Our surgery supports a Needs Led Approach, which is a holistic, child-centred way of identifying and responding to developmental differences. It involves families, schools, and health professionals working together to understand your child’s unique strengths and challenges, try supportive strategies in everyday environments (home & school), and decide whether a formal assessment – for autism and ADHD – is needed under the HCRG Neurodevelopmental Pathway.
A Needs Led Approach is usually completed by home and school together. All education settings and schools are able to access free training and resources to use this approach. If your child is not in an education setting, the Parent Carer forums will be able to support you to use a Needs Led Approach. You can find more information on the following website:
You may also wish to review this helpful video:
GPs and hospital doctors do not usually make direct referrals into the HCRG Care Group for suspected neurodevelopmental conditions, as education settings are much better placed for this. If you decide that you do not want to follow this pathway, the surgery is able to help guide a referral under the alternative Right To Choose pathway, which means seeking an opinion from an external provider.
It is very important to understand that, if you choose this alternative pathway, although your child can still be supported using the Needs Led Approach in their educational setting, they will not be considered for a formal referral under the HCRG Neurodevelopmental Pathway. This is because a child cannot be on two separate NHS pathways for neurodevelopmental assessment.