Neurodevelopment in children and adolescents

You can start by speaking with your GP or school. If they believe a referral is appropriate, they can send one to us. If you speak to your GP rather than the school, we will still need to gather information from the school at some point, so it may be helpful to discuss the referral with them. Providing as much information as possible will support the referral process.

In Rotherham, there are two pathways which conduct autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments. The pathway your child is assessed through depends on their overall cognitive ability and level of functioning.

Most children and young people will have their assessments through the neurodevelopmental assessment pathway, while a smaller number will be assessed through the intellectual disability pathway. Both pathways follow similar assessment processes, tailored to the needs of the families they support.

The neurodevelopmental assessment pathway is for children and young people who have no cognitive difficulties, mild specific learning difficulties, or global cognitive and functioning difficulties within the mild range of an intellectual disability.

The intellectual disability pathway is for children and young people with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities. This pathway functions as a specialist service, offering autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, as well as support for emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Children and young people with more severe impairments require specialist expertise to assess and support both them and their families. The intellectual disabilities pathway provides the same services as other children and adolescent mental health service pathways but is tailored to meet the complex needs of this group.

It is important that referrals contain as much relevant information as possible, such as Educational Health and Care Plans (EHCP) or educational psychology reports. This ensures that children are directed to the most appropriate pathway for their assessment. If relevant information is missing, or if a child’s learning needs haven’t been fully identified, it can make it harder to determine the correct pathway initially.

If a referral is directed to a pathway but additional information is needed, we may request further details or additional appointments. Sometimes, the assessments required to explore a child’s learning ability may be conducted as part of their evaluation.

Due to the high demand for neurodevelopmental assessments, there are currently long waiting times, and the team is unable to provide an estimate for when your child will be seen. We understand that waiting can be difficult, frustrating, and uncertain for families.

However, it’s important to recognise that a diagnosis does not offer a quick fix for your child’s challenges. Instead, it can help parents and carers better understand those difficulties. Regardless of whether a child has a diagnosis or not, support services are available at all stages to help families.

You don’t need a diagnosis to begin implementing strategies. There are local services available, such as the Rotherham Parent Carer Forum, Early Help, SENDIASS, and health and wellbeing (age 0 to 19), that can offer support. You can also speak to your child’s school to discuss the strategies they are using and suggest any adjustments that might work better for your child.

We are sorry that your child is struggling at the moment, and we wish we could provide an assessment more quickly. However, there are currently long waits for neurodevelopmental assessments due to the high number of referrals. We are working closely with our partners to develop an action plan to tackle these delays and explore various options for managing the ongoing demand.

In the meantime, other agencies that offer support without requiring a diagnosis include the Rotherham Parent Carer Forum, Early Help, SENDIASS.

You can also check out for tips:

• supporting children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• supporting children and adolescents with autism

Your child does not need a diagnosis to receive support at school. Schools are required to follow the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) code of practice (January 2015) and ensure they provide appropriate support for children with special educational needs (SEN).

If a child has significantly greater difficulty learning than others of the same age, they may be considered to have special educational needs. Schools are expected to provide tailored support, which may include:

• a personalised learning programme
• extra help from teachers or teaching assistants
• adjustments to materials and equipment
• small group work
• encouraging questions and helping with difficult tasks
• peer support during activities or break times
• assistance with physical or personal care needs

For more information, the Department for Education offers a full guide for parents (opens in new window). Schools can also seek advice from specialists such as educational psychologists or speech and language therapists to provide additional support.

When attending your child’s appointment, please bring any relevant reports from their school or local services, such as their Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), speech and language therapy reports, occupational therapy reports, or educational psychology reports. These documents will help us in understanding your child’s needs and supporting the assessment process.

Please note that our waiting room is shared with other families accessing services. At times, it can become quite busy. If your child is sensitive to noise or crowds, we recommend bringing ear defenders, music, or other items that help them feel more comfortable. If the waiting area becomes overwhelming, there is a corridor outside the waiting room where you are welcome to wait. Alternatively, please inform the receptionist, who will try to arrange a quieter area for you to wait in.

If your child is of school age, we typically speak with one or both parents (or another trusted adult who knows your child well) during the assessment. If your child prefers one parent to stay with them, it would be helpful if the other parent could attend to provide details about your child’s developmental history.

You may wish to invite other professionals involved in your child’s care to the feedback session when all assessments have been completed. We will ask you for details of other professionals you might want to invite when you attend the first appointment.

The neurodevelopmental assessment pathway team consists of professionals with diverse skills and expertise in working with children, young people, and their families. The team includes:

• clinical psychologists
• children and adolescent mental health practitioners (who come from various backgrounds, including nursing)
• assistant psychologists

If your child receives a diagnosis of autism, it may lead to a referral to the Autism Family Support team, which offers support and advice sessions for families, as well as training courses and workshops. For a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, your child may be referred to the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder clinic, where medication may be considered in certain cases, although it will not eliminate all symptoms.

Following an autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis, your child’s school may consider applying for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) if this hasn’t already been done. It’s important to note that the EHCP assessment process can be started and completed without a diagnosis, while your child is on the waiting list or not yet under the children and adolescent mental health service care. Schools can still implement strategies and provide support for your child even without a formal assessment.

Even if there are long waits for an assessment, many services can still offer support for you and your child. After the assessment, you will receive a full report that outlines your child’s strengths and difficulties, along with specific recommendations to help support their development. You will also be invited to a feedback appointment, where the team will discuss the findings and next steps with you in detail. This helps ensure that your child gets the right support in the meantime.

Intellectual disability (learning disability) refers to significant global deficits in cognitive abilities and adaptive behaviour. It means difficulties in understanding and using words, memory, problem-solving, and performing real-life skills like dressing, cooking, and socialising. Intellectual disabilities vary in severity (mild, moderate, severe, profound) and are present from birth. There’s no treatment for the condition, but strategies can help.

Global developmental delay is a diagnosis often given to young children (under 5 years) who are delayed in multiple areas like speaking, walking, or toilet training. As children grow, this diagnosis may be reassessed and categorised as an intellectual disability or Learning disability.

Learning difficulties refer to challenges in specific areas of cognitive functioning, such as in Dyslexia or Dyspraxia. Unlike intellectual disabilities, learning difficulties are often specific to certain areas, such as understanding and using words or motor skills. Some children may have multiple learning difficulties. This term can sometimes be used broadly to describe children with global developmental issues, so it’s important to clarify the specific nature of the difficulties when assessing autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

It is important to understand that while children can be diagnosed with both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), this is only appropriate in certain cases. If a child’s presentation can be adequately explained by one diagnosis, an additional diagnosis should not be made unless it adds significant understanding to the child’s difficulties.

• Children with autism may have attention-related difficulties, but these do not always meet the full criteria for an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis.
• Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may struggle with social communication, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis.

The clinical team will carefully assess each child’s specific difficulties to ensure that any diagnoses made are both accurate and helpful in providing the right support.