Neurodiversity

Where to start

Assessment usually begins at school rather than at the surgery. The GP is the referral route, but a school that has already tried and recorded support makes everything after it faster.

• The SENCo at your child’s school. The member of staff responsible for special educational needs. They hold the assessment routes, the in-school support, and the paperwork an EHCP needs. Ask for a meeting in writing, and ask what is already being tried under the graduated approach. This conversation usually has to happen before anything statutory can.
• Your local SENDIASS. The free, impartial SEND information, advice and support service every local authority in England must provide: SEN support, EHC needs assessments, exclusions, and what to do when you and the school disagree. As soon as special educational needs are in the picture. Search your borough’s name with SENDIASS, or use the national finder. councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/about-us-0/networks/information-advice-and-support-services-network/find-your-local-ias-service
• Your GP. The gateway to everything the NHS offers a child: paediatric assessment, a referral to CAMHS, and support for you as the parent. Ask for a double appointment. Describe the pattern over weeks rather than the worst single day, and say plainly what you are worried about. Bring a written list; the ten minutes go quickly. www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp
• Your local authority. The council’s children’s services and SEND team. They hold statutory assessment, the Local Offer, and early help for families who need more than a school can give. When school-level support has been tried and is not enough, or when you want to know what your area actually provides. www.gov.uk/find-local-council

For neurodiversity

• SENDIASS (your local SEND information and advice service). Every local authority in England funds a free, impartial advice service for parents of children with special educational needs: SEN support, EHC assessments and plans, exclusions, and disagreements with the school. Most offer a phone line, email and drop-ins. Before anything statutory. Search your borough’s name with SENDIASS, or use the national finder. England. Each local authority runs its own; the finder lists them all. councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/about-us-0/networks/information-advice-and-support-services-network/find-your-local-ias-service
• Contact (for families with disabled children). The charity for families with a disabled child, whether or not there is a diagnosis yet. A free helpline, webchat, benefits advice and local groups. In the early days after a diagnosis, or while you are still waiting for one, when you need someone warm and practical. Contact Helpline 0808 808 3555 · Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm (Tue opens 10.15am) · Webchat and an online enquiry form via the website; bookable Listening Ear calls contact.org.uk/help-for-families/information-advice-services/our-helpline
• National Autistic Society. The UK’s autism charity. A large advice hub, a directory of autism services near you, an online community, and a one-off support call from another parent of an autistic child, arranged through the website. From the first suspicion through assessment and after. There is no phone helpline to ring; the parent-to-parent call takes up to twelve working days to arrange. No phone helpline. The parent-to-parent call is arranged online and can take up to twelve working days. By arrangement, requested through the website · Parent to Parent Emotional Support Helpline: confidential one-off call staffed by parents of autistic children; arranged via the website. www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support
• ADHD UK. A national ADHD charity with free online support groups, including one for parents, plain guides to getting a child assessed and to the SEND system, and template letters for exam access arrangements. When you suspect ADHD, while you wait for assessment, and when school needs a nudge. Use the free groups; the paid course is not what we are pointing you to. Use the free groups and guides. The paid course and the coaching marketplace are not what we are pointing you to. adhduk.co.uk
• IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice). Free, independent legal advice on special educational needs in England: SEN support, EHC needs assessments and plans, exclusions and tribunal appeals. A call-in helpline and bookable advice appointments. When the school or the local authority has stopped moving and you need to know what the law says they must do. England only. The SEND systems in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland work differently. IPSEA Advice Line and Call-in Helpline 0300 222 5899 · Triage Tue 9.30am-12.30pm; Call-in Helpline Wed 9.30am-2.30pm www.ipsea.org.uk/get-support

If reading and writing are the difficulty

• British Dyslexia Association. The UK’s dyslexia charity. Plain guidance on whether your child might be dyslexic, how to get an assessment and what school should be doing, plus a part-time helpline by phone and email. When reading and writing are the difficulty and you are not sure whether it is a slow start or something more. Email is the more reliable route; the phone hours are short. Volunteer-staffed, so messages left outside the hours are answered when they can be. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. BDA National Helpline 0333 405 4567 · Tue 10am-1pm, Wed 1pm-3pm, Thu 1pm-3pm www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/children

If tics are part of it

• Tourettes Action. The UK charity for tics and Tourette syndrome. A confidential helpdesk by live chat and email, webinars for parents, and resources to give the school. When tics have appeared and you want to understand them before anyone labels them. No phone number is published; chat and email are the routes. Live chat Mon-Fri 10am-3pm; email replies within 48 hours; call-backs on request www.tourettes-action.org.uk/9-helpdesk.html

If sleep is part of it

• The Sleep Charity. The UK’s only national sleep helpline, staffed by trained sleep advisers, covering children from a year old, including autistic and ADHD children, and teenagers. When nothing you have tried has worked and you want someone to look at the whole pattern with you. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. National Sleep Helpline 03303 530 541 · Mon-Thu 9am-11am; Mon, Tue and Thu 7pm-9pm; closed bank holidays thesleepcharity.org.uk/national-sleep-helpline

If you are considering a private assessment

• The Giaroli Centre. A private clinic at Harley Street where children are assessed for ADHD, autism and tics by a psychiatrist, psychologist and paediatrician together, in person or by video. If you are choosing to pay for an assessment and want to see what a properly multidisciplinary one looks like. Fee-paying; ask for the fee schedule before you book. A private fee-paying clinic, named in our chapters as an example of how a good multidisciplinary assessment is put together, not as the only one. www.dr-giaroli.org/assessment-treatment/child-assessments

If you are considering private therapy

Waiting lists are long. If you can meet the cost, a registered therapist can usually be seen in weeks rather than months. Both registers below are accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, which is the thing to check before anything else.

• BACP Therapist Directory. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s public register. Search by area, by what you are bringing, and by whether the therapist works with children. www.bacp.co.uk/search/Therapists
• NCPS Therapist Directory. The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society’s register. Every therapist listed is qualified, supervised, insured, and accountable to a code of ethics. ncps.com/find-a-counsellor
• Kensington Square Therapy. Our own practice. We work with children, young people and parents, in person in London, online, and inside schools we partner with. www.kst.ltd

What to look for in a therapist, what a first session is like, and the questions worth asking before you commit, are set out at theparentbook.com/finding-a-therapist

Everything else

The full directory, across every subject, is at theparentbook.com/services. If a number here has changed, please tell us at hello@theparentbook.com and we will correct it.