Your Valuable ORIGINS Kids Check
As an ORIGINS participant, you and your family will participate in three FREE ‘Kids Checks’ over your ORIGINS journey. Don’t let this opportunity to go waste!
At one, three and five-years of age you will be asked to attend an ORIGINS Kids Check appointment.
A few weeks before your child’s birthday, the ORIGINS team will contact you to let you know that your child is due an appointment and offer available appointment times.
If you have downloaded the ORIGINS App (which we recommend you do!), you will get a notification reminding you to book your appointment and you will be able to choose a time within the app.
The Kids Check appointments are held at our ORIGINS clinic in Edgewater and generally take around 1-2 hours to complete. Kids often really enjoy the experience and your family will benefit enormously with a thorough assessment of your child’s health and development.
At the One-Year Kids Check appointment your child will receive the following:
- A Telehealth (online) appointment with a paediatrician where you will receive the results of your online questionnaires and have the opportunity to discuss any concerns you may have about your child’s health and development. (valued at around $250)
- Skin Prick Allergy Testing - with immediate results of this test (valued at around $400)
- A ride in the BOD POD to measure your child’s body composition
- Health measurements, such as height, weight etc which will be recorded in your purple book
- Samples will be collected such as saliva and cheek cells
- A blood sample will be collected and analysed. If anything is detected you will be notified.
- A non-invasive skin barrier measurement - to test your child’s skin function
At the Three and Five-Year Kids Check you receive all of the above, minus the Telehealth appointment with the paediatrician. PLUS:
- Results of your online questionnaires - reviewed by a paediatrician. If an issue is identified, you will be contacted by the ORIGINS team.
- School-readiness assessment with a speech pathologist (valued at around $200). Find out more about the School Readiness Project here
These appointments are precious and with 4,000 families taking part as active participants in ORIGINS the clinic gets busy! Don’t miss your opportunity for this free health check for your child, while also contributing to valuable research.
Cancellations also cost the project significantly, so please ensure you book your child’s Kids Check appointment at a time that will suit you and your family to avoid needing to cancel at the last minute.
DID YOU KNOW?
Iron Levels - Though it can be daunting for some kids and their parents, the blood we collect from our kids tells us so much about their health and development. Many of our families have uncovered issues from their child’s results and have been able to address them early because of their ORIGINS Kids Checks. Read more here.
We found that:
- 30% of our one-year olds who attended an appointment had low Iron levels
- Almost 50% of our three-year-olds who attended an appointment had low or extremely low iron levels.
- Low iron levels in kids can affect sleep, behaviour and eating habits and often go undetected.
Allergy Testing - If you decided to see an allergist to undergo skin prick allergy testing it would cost you around $400. But you get it for free from ORIGINS at one, three and five years old. Many of our families have uncovered their child’s allergies in a safe environment and were able to intervene early to prevent them getting worse.
Paediatrician shortage in Australia - The demand to see a paediatrician in WA and around the country, is increasing and there is an extreme shortage of available paediatricians. Some families are finding they have a two-year wait for non-urgent appointments with a specialist child doctor, and the cost of an appointment can exceed $400. With ORIGINS you get a FREE virtual appointment with our paediatrician when your child is one-year-old, and a referral if something is detected at three and five years of age.