We ask that children and young people are supervised by their parent or carer at all times, as we cannot take responsibility for your child.
Please read our tips on 'What to bring' and 'What NOT to bring' to help prepare for your child’s research visits.
Please provide support for your child before and after testing, but during testing do not comment or interact (positively or negatively) – let the clinician take the lead. In our experience, comments made by parents / carers can sometimes change the mindset of a child and their ability to perform a test.
Similarly, please do not answer for your child when the team are talking to them and asking them questions. We are keen to communicate with the children and young people directly. We will always give parents time to talk too.
Before a test starts or after a test finishes, are the best times to discuss any concerns or ask your questions.
Some of the tests can be tiring. The team will work with your child and be responsive to their needs. Do help your child communicate with us how they are coping and what support they may need.
If there is information you would like to share with the research team privately without your child hearing, please let us know and we can arrange this sensitively. Equally, if your child would like to speak to the research team in the absence of a parent we can accommodate this with a chaperone in attendance. You or your child can also write down any feedback and hand this in to our receptionists, if you prefer.
We would like to work in partnership with families as the children grow older and become more independent. We will be guided by the child as to how to support this transition.