About neurodiversity
People experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways. No two children are the same and each child’s needs change as they grow and develop, meaning they may need more or less support at different times in their lives.
A diagnosis isn’t required before you can start to understand your child’s needs or get them support at home or in school.
Deciding what’s best for your child
If you think your child needs extra support at school, first speak to their teacher or special educational needs and disability coordinator (SENDCO).
You can also answer child behaviour questions which will provide you with guidance and resources for specific needs. Completing the questions may also help you describe your child’s behaviour and personality traits when you speak to others about their support needs.
NICE Guidance for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) recommends that parents or carers should be offered a referral to group-based ADHD-focused support (this should not wait for a formal diagnosis of ADHD). In Gloucestershire this course if offered by Gloucestershire Health and Care Services, referral into this course needs to be made by a professional.
About autism and ADHD assessments
Families may request an autism or ADHD assessment for a range of different reasons. Autism and ADHD assessments are carried out by specialist clinical staff. To undertake the assessment a significant amount of information will need to be provided from both the family and the child or young person’s education setting, if they attend one.
There are four steps to the assessment process:
- Collect information – observations about the child’s behaviour from their parent/carer and Education Setting.
- Request an assessment – by completing all the essential referral documents.
- Get assessed – meet with specialist staff to understand and assess the child’s needs. If it is an ADHD assessment a Qb test may also be required What is QbTest? | Focus ADHD – YouTube
- Outcome – recommendations and support plans for the child, including whether or not they are diagnosed as autistic and/or having ADHD.
How to request an autism and/or ADHD assessment
How to request an autism and/or ADHD assessment for a child or young person who is registered with a GP in Gloucestershire.
More information about autism and ADHD assessments
What happens during an autism assessment
https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/our-teams-and-services/children-and-young-people/camhs/scaas/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/getting-diagnosed/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/getting-diagnosed/assessments/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/diagnosis/
About this website
This is a new website – please provide feedback to help us improve it for its users.
Please do not provide any personal information and please note we will not provide a response to any feedback received.
Should you have any clinical queries please contact Children’s Social Communication and Autism Assessment Service (SCAAS) and CAMHS Neurodiversity Team.
The website has been jointly developed by Gloucestershire ICB and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB.
Page last reviewed: 25 April 2024