Who are we?
We are a team of health professionals from backgrounds like Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry, Nursing and Speech and Language Therapy who all have knowledge and experience of diagnosing and supporting children and young people with ADHD.
We are all trained in undertaking ADHD assessments and when working together will consider each child as a multidisciplinary team to try to make the best decisions to help to understand and support them.
What do we provide?
The ADHD Assessment Pathway is based in Kent and Medway and provides ADHD assessments for children under the criteria in the grid below.
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Referral Age for ADHD |
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East Kent (Canterbury, Ashford, South Kent Coast and Thanet) |
From 0 to 18 years old. |
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West Kent (Maidstone, Swale, Dartford and Medway) |
From 11 to 18 years old. |
(If your child is under our referral age please seek support from your GP or local Community Paediatric Service)
The ADHD assessment aims to gather information to provide a full developmental picture of a child including their strengths and challenges. As well as meeting with the child/young person and observing their communication, interaction and behaviour, we will aim to gather information from other services, including key adults that know them well like their parents and carers, school or other setting and any other professionals involved.
How to contact us
If your child is already a patient or waiting for a diagnostic ADHD assessment you can contact your locality clinic
If you are looking to refer a child or young person for an ADHD Diagnostic assessment or other mental health support please visit our Home page
How to make a referral
Who can refer
We accept referrals from parents, carers, school, GP and other professionals. The most important thing is that we have all of the required information that we ask for so that our triage team can ensure the young person is directed to the most appropriate support.
How to make a referral
You can refer using our Single Point of Access referral form – please make sure you clearly state any mental well being concerns as well as indicating if you are seeking an ADHD diagnosis. Our ADHD diagnostic service is only for diagnosing ADHD and isn’t specifically for family or mental health support for those with ADHD. If you think the child or young person has additional mental health concerns, please make this clear on your referral information so that the team can ensure the right support is considered.
What is the process for diagnosis?
Referral
A referral can be made into the NELFT Kent and Medway Single Point of Access (SPA) from a parent/carer or a professional that knows your child well i.e. GP, teacher, early help worker
The referrer will need to complete a Single Point of Access (SPA) referral form.
Triage
Once the fully completed referral is submitted to the SPA team, discussion will be carried out to review the young persons referral and decide if they meet the threshold to be put forward for a full ADHD diagnostic assessment. If other additional mental health needs are indicated on the referral, the SPA team will direct the referral to the most appropriate service or pathway within our service as part of the triage process.
Screening
If the referral information is indicating that an ADHD assessment is an appropriate response, you will be sent additional forms that are called 'screeners' to complete and send back to us. These questionnaires are usually completed by the family and educations setting (If not in education, this will not exclude you.)
Outcome
If your child meets the threshold for a full ADHD assessment, they will be added to the waiting list and a letter of confirmation will be sent to the parent/carer, school and GP. If your child does not meet the threshold, for an ADHD assessment, you will receive a letter informain you of the outcome. If you have indicated additional emotional wellbeing or mental health concerns on your referral, you may be directed to, or be offered other support.
Initial assessment
This is the first part of the ADHD assessment carried out by a specialist ADHD nurse, who will complete a detailed developmental history. This involves asking questions about the child's early years, toddlerhood and when they were at primary school. We will also ask you questions about their current behaviours. This normally takes around 1.5 hours. A decision will be made at this assessment if your child should be put forward for a diagnostic assessment with a specialist consultant.
Diagnostic assessement
This part of the assessment will be carried out with a specialist consultant who will assess and diagnose your child with ADHD and feedback accordingly. Or the specialist consultant will decide that an ADHD diagnosis for your child is not applicable and the case will be closed, unless they are receiving treatment or intervention elsewhere in our service.
Treatment
Once a diagnosis is given, Psycho Educational treatment options will be discussed in the first instance. i.e. sleep, hygiene and ADHD management.
During the first appointment, the nurse may need to take your child's weight, height and blood pressure as a baseline measurement. If medication is started, your child will visit the ADHD clinic every 3-6 months to be reviewed. A review with the nurse will be carried out six weeks from diagnosis, where medication can be discussed and further initiated with a specialist consultant.