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Requests for Neurodiverse Assessments for Children and Young People

Requests for Assessment from Schools

Within Norfolk and Waveney, schools can now directly request assessment from NHS Neurodevelopmental services for children and young people. NHS services who accept requests directly from schools are:

Families and education colleagues are advised to look at the service websites to see what supporting information will be required to send to services as part of the request. Detailed information from parents and carers, plus information from other professionals (such as teacher/SENCo) relating to neurodevelopmental difficulties is usually required to be submitted alongside the request form.

Requests for Assessment from GPs

Not all children and young people attend a school setting, so GPs can also still refer to NHS assessment services as well make referrals for those wishing to take up their Right to Choose.

More information about Right to Choose and Patient Choice can be found below.

  • What is Patient Choice / Right to Choose for children and young people?

    In many cases you have the right to choose where you have your NHS treatment. The NHS is offering more options to help you to make choices that best suit your circumstances, giving you greater control of your care, and hopefully better results.

    If a GP needs to refer you for a physical, behavioural, or mental health concern, in most cases you have the right to choose the hospital or service you would like to go to.

    This will include many private hospitals and independent providers if they already provide services to the NHS and it does not cost the NHS any more than a referral to a standard NHS hospital.

    You can also choose a clinical team led by a consultant or named healthcare professional, if that service provides the treatment you require, and they have an NHS contract.

  • Neurodevelopmental Assessments and Right to Choose

    NHS Norfolk and Waveney has published a Patient Choice Policy available here. It includes information about children’s neurodevelopmental assessment services and is available online or can be requested from Norfolk and Waveney ICB. Your GP will decide if a referral to an alternative provider is appropriate.

    It includes information about children’s neurodevelopmental assessment services and is available online or can be requested from Norfolk and Waveney ICB. Your GP will decide if a referral to an alternative provider is appropriate.

    For children and young people up to 18 years, if your provider of choice is not listed on the page below, please send details of your proposed chosen provider with a contact name to nwicb.cypm@nhs.net NHS Norfolk and Waveney will need to be assured that the provider holds an NHS contract for services included in the request.

     

    Please bear in mind that there is no guarantee your request will be accepted by the providers.

  • Current Right to Choose providers

    Below is a list of approved suppliers who have successfully evidenced that they meet the Norfolk and Waveney ICB quality benchmark, which includes NICE compliant assessment models involving multi-disciplinary teams and face-to-face assessments for children aged 6-18years.

    NHS Norfolk and Waveney have quality assured the following providers to ensure that they meet our criteria for Neurodevelopmental assessment services:

    • Help for Psychology - provides autism, ADHD and Combined assessments. They can offer initiation of ADHD medication following assessment. 
    • The Owl Centre - provides autism, ADHD and Combined assessments. They can offer initiation of ADHD medication following assessment. 
    • Evolve Psychology - provides assessments for Autism, ADHD, and Combined assessments. Please note: if ADHD Prescribing is recommended following diagnosis, patient would need onward referral (Evolve Psychology can make this referral directly but it will incur further waits for the child or young person
    • Paloma Health - provides Autism assessment only.

    NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB are aware that the providers listed below do also provide services for other NHS Integrated Care Boards. However, the ICB are unable to advise on the quality of these providers as there has been no local quality assurance. It should be noted that if these providers advise that medication might be appropriate, it may not be possible to arrange this through local NHS services:

Access to medication for ADHD after a Right to Choose assessment

While medication is not the first option for treating ADHD, it is important to be aware that when it is proposed, not all private providers or those offering services through the Right to Choose can prescribe or manage medication. 

Right to choose and prescribing

The list of quality assured Right to Choose providers on the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Provider Framework above shows which local providers have arrangements in place for NHS prescribing.

If you use a provider outside of this list and medication is recommended, you may need a referral to your local NHS Neurodevelopmental Service, which would involve another waiting period.

Support while waiting for an assessment

If you, your young person’s teacher/SENDCO or GP have decided that an assessment may be required, it does not mean that you need to wait to access support.

It is important to note that confirmation of neurodiversity is not required to access support for your child at school or pre-school so you should talk to the school staff to ask what they can do to help.

There are other services, charities and support groups who will also be happy to help without a formal confirmation that your child or young person is neurodivergent. Details of local organisations can be found here.