How to Prepare for Appointments
- The clinic appointments can be tiring for children. Try to ensure a good night’s rest and eat breakfast before coming to the clinic.
- If your child takes medication, please continue with their standard dosing schedule.
- Remember to bring eyeglasses and any special equipment (e.g. orthotics, communication devices, or mobility devices) that your child typically uses.
- Your child may have questions about why they are coming to the clinic. A simple explanation could be that you want to learn more about the skills that they have or find ways to help them at school.
- You can familiarize your child with the providers they will be seeing by looking at the photos on the Specialty Clinic page for your clinic.
- Some children find social stories about coming for an evaluation helpful. You can request a social story book to borrow while you are at the CTU.
What to Bring
- Often appointments take several hours. Please bring snacks and drinks to keep your child’s energy up. The UW Medical Center cafeteria is located across the street from IHDD and has a coffee cart and a selection of snack and meal items.
- A favorite book, toy or stuffy can provide comfort during the evaluation process.
- Because there is no childcare available at the CTU, we suggest that you bring another adult along if it is necessary to bring siblings with you. We have a child-friendly waiting area for play.
- If there has been any recent testing in or out of school or from medical appointments, it is helpful to bring copies of reports along to share with the evaluation team.
Parent Autism Support Service (PASS)
PASS is a short-term service provided for families whose children have been recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in one of the CTU Specialty Clinics. Through this service, families are supported through phone/e-mail communication to answer questions and help them navigate the numerous agencies and systems which may be involved in their child’s care. The PASS providers are CTU faculty and trainees who have first-hand experience as parents of children with special needs or extensive knowledge about available resources. This is an optional service which is provided at no cost to families.
Link to PASS Program brochure.
Community Connections
The CTU has established a community connection with Reach-Out-and Read (ROR), a non-profit organization in the US that advocates for childhood literacy. ROR was founded in 1989 at Boston City Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and was based on the premise to “encourage parents to read regularly to their children and give them the tools to do so.
The CTU Specialty Clinic teams are part of the national network of clinicians who deliver information about the importance of reading together. Backed by research, the importance of reading and literacy in the early years is significant. To support literacy, children are offered books to take home with them, during clinic visits here.
Link to Reach Out and Read.
