Your Child's Assessment Feedback Session: A Guide for Parents

The feedback session is where your child or teen's assessment results are explained and turned into a plan. Here is what happens, whether your child should be there, how to prepare, and how to use the report at home and school.

By the time your child's assessment reaches its final stage, the hard part is largely done. The history has been taken, the testing and observations are finished, and the psychologist has spent hours pulling it all together. What is left is the feedback session, the conversation where you find out what it all means. For many parents this is the part they are most anxious about, and also the part they know the least about.

This post explains what the feedback session is for, what happens in it, whether your child or teen should attend, how to prepare, and how the recommendations move from a written report into real changes at home and school. The short version: it is a supportive conversation, not a verdict delivered across a desk.

What the feedback session is for

The feedback session exists so that you understand your child's results, not just receive them. A written report on its own can be dense and technical, and easy to misread, especially when you care about the outcome. The session is where the psychologist translates the findings into plain language, explains what they do and do not mean for your child, and makes sure you leave with clarity rather than a document you are afraid to open.

It is also where the recommendations come to life. The report lists them, but the session is where the psychologist talks through each one, explains why it matters for your child specifically, and helps you work out what to do first at home and at school.

When it happens and how long it takes

The feedback session usually takes place after all testing is complete and the report is written, typically a few weeks after the final assessment appointment. It generally runs for around an hour, and a good session is unhurried, with time built in for your questions rather than a rushed summary at the end.

Should your child or teen be there?

This depends on their age and what would help. For younger children, the feedback session is usually just for parents or carers. For teenagers, there is often real value in including them, at least for part of the session, so they hear their strengths and the plan in their own words rather than second-hand. There is no single right answer, and your psychologist will talk through what makes sense for your child. If you would like a support person of your own there, that is almost always welcome too.

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What the psychologist will cover

While every session is tailored to the child, most cover similar ground. The psychologist will explain whether the criteria for a diagnosis were met and what that does and does not mean in practice. They will describe the profile that emerged, including your child's genuine strengths, not just the areas they find hard. And they will walk through the recommendations in detail, explaining what each one looks like in everyday life at home and in the classroom.

This is a two-way conversation. The psychologist wants to know whether the findings match what you see day to day, whether the recommendations feel realistic for your family, and what questions the results raise for you.

How to prepare

You do not need to do anything elaborate, but a little thought beforehand helps you get the most from the hour. It can help to jot down the questions that matter most, to think about the settings the recommendations need to work in (a particular classroom, before-school routines, homework), and to consider who else may need to hear the results, such as the school or your GP.

Questions worth bringing

• What does this result mean for my child day to day, in plain terms?
• Which recommendations should we focus on first at home?
• How do we put these in place at school, and who do we talk to?
• How should we explain this to my child in a way they can understand?
• Who else should see this report, and what support is available next?

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Telling your child about the results

Many parents worry about how to talk to their child about a diagnosis or a set of findings. The feedback session is a good place to plan this. We can help you frame it in an age-appropriate, strengths-based way, so your child hears it as an explanation that helps rather than a label that limits. For a lot of children and teens, finally having words for how their brain works comes as a relief.

Using the report at school

For most families the report becomes a practical tool. It can be shared with the school to inform classroom adjustments and support plans, given to a GP or paediatrician to guide next steps, or used to support an application for funding or NDIS supports. The feedback session is where you work out how to use it well, rather than letting it sit in a drawer.

If the result isn't what you expected

Sometimes the outcome is not what you anticipated. A diagnosis you expected may not be confirmed, or one you had not considered may emerge. Either way, the assessment still produces something valuable: a clear, evidence-based picture of how your child thinks, feels, and functions, and recommendations that hold regardless of the diagnostic label. The feedback session is the place to talk through any surprise and understand where to go from here.

Whatever the result, the goal is the same: that you leave understanding your child more clearly, with a practical sense of what helps. If you would like to talk through an assessment, or simply ask what the process involves, you are warmly welcome to get in touch.

Want to talk it through first?Tell us what you are noticing about your child and we will help you understand whether an assessment is the right next step. Get in touch