News and Notes from The Johnson Center
Q&A: Why is an intake appointment the first step to getting care at The Johnson Center?
JCCHD | Mon, July 16, 2012 | [Autism Treatment][Q and A ]
One of the first steps in providing quality care is identifying a child’s needs. At The Johnson Center for Child Health and Development, we accomplish this by completing a family intake after we receive a request for services. This consultation is provided at no charge to families and provides our clinical team with information that allows us to make individualized recommendations. Every child is different, and should be treated with a complete understanding of those differences. Parents should be aware that when looking for services for their child, they should find providers who will not only cater to the general needs of the family, but also ask the specific question, “How can we help your child?”
The intake appointment typically takes 30-40 minutes and can be done over the phone or in our office. We use this time to gather specific information, including, but not limited to, a patient’s age, family history, developmental milestones, and relevant diagnostic and medical information. The intake will also include discussion of school services, evaluations, nutrition, and behavioral concerns. Our clinical team uses this information as a starting point when determining a child’s treatment goal.
Providing medical and developmental history prior to your appointments is very important. This information is obviously different for every child and it will define which services your child most needs. Since The Johnson Center offers a variety of services including behavioral, diagnostic, medical, and nutritional guidance, our clinical team uses the intake information to make an informed plan of care; we review every intake completed at The Johnson Center before making any recommendations. Prior to your appointments, your clinicians have already read over the intake information and have an understanding of your child’s own story, along with your concerns.
Many families find it helpful to discuss their main questions prior to scheduling their first clinical appointments. This gives families the opportunity to learn more about the services offered at The Johnson Center, as some families may not be aware of the different avenues of treatment. The intake appointment also provides families with the opportunity to learn about billing and costs, grant opportunities, travel planning, and scheduling options. We are committed to providing families with a variety of resources that help make appointments as useful as possible for the entire family. Parents can expect to work with a team of people at The Johnson Center who all have the same goal in mind; to answer the question, “How can we best help your child?”
