What this section is about
decisions often depend on the extra time and support your child needs compared with another child of the same age.
Avoid saying
- Everything takes longer.
- Mornings are hard.
- Bedtime is difficult.
Better ways to explain
- Morning routines can take over an hour due to prompting, refusal, anxiety and sensory distress.
- Tasks require repeated adult intervention and cannot be completed independently.
- The level of support is significantly more than another child of the same age.
Example wording
Daily routines take significantly longer because my child needs repeated prompting, reassurance, emotional support and supervision. Tasks such as dressing, washing, eating, leaving the house and settling to sleep require adult intervention and cannot be completed reliably without support.
Evidence that helps
- Daily routine diary
- Timed examples
- Behaviour logs
- School lateness records
- Sleep diary
Common mistakes
- Not writing times
- Not comparing to same-age peers
- Forgetting repeated prompts
- Forgetting recovery time
- Forgetting the impact on family life
Part of the Bright Steps Ultimate Guide. For the full interactive walkthrough with printable templates, sign in and visit the DLA Guide.