Pre-appointment parent prep pack

Australian paediatric appointments are short and expensive. The single biggest predictor of a useful first session is how well the family arrived prepared. Send this list a week in advance.

What to send

1. 1Two weeks of brief notes on the patterns of concern — short bullet form is fine. Time of day, trigger, duration, what helped.
2. 2A list of every clinician, allied health, or educator who has expressed concern, what they noticed, and any reports.
3. 3Developmental milestone history — at minimum: first words, first sentences, first walking, toilet training, friendships forming.
4. 4School / kinder feedback in the family's own words — most schools won't write a letter without a request, but the parent can paraphrase.
5. 5A list of three questions the family wants answered. Three is the right number. More gets shed; less leaves the parent feeling unheard.

What you'll do with it

The note format makes the intake six minutes instead of fifteen, freeing the rest of the appointment for clinical examination and shared decision-making. Most parents are relieved to have a structure for what to track.