Neurodevelopmental Assessment Pathway (ASD and ADHD)
*This is an interim page and will be updated in due course.*
This guideline applies to children and young people up until the day before their 19th birthday.
Service Referral Information
As of 15th May 2024, the Neurodevelopmental Assessment Pathway has changed in response to long waiting lists and an acknowledgement that most support in children and young people is needs-led, rather than diagnosis dependant. As such, the electronic forms are no longer in use.
The new approach involves Neurodiverse Profiling, which takes about 45-90 minutes to complete by a trained professional in partnership with parents/carers, and young person (if appropriate). This is not expected to be completed by the GP.
To arrange Neurodiverse profiling, families should:
- Speak to their school or healthcare professional trained in the profiling tool.
- Alternatively, they can email cft.ndcornwall@nhs.net to identify someone who can help if the child/young person is not currently under a healthcare or school professional trained in the profiling tool.
Parents/carers, and young people (if appropriate), can be signposted to the Parent Carers Cornwall website: Neurodiversity Hub, which has lots of information (including videos) to empower them as well as their child or young person to learn about and understand their needs, and develop strategies to help them.
Please note
It is not a universal pathway for all areas of need and is just to be used primarily when the patient is presenting as neurodivergent i.e. ASD/ADHD, but possibly with additional areas of need i.e. speech and language, sensory processing etc. Neurodiverse profiling helps to deconstruct the possible overarching diagnosis of ASD/ADHD and allows for a more targeted approach based on the specific areas of need.
The Children’s Neurodevelopmental Assessment Service reassures parents/carers that specialist diagnostic assessments are always considered but acknowledges that only some children and young people will need one. They foresee that by following this new pathway, the right children and young people will be able to access the service in a timelier fashion.
Useful information
For parents/carers:
- Parent information sessions, click here to book a place: Free information session for parents/cares on the Neurodiversity Profiling Tool (90 minutes).
- Neurodiversity Profiling Tool Information Leaflet
References
Parent Carers Cornwall: Neurodiversity Hub
Page Review Information
|
Review date |
12/07/2024 |
|
Next review date |
12/07/2026 |
|
GP speciality lead |
Dr Laura Vines |
|
Contributors |
Sue Newman, Children’s Services Project Support Dr Rebecca Hopkins, RMS Clinical Lead |