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Health check-up: compulsory examinations
The health code imposes a free medical examination during the child’s sixth year. Parents or guardians are required to attend upon administrative notice. You can request leave of absence from your employer by simply presenting the summons to this medical examination. In particular, the doctor will ask you questions about your child’s eating habits and will check with you to update their vaccinations. After two or three balance and motor exercises, the doctor measures the child, weighs the child, takes his blood pressure and the visit is over. Throughout these tests, the doctor completes the medical file. It is searchable by the school doctor and nurse and will “follow” your child from kindergarten until the end of college. In the event of a change of school or move, the file is sent under confidential cover to the new establishment. You can pick it up when your child enters high school.
Basic checks
Because from the first grade, your child’s vision will be strained, the doctor will test his visual acuity. It is a control allowing to appreciate the vision of near, far, the colors and the reliefs. The doctor also checks the condition of the retina. At 6, she progresses but will not reach 10 / 10th until around the age of 10. This medical visit also includes an examination of both ears, with acoustic emissions ranging from 500 to 8000 Hz, as well as checking the eardrums. When the sense of hearing is disturbed without realizing it, it can cause delays in learning. Then the doctor tests his psychomotor development. Your child must then perform several exercises: walking heel-toe forward, catching a bouncing ball, counting thirteen cubes or tokens, describing a picture, carrying out an instruction or distinguishing between morning, afternoon and evening.
Screening for language disorders
During the medical examination, your doctor will speak one-to-one with your child. Above all, do not intervene if he pronounces the words badly or cannot make a good sentence. His fluency in language and ability to answer questions are part of the exam. The doctor can therefore detect a language disorder such as dyslexia or dysphasia for example. This disorder, too slight to alert the teacher, can pose significant problems for the CP when learning to read. If he considers it necessary, the doctor can prescribe a speech therapy assessment. Then it will be your turn to answer a few questions. The doctor will ask you about your family or social situation, which may explain certain behaviors of your child.
A dental check-up
Finally, the doctor checks your child’s teeth. He checks the oral cavity, the number of cavities, missing or treated teeth as well as maxillofacial anomalies. Remember that permanent teeth appear around 6-7 years old. This is also the time to ask him for some oral hygiene advice.