Help ND assessment – school aged children
This page provides information for neurodevelopmental (Autism and/or ADHD) assessment and diagnosis in Leeds for school aged children and young people.
Autism and/or ADHD assessments for school and college aged children are carried out by the CYPMHS service (previously known as CAMHS). This assessment may be for autism, ADHD, or both at the same time (called a ‘dual assessment’).
More information about autism and ADHD can be found in the Understanding Neurodiversity section.
Neurodevelopmental assessment waiting list for autism and/or ADHD
We unfortunately have very long waiting lists. Currently, children and young people waiting for a routine assessment are unlikely to be seen within the next four years, at a minimum.
We are very sorry that our waiting times to access the service are so long – this is due to the exceptionally high number of referrals in recent years, insufficient funding for assessments and a lack of appropriate skilled staff. The Leeds picture mirrors the national position.
We are sorry that the service will not be able to provide any further information at this time by telephone or email about your place on the waiting list.
Right to choose
Under national legislation (Your choices in the NHS), you have the right to choose your provider for your child/young person’s assessment. Choosing your provider can be discussed as part of your child’s initial neurodevelopmental assessment. However, the capacity in these alternative providers is also limited.
If your child/young person receives an ADHD diagnosis from another provider this may mean your child may need to be referred back to Leeds Community Healthcare for an initial medication consultation. Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust will help to make this work as smoothly as possible, but it is important to bear in mind that there is also a significant wait to be seen for an initial medication consultation. Please be aware that when an ADHD diagnosis has been given by a different service, our team need to review that the assessment meets locally agreed quality standards before we can accept referrals for ADHD medication. These quality standards are based on national guidance. Families may wish to review this guidance before choosing their assessment provider.
ND assessment in CYPMHS
Referrals for CYPMHS ND assessments should be made via the MindMate Single Point of Access (MindMate SPA) – a mental health triage service for children and young people in Leeds.
SENCos/Schools are typically the best people to refer a child for an autism/ADHD assessment through Mindmate SPA. This is because the referral needs to include detailed information from school about the individual’s skills and challenges in their settings.
Nevertheless, there may be circumstances where the parent/carer or young person themselves would like to make a self-referral. A parent or young person can make a self-referral for an autism/ADHD assessment online here. However, you will need to include lots of information from school for the referral to be accepted. You can speak to a MindMate SPA clinician for guidance by phoning 0300 555 0324 during office hours.
Referrals via ‘Right to Choose’ must come from your GP. Please go to WY Health and Care Partnership for more information
Your/your child’s referral will be screened for clinical urgency by the MindMate SPA team. Once you’re at the top of the waiting list the MindMate practitioners will go through all the information gathered, e.g. from school, family, Speech and Language Therapy, Therapeutic Counselling.
Due to significantly high demand, waiting times for triage can be very long.
Following triage, MindMate SPA will send the referral to the most suitable service for support. If suitable, your child will be referred for an autism/ADHD Neurodevelopmental Assessment with CYPMHS, at this point.
The ND assessment process in CYPMHS
The assessment is a process of gathering detailed information about your child, their development as they’ve grown up, their strengths, needs and challenges. The clinical standards for school aged autism and ADHD assessments can be seen here. Whether or not a diagnosis is given, the assessment focuses on your child’s individual needs and circumstances and tailored recommendations will be made on that basis.
Below, you can see the typical assessment process. Some families and young people may be anxious about coming to the appointment. But don’t worry – our team are experienced in working with diverse needs and high anxiety levels and we’ll do our best to make the assessment process as comfortable as possible.
Parents and carers will have a risk screening phone call before the face-to-face assessment. This phone call helps tailor the best support and planning for your child’s needs during and after assessment.
Families will receive information to help them feel more comfortable and familiar with the process before attending the appointment. This includes photos of where you will have the appointment. It will also include brief details about the clinicians who will work with you.
You will also receive a profile for you/your child to complete with anything you/your child would like the team to know before they come. This can include any adjustments or preferences that the child/young person has, e.g. low lighting, ability to wear earphones.
A questionnaire is sent out to your child’s school to gather information about their skills and progress in school. It is important that the team receive this information to gather all the necessary information.
- You will be invited to an appointment at a clinic as a family.
- The parent/carers will meet with a clinician in one room and the child/young person will meet with 2 clinicians in another room at the same time.
o Parent/carer interview – The parent/carer will discuss their child’s development in detail. Information will be gathered about the child/young person’s early life, friendships, emotional wellbeing and how things are going in school and at home. This is also a chance to discuss current concerns and any support that is needed.
o Child/young person session – The clinicians will spend time getting to know the child/young person through informal conversation, activities and games.
There is no right or wrong – the aim of the session is just to better understand how the child/young person’s brain works and how they think. You can see an ‘easy to read’ guide to the assessment appointment for children/young people here.
- While clinicians will carefully consider the relevant neurotypes, e.g. autism and/or ADHD, depending on the child’s referral, both autism and ADHD will typically be considered/screened for in all cases to ensure a thorough and accurate assessment. This is discussed with parent/carers at the start of the assessment and can be adjusted as appropriate.
- If the team feel that more information is needed to make a diagnosis, the child/family may be invited back for additional sessions. This may include a Qb Test (for ADHD), speech and language assessment, cognitive assessment, mental health assessment or school observation.
