Why I Love Doing Assessments Over Zoom

I love doing assessments over zoom. Why? So you can stay calm, feel safe and concentrate. Yes, it will be a very thorough and reliable assessment. There's no additional stress of travel, navigation, sensory overload and being in a strange place for the first time. These stresses can be a recipe for a shutdown, a meltdown or both. I like to make assessment more accessible and less stressful using zoom. You can find out more about What To Expect in our FREE ebook on the website here or just click on the image on the banner.

I hope to give you a gentle, kind, caring, informative and validating experience with your assessment.

When we are stressed our brains just don't work - we might not be able to speak at all, speak coherently, find the right words or think of answers to the questions. It's not a great feeling so we try to avoid it, to get the most accurate assessment. That is, when you're functioning in a calm, comfortable and safe environment.

Here's your long answer:

• You might live far away.

• You don't have to go to a new and unfamiliar place, so you can stay calm.

• You don't have to navigate to a new place so you can stay calm.

• You don't have to drive through traffic so you can stay calm.

• You stay in a familiar environment where you feel comfortable so you can stay calm.

• You can have all your comfort things around you to help minimise your anxiety so you can stay calm.

• You can have your pets close by so you can stay calm. I love meeting pets (maybe not snakes - sorry snake lovers). I have done assessments with birds on people's shoulders, cats showing their butts to the camera and dogs in laps.

• You can have your fidget things on hand so you can concentrate and stay calm. (I hope you're noticing a theme here ;-)

• You can have any comfort object you like. It might be a blanket or a toy for example so you can stay clam.

• You can take a break whenever you feel like you need one so you can stay calm.

• You can have drinks and snacks so you can concentrate and stay calm.

• You can have the lighting in your space how you like it, so you don't get sensory overload, and you can stay clam.

• You don't have to smell different smells you may not like e.g. my perfume, or sit in a chair you don't like, or feeling forced to sit still when that's hard for you, or be in a bright room - because I do like lots of light and I like it bright. You may not like that. We also have 2 dogs that you might smell and not like. I'm not being unkind to our much loved dogs, Ruby and Myffy, but they're dogs and they smell like dogs.

• Kids can show me their special things like pets, drawings, action figures or toys so we can engage and I can get to know them in their own space.

• Kids have the freedom to join in when they are ready. They may play on their device or do something they enjoy to help them through the experience. I often have much more conversation with kids at home showing me their things and not feeling pressured.

• Other people can join the conversation even if they live far away or are at work.

I hope you can see all the advantages of having an assessment in your own space where you feel safe, relaxed as you can be, and comfortable.