Suffolk ND Pathway

To access the Suffolk Neurodevelopmental Pathway, families need to collaborate with a health or education professional who can act as the 'Lead Professional' for the referral process. The lead professional involved in your child's care is typically someone from their education setting; such as a teacher or special needs coordinator (SENDCO).

Referrals are accepted from a health visitor, school nurse, GP, social worker, or mental health practitioner. However, if the lead professional is not from your child's education provider/school we recommend that the form be completed jointly with them to include information about your child's educational background.

We are not able to accept referrals directly from families at this time.

If your child is being educated other than at school, referrals are accepted from professionals who are familiar with your child or young person’s needs. There is a separate ‘Alternative Education’ referral form to ensure that the neurodevelopmental pathway is accessible to all.

Part One - for parents or caregivers to complete to capture details and insights into your child's or young person’s needs at home

Part Two - for professionals to complete to capture their understanding of your child's or young person’s needs.

Your referral forms will be reviewed to see if all the information required has been completed. If not; the forms will be returned back to the referrer for further completion and resubmission of referral.

Completed referral forms (Part 1 and Part 2) will then be clinically screened and triaged to see if an assessment is required.

If an assessment is not clinically indicated the referrer will be informed of the decision and next steps outlined.

If the referral is clinically appropriate for assessment the referral will be added to the waiting list for assessment and the parent/carer and referrer will be notified of the outcome.

The clinician who assesses your child may be a paediatrician, psychiatrist, specialist nurse, speech and language therapist or occupational therapist. There may be multiple assessment appointments over a period of time with one or more of these clinicians in attendance at any one-time (multi-disciplinary team (MDT) assessment).

The assessment pathway is designed to conduct a comprehensive, specialist assessment in line with National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance. 

There will be an opportunity to talk about your concerns as well as the observations given in the referral form so it may be useful in advance of the appointment to keep a copy of your concerns/observations that you can refer to. They may talk to your child and try to engage them in conversation or get them to participate in some simple games or activities to observe their responses. They will also consider reports and observations from school or other education settings.

Following the assessment, it will be determined if your child or young person meets the clinical diagnostic criteria for a diagnosis of Autism and/or ADHD. Once a decision has been reached there will be a feedback session to explain the results of the assessment and what will happen next.

While you wait for an assessment there are various sources and levels of support available depending on individual needs.

The Supporting Your Neurodivergent Child Resource Pack has been devised by parents who have shared their own experiences, tips and best practices, along with many other families across Suffolk and Essex to aid you on your own journey.

The material in this online resource was originally created by three organisations, Essex Family Forum, Send the Right Message and MyOTAS.

Suffolk has reproduced this document with their permission, replacing Essex content with Suffolk local information gathered from a range of sources, and supported by our Suffolk parent Carer Forum.

Written permission is required from Essex Family Forum to distribute or for any duplication that would commercially exploit the content.

The graphic design was produced by Essex County Council.

Keep a diary

When you are speaking with professionals about your concerns, or you are providing information for a referral it helps to have kept a diary of your experiences and why you are concerned.

Don't compare your child or young person to someone else's

The way your child or young person's development progresses is different to another. Neurodevelopmental disorders are a spectrum and whilst there are distinctive characteristics that must be present to obtain a diagnosis, how they present in your child or young person and the impact they have on their development will differ between individuals.

Talk to others and try not to become isolated

Families often say they felt alone when their child or young person was initially identified as having a neurodevelopmental need, especially where the child or young person displayed distressed behaviour. There are several voluntary organisations across Suffolk that are ran by parents of children with a neurodevelopmental disorder who will be happy to have a chat with you about their experience and what techniques they found helped their child or young person.
Examples of local voluntary organisations:

• Suffolk Parent Carer Forum
• Activities Unlimited
• SENDIASS Suffolk

Take notes

When you are attending appointments with clinicians you will likely be provided with a lot of information, which can be overwhelming. If you can, take a pen and paper and write down anything of significance as this will help you remember at a later point

Ask questions

You will have lots of questions throughout the process and it is never a wrong time to ask them. Sometimes it is helpful to write these questions down, so you do not forget them when you are attending an appointment with clinicians. If there is more practical help you are needing, you can access services through the SEND Local Offer. Even if the person you speak to doesn’t know the answer, they will know someone who will.

Access training courses and resources

Lots of organisations provide free training for parents and carers of children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions and how to meet their needs. Some are specific to a particular diagnosis such as Autism or ADHD, but others are topical such as sleeping or toileting. You will also find lots of tips and advice in the Suffolk Resource Pack or can attend one of the Neurodiversity parent Workshops

You don't need a diagnosis to access support

The prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders is increasing, this means that the length of time you are waiting for a diagnosis may be long. However, access to support for you and your child or young person's needs is not reliant on a diagnosis.