- The assessment process is designed with flexibility, ensuring adjustments are made according to the needs and comfort of the child/young person.
- The multidisciplinary team (MDT) will meet to review all the information gathered as a whole. The MDT includes a mixture of suitably qualified clinicians, such as, Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatrist Doctors and Speech and Language Therapists.
The team use the diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5). - Feedback appointment – Once a conclusion has been reached, families are invited in for a ‘feedback appointment’. This includes all children/young people too; we encourage older children/young people to attend. The outcome of the assessment is discussed here, with any appropriate further recommendations.
This appointment is also a chance for you to ask any questions you may have about the outcomes of the assessment. It can be hard to think of, or remember, all the questions you have during the appointment, so take some time beforehand to have a think and bring any questions with you. - The family will then be sent a detailed report, outlining each step of the assessment and how the conclusion was reached. It is your choice who you share the report with but we advise that you share the report with school and any other agencies involved in your child’s care and support. The report will include detailed individualised recommendations for you and your family at home, as well as recommendations for your child’s educational setting.
- Your child/young person will then be discharged from the Neurodevelopmental Team in CYPMHS.
- Diagnosis of autism only, or ADHD only – This means that your child’s patterns of thinking and behaviour indicate a diagnosis of either autism or ADHD but not both. The reasons for this will be explained and discussed with you.
- Diagnosis of autism and ADHD – This means that your child’s patterns of thinking and behaviour indicate both a diagnosis of autism and ADHD. The reasons for this will be explained and discussed with you.
- No diagnosis of either autism or ADHD – meaning that your child’s patterns of thinking and behaviour do not indicate a diagnosis of autism or ADHD at that time. Your child’s differences may be explained by an alternative reason, which the team will discuss with you.
If you are given a diagnosis of ADHD, you will be offered to be added to the ‘Medications Clinic’ waiting list. More information about this can be found on our ADHD diagnosis, recommendations and medication page.
No matter what outcome, the clinicians focus on your child’s individual strengths, needs and circumstances. Individually tailored recommendations and advice will be given in all outcomes.
Once a decision has been made the parent/carer will be invited back for a feedback appointment. This is usually for parents/carers only but older young people are welcome to attend if appropriate.
The aim of this session is to discuss the findings of the assessment and all the information gathered. The clinicians will share whether your child’s profile meets any diagnostic criteria or not and what this may mean for you and them.
You can then discuss any future plans or further support for your child.
This appointment is also a chance for you to ask any questions you may have about the outcomes of the assessment. It can be hard to think of, or remember, all the questions you have during the appointment, so take some time beforehand to have a think and bring any questions with you.
Following the feedback appointment, a draft summary report will be sent out to you. You are given approximately 2 weeks to read the report through and let us know if you would like any amendments made. Once the report is approved by yourself, it will be sent to you as a final diagnostic assessment report.
It is your choice who you share the report with but we advise that you share the report with school and any other agencies involved in your child’s care and support. The report will include detailed recommendations for you and your family at home, as well as recommendations for your child’s educational setting. This information will be related to any diagnosis your child received or any support and information that may be helpful.
Following approval of the report, your child will then be discharged from the Neurodevelopmental Assessment pathway in CAMHS.
Priority Waiting list
In exceptional circumstances where there is a significant level of clinical need, the decision may be made to prioritise a child/young person for an ND assessment. In these cases, they will be added to a priority waiting list.
The criteria considered for a priority ND assessment includes:
- Risk of home placement breakdown
- Youth offending behaviour with a high risk of re-offending
- Significant mental health needs including significant risk of harm to self
In addition to factors listed above, there would also need to be a clear way in which an ND assessment would be essential for future planning for the child/young person.
More detailed information about the criteria for clinical prioritisation for an autism/ADHD assessment in children and young people, please see this guide, created by the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership. A request for a priority assessment is reviewed by a team of professionals, and a decision is made around the clinical need for an assessment.
For new referrals, Mindmate SPA are able to consider if a priority assessment is required, in cases where the child/young person is already on the neurodevelopmental assessment waiting list, professionals (e.g., GP, social worker, Youth Justice Worker) can request a discussion with the ND team to decide if a priority assessment is needed
Supporting your child’s needs
All children and families will be guided towards the appropriate mental health and wellbeing services as appropriate – usually outside CYPMHS. Mental health and wellbeing will be considered as part of the assessment process and the need for ongoing support will be discussed during your feedback meeting.
Finding your way to the right support can be daunting – we have made some ‘diagnostic feedback packs’ that will be shared you, with your report, if your child is given a formal diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD. These can also be found below. This will give you more detailed information on any diagnoses given and point you towards organisations who offer support.
You may also find our neurotype pages helpful for autism and ADHD.
Our ND characteristics pages may also be helpful to understand your child’s own individual strengths, differences and needs within the content of neurodivergence.
Just been given a diagnosis of Autism/ ADHD?
See detailed recommendations and support information for school-aged children and young people here.
Find out more informationGet support
You can find a range of national and local support services in the Get Support section of the hub.
Go to the get support page
Leeds Local Offer
The Leeds Local Offer website is a directory of information and services for parents and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
We provide more information about this in our educational setting page.
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