Assessments for autism and ADHD for children and young people.
As with most areas across the country, we are currently receiving an increasing number of referrals for children and young people for both autism and ADHD assessments, which may mean you have to wait a long time to be seen.
The Integrated Care Board (ICB) for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) is working hard to identify additional resources to increase the capacity to help meet this increasing demand. We know that this can be a concerning time for you and your family. We are doing all we can to reduce assessment wait times and highlight the support available while you wait.
The referral process
We accept referrals for children and young people aged over two years for autism and five and a half years for ADHD. They will only be considered if additional supporting information from another setting, outside the family home (usually the school or nursery), is provided.
Children and young people will be seen in date order of the acceptance of the referral. Priority will only be considered for children who are under the care of a local authority or children of military families where an assessment has been started outside of LLR and the child has moved to the local area.
If you do not agree with the outcome of an assessment a team will review it. They may agree with the original decision or request further assessments.
If, after a minimum period of two years of the assessment outcome, there is additional information which you feel supports another assessment, a re-referral will be considered by the appropriate service.
Private assessments
We recognise that some families pursue a private assessment, particularly for ADHD. If this is something you wish to do, please read this guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on diagnosis and management. This provides information on what you should expect from a quality assessment and could help you make a more informed choice.
When you receive the private report, the local NHS team can review it in line with this guidance to clarify the assessment, diagnosis and to review any treatment that has started. When you receive a private report, please contact your local GP who will then begin a process to get the report reviewed. Please be aware this is likely to take several months / years and NHS treatment plans may differ from that initiated from other providers.
Details of a NICE compliant assessment can be found on the ADHD UK website and the National Autistic Society website.
Support for your child while awaiting diagnosis
When you are seeking support for your child, it is important to ask your early years setting or school about their ‘ordinarily available provision’. The term ‘ordinarily available provision’ comes directly from the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice. It covers the support that mainstream settings and schools should be able to provide, through their agreed funding and resource arrangements and expectations set out by local authorities.
This support for your child should be made available in line with their specific needs and should not be dependent on any formal diagnosis.
The following links are for the three SEND Local Offer websites which provide further information and signposting about what support is available for you:
- Family Information | SEND Local Offer (leicester.gov.uk)
- Special educational needs and disability | Leicestershire County Council
- SEND Local Offer | Rutland County Council
Further advice, support and information
We know that this can be a concerning time for you and your family. We are doing all we can to reduce assessment wait times. Please take advantage of the wide range of information and support below whilst you wait. You do not need a formal diagnosis to access any of the services below.
Health for Teens has loads of information about health for young people. It includes lots of information in bite sized articles on neurodiversity.
https://www.healthforteens.co.uk/health/neurodiversity/
We have also produced this booklet to help you while you wait for your assessment: https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/While-you-are-waiting-for-your-Neurodevelopmental-ND-Assessment-V2-JUL24.pdf
Autism Space is a local site for Leicester and Leicestershire. This site answers all things about autism in helpful categories.
Autism Space | Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (leicspart.nhs.uk)
Also on Autism Space are these cool digital animations which have been made especially for children and young people to help you manage friendships
https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/autism-space/health-and-lifestyle/social-understanding/
Chat Autism – this is local text messaging service to answer your questions. It’s staffed by qualified NHS health professionals so you can be confident in the advice they share with you.
NHS Website for autism
Autism – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
National Autistic Society
Ambitious about Autism is a website for autistic children and young people, their parents and carers.
www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk
Autism Support is an online space to meet with other young people who have autism
Autism Support | HealthUnlocked
Autism East Midlands has support hubs based in Leicestershire Providing help and support to autistic people… | Autism East Midlands
ADHD Solutions – this is a Leicester based charity that can support you if you have ADHD or are waiting for an assessment.
https://www.adhdsolutions.org/
NHS website for ADHD
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/
The ADHD Foundation is a charity working with young people and families
https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/
ADHD UK is a charity run for people with ADHD by people with ADHD
Solihull Approach
There are a range of free online courses for parents and carers developed by the psychologists at Solihull Approach. The courses have been designed by teenagers, working with mental health professionals, for teenagers. These are to help you understand brain development and what that means for feelings and how people behave. There are also sections on how to look after your mental wellbeing and looking after your friendships and relationships, and on communication styles. There are also translated versions. See the full range here, using the access code CURVE.
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