Our aim is to provide a high quality, holistic, person-centred service for children, young people and their families with neuro-developmental conditions.
The service works in a variety of settings, to best support your family.
We work closely with parents, carers and professionals in order to empower, advocate and maximise potential.
What is ADHD?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect a person’s attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. (NICE, 2018)
The core symptoms of ADHD include:
Inattentive – unable to concentrate for very long or finish a task, disorganised, often losing things, easily distracted and forgetful, unable to listen when people are talking
Hyperactivity – fidgety and unable to sit still, restless (children may be running or climbing much of the time), talking constantly, noisy, having difficulty doing quiet activities
Impulsivity – speaking without thinking about the consequences, interrupting other people, unable to wait or take their turn.
Following on from the diagnosis
After your child have received an ADHD diagnosis your paediatrician will refer to the specialist nursing team. Following this you will be offered a place on a post diagnostic workshop, if you are unable to attend then a diagnostic pack can be sent out.
Commenced on medication
If you have been commenced on medication by the paediatrician, they will telephone you/your parents a few weeks later to see how this is working.
You will then be added to our review list to see one of the ADHD Nurses in clinic. This is our opportunity to meet with you and your parents.
The review follows NICE guidance and involves discussing with you and your parents your response to the medication, whether it is still effective or needs altering, your appetite, sleep and behaviour.
As the medications can affect heart rate and blood pressure, these are checked at each appointment along with height and weight.
Before your paediatrician agrees to the medication in the first place a pre-medication questionnaire was carried out to ascertain suitability (please refer to mission statement).
Decided against medication
Should you have decided against medication at this time, you will not be called for review.
However, telephone consultations can be booked through on 01925 946485 or at bchft.warringtonpaediatricadhd@nhs.net and we can offer support and advice that way.
What to expect in your appointment
Medication review clinics are scheduled in accordance with NICE guidance and during these appointments’ height, weight and blood pressure will be taken therefore the child/young person will need to be present.
Telephone consultations and home visits are also available when required.
We are also able to liaise with other professionals including education, social care and other agencies when appropriate.
If you need to rearrange your appointment, please contact the ADHD administrator on 01925 946485
How to order a prescription
Please order your prescriptions with 10 working days’ notice on 01925 946970 at bchft.warrcompaed-repeatscripts@nhs.net.
When requesting a prescription please provide the following details:
Name and DOB of child
Name of Medication being requested
The prescription will be sent electronically to the nominated pharmacy listed within the child’s record. If you need to change the nominated pharmacy, please contact your GP.
Useful resources
ADHD Information pack
Qb Testing
Our team, on behalf of the community paediatricians, provide the Qb assessments that can formulate part of the ADHD assessment and decision making for titration of medication.
A referral from the relevant health professionals will be completed to indicate the need for this assessment.
Following this, you will receive a letter stating your appointment at the Child Development Centre.
What is a Qb test
A Qb test is a tool which helps to understand a child’s levels in the following areas
1) Activity – How active your child is when completing the task
2) Concentration – The levels of attention your child can maintain whilst completing the task
3) Impulsivity – How much thought a child has put into their actions during the task.
For this, your child will be asked to sit for a short programme on the computer (15 or 20 minutes depending on age) and complete a simple task.
The data from this, is compared to a control group of same age, same sex children who don’t have a diagnosis of ADHD.
For more information videos can be found on the Qbtech Website
What will the appointment involve?
Your child will be invited into the appointment alone, this is to ensure a standardised controlled environment to ensure accuracy.
The practitioner for your appointment, will use visuals and practice tests to help your child understand and feel comfortable to complete the assessment.
The assessment is comprised of a simple task in which your child is required to ‘click a button’ when they see the appropriate image on screen.
For the assessment, your child will be required to wear a headband for monitoring activity levels.
They will be asked to sit on a stool/chair that is placed appropriately for the conditions of the assessment.
We would ask that your child does not wear any reflective, sparkly, or shiny clothing as this can interfere with the equipment.
In some cases, where individuals have been unable to complete the practice test, for any number of reasons, the assessment will be discontinued, and this information will be shared with your paediatrician.
This will not affect the final outcome of your assessment, as this tool only forms part of the diagnostic criteria.
In some circumstances, you may be asked to repeat the Qb test at a later date, on a trial of ADHD medication.
