Family Road Map Guide

Getting Ready for Intake Interviews
An intake interview is the first appointment with a new health provider or agency.
At this appointment, you will be asked to tell the provider about your child or youth
and discuss his or her symptoms. Symptoms are signs of disorders (physical
changes, thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that cause problems with functioning in
everyday life.)
Learning how to sum up your concerns clearly is important for many reasons.
First, the appointment time goes by very quickly, so you want to make the most
of the time you have. Second, the behavior your child shows during an office visit
may be very different from the way he or she acts at home. It will help the provider
if you can describe typical home behavior. Third, you will probably have to fill out
a questionnaire that includes this same information. (Sometimes the provider will
ask questions from a list and write down the answers.) Doing this will help you
gather your thoughts ahead of time. Fourth, you can let the provider know which
concerns you (and your child/youth) think are most important. That helps you act
as equal partners in making treatment decisions.
Most parents end up repeating this same “strengths and concerns story” to
different providers on the team. The method described below can help boil it down
to the basics.
Five Steps to Describing a “Strengths and Concerns
Story”
On the next few pages, you will find a five-step process to help you describe medical,
behavioral, and developmental concerns during an intake interview. The health
provider needs to know about all three areas because everything in your child’s
body is connected. For example, certain behavior symptoms can be signs of thyroid
disease, a medical condition. Certain physical ailments, such as frequent headaches
and stomachaches, can be symptoms of a mood disorder. A child who gets
very upset or irritable in noisy places may have a developmental problem (such as
a sensory disorder). In each case, finding the root cause or causes will help the
child get better treatment.
FAQs
The National Institute for
Mental Health offers a useful
booklet on what to do if you
suspect your child has a
behavioral health issue. Go
to www.nimh.nih.gov/health/
publications/index.shtml.
The homepage includes
a summary of the most
common childhood mental
disorders. It describes the
treatments and medications
most often used, and it
answers frequently asked
questions. You can order
free booklets in English or
Spanish.
• Step One: Consider Medical (Physical) Concerns
• Step Two: Consider Behavioral Concerns
• Step Three: Consider Developmental Concerns
• Step Four: Identify Top Three Concerns
• Step Five: Sum Up Strengths and Concerns
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