You will be issued with a prescription following consultation with the Paediatrician, you will be advised to administer this to your child an hour before the appointment.
Outcomes and next steps
The data gathered by the Qb test and practitioner at your appointment, will then be shared with your Paediatrician following this assessment.
The practitioner will not be able to provide any information regarding the outcome of the assessment at your appointment.
Further to this, they will be unable to specify when you may receive the feedback, due to waiting times.
Following the completion of the Qb test, your child will be closed to the specialist nursing back into the care of the paediatrician for the remainder of the assessment process.
What if my child is attending an Qb test for medication titration?
If you have been requested to attend a Qb test in order to review your existing ADHD medication, you will be allocated an appointment routinely.
It is important that you have taken your medication as advised prior to the test.
Autism
What is Autism?
Below you will see we use the term Autistic as this terminology is the preference of the Autistic community. As a service we understand everyone has different preferences and we will always be guided by the terminology you prefer when working with you and your child.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition.
Autism is characterised by differences in an individual’s authentic styles of social interaction and social communication.
Autistic people also often experience their senses in a heightened way, may show passion for favoured interests and often thrive on routine.
This will have impacted the individual’s everyday life from early childhood.
Social communication is the ability to interpret both verbal and nonverbal language including things such as gestures and tone of voice.
This can present as having a literal understanding of things and finding it difficult to understand more abstract concepts. Autistic individuals may struggle to initiate conversation with others who have differing communication styles to their own.
Social interaction is the ability to recognise and understand the feelings and intentions of others.
The person’s ability to communicate their own emotions to others and understand ‘unwritten’ social rules that we all live by in society.
What happens after my child/young person receives a diagnosis of Autism?
The professional who gives your child/teen their diagnosis should make a referral to the Specialist Nursing Team for post diagnostic support.
Once the team receive this referral you will be receive an information pack to give you further details about the diagnosis and our service.
It is important if you need support in relation to your child/teens diagnosis that you contact the team on 01925 946773 where you will then be offered an appointment with a member of the team to see how we can support you and your child/teen.
You will not automatically be contacted by our service and so it’s important you let us know using the above number if you need our support.
Common things we help with include sleep, behaviour, regulation skills and autism understanding.
Where appropriate we can work with the child/young person’s family or 1-1 with the young person themselves to offer this support. We are also able to liaise with other professionals including education, social care, and other agencies as appropriate.
You may be wondering ‘how do I tell my child they are Autistic?’
We recommend starting by focusing on your child’s strengths and difficulties and then offer a name for this being Autism. Acknowledge everyone has strengths and difficulties and try to talk about Autism in an open and positive way.
Information pack
Autism new diagnosis information pack
Learning Disabilities
A Learning Disability is defined by a reduced cognitive ability, difficulty understanding new or complex information, learning new skills, and coping independently. This will affect the individual’s ability to manage everyday activities.
A Learning Disability is a lifelong disability and needs to occur while the brain is still developing.
This means that accidents and illnesses that occur before, during and soon after birth may be categorised as a Learning Disability.
A brain injury that occurs below the age of 18 is defined as a Learning Disability, however one that occurs after this age is not defined as a Learning Disability.
Learning Disabilities unlike Autism are categorised as mild, moderate, or severe.
Learning Difficulties
Learning difficulties is a term often confused with Learning Disabilities, even amongst professionals. Learning difficulties include things like Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD).
These, unlike Learning Disabilities, do not affect intellectual ability, but may mean the individual needs some additional support with their learning.
It is possible to have both a Learning Disability and a Learning Difficulty.
Service offer
The Specialist Nursing Team can support children, young people, and their families with a Learning Disability. Following this diagnosis your child’s paediatrician will make a referral to the Specialist Nursing Team.
On receipt of this referral, you will be sent an opt in letter or text inviting you to contact the team to book an appointment to discuss how we can support you and your child if required.
We can talk to you about specific behaviours of concern, difficulties with sleep and signpost to other relevant services where needed. You can find other information on these topics under advice sheets and further resources on this website.
We are not able to offer support with specific Learning Difficulties, as a difficulty that effects learning, your child’s school is best placed to support with this.
Health passport template
A health passport is a resource designed to support individuals with additional needs to access health appointments or admission to hospital.
It is a working document and will communicate specific needs to all professionals involved in their care.