Barnet Neurodevelopmental Service

The Barnet ND team is a multidisciplinary team consisting of: 

• consultant psychiatrists
• clinical psychologists
• family therapists
• art therapists
• social workers
• nurses
• CAMHS clinicians
• Positive Behaviour Support Practitioners
• Trainee Clinical Psychologists
• Assistant Psychologists
• final year students
• administrators

All referrals now go through the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey CAMHS Single Point of Access (SPOA).

Telephone line: 0208 702 3111 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)

Referral email:  beh-tr.camhs-spoa@nhs.net

Upon the completion of screening forms and an initial assessment by the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey CAMHS Single Point of Access (SPOA), you will receive confirmation of whether your child has met criteria to be added to our ADHD assessment wait list.

We provide a clinic report to explain what is explored during your child’s assessment and confirming the outcome of the assessment, and if the child / young person does not meet criteria, we would explain the reasons behind the perceived / observed attentional differences.

We will contact you usually by phone or by email with details of an appointment, when available.

Stage 1 – Developmental history interview

• During this appointment the assessor will make a direct observation of your child whilst asking them direct questions about their attentional difficulties, physical health, mental health, school performance including their particular strengths.
• The assessor does a holistic assessment, and will triangulate information from school, home and direct observation and conversations made in the clinic.

Stage 2 –  Feedback of the outcome of the assessment

• The assessor will let you know the outcome of the diagnosis based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders V (DSM-V) protocol to determine whether your child meets criteria for ADHD.

Stage 3 – Recommendations

• If your child meets criteria, you will be requested to attend a Psychoeducation Group for ADHD.
• The first line of treatment is to consider behavioural interventions; the team will provide you with a list of community resources that you would need to sign up with.
• Sometimes children require medication to treat their ADHD, and this would be done in conjunction with the above interventions and in line with NICE Guidelines.

We understand that waiting for an ADHD assessment and medication can be challenging, and we want to shed some light on the process. At present, the waiting time for an ADHD assessment can range between 1 to 2 years. Additionally, following a diagnosis of ADHD, for those recommended medication, the current wait time is roughly 10 months.

The variability in waiting times is influenced by factors such as clinician availability and increased demand for our service. We are continuing to work to reduce this as much as possible and any changes will be updated on this page.

During this time we encourage you to explore the support networks available including local charities and online platforms tailored for ADHD support. These can all be found on this page under the resources section. These platforms can provide information, guidance and peer support. Parents have reported that connecting with others who understand their experiences offer valuable insight and comfort. Additionally, community resources can offer practical strategies managing ADHD symptoms whilst waiting for NHS services.

If you need to contact us to inform us of a significant change in your child’s circumstances, please contact the team on 0208 702 4500.

Websites:

• ADHD Voices On Identity, Childhood, Ethics and Stimulants – ADHD Voices website where you can view their full series of videos and further resources.
• ADHD UK
• ADDitude Magazine - ADDitude online ‘magazine’ which provides fact checked sources of information and articles on ADHD including support strategies.
• ADDISS - the National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and support service. They provide information and resources about ADHD to anyone who needs assistance, including books and resources
• ADHD Foundation - information and resources to support young people and families in understanding and managing ADHD
• ADHD and mental health - Young Minds ADHD and mental health
• Let’s talk about ADHD video | NCMH - National Centre for Mental Health: Let’s talk about ADHD
• ADHD Resources (adhdkids.org.uk) – Website full of resources
• CHADD - Improving the lives of people affected by ADHD - Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - Treatment

ADHD isn’t just one story – it’s the stories of thousands of people around the world. It’s the stories of children, of college students, of adult adhd. It’s more than their symptoms: it’s the story of their struggles and their successes.

ADHD: ‘It’s my superpower’: Inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness - these are just some of the symptoms of ADHD or Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. By some estimates, it is one of the most common behavioural disorders in the UK.

But instead of us here at the BBC deciding what questions to ask about ADHD, we wanted to give that job to people who know ADHD much better than us - an ADHD parents’ support group. The group came up with four questions and we at BBC Stories made four films to try to find answers for them.

Let’s talk about ADHD: This animation discusses what it means to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It was co-produced by children with ADHD, their families and carers, and health professionals in the field. It is based on research evidence as well as ideas from children and individuals with lived experienced of ADHD.

This is what it’s really like to have ADHD video: ADHD isn’t just one story – it’s the stories of thousands of people around the world. It’s the stories of children, of college students, of adult adhd. It’s more than their symptoms: it’s the story of their struggles and their successes.

• Resources for parents, carers and families:

  • NHS: Dealing with child behaviour problems
  • NHS: How to deal with challenging behaviour in children 
  • HelpGuide.org: ADHD in children
  • Healthy Child: Attention problems in children
  • Kid Sense: Attention and concentration

  Resources for teachers:

  • The Tool Box: Attention activities
  • The Autism Helper: Attention behaviours

  General resources:

  • NHS: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Speech and Language Therapy for Kids: Attention milestones
  • The Tool Box: Self-monitoring strategies for kids
  • Child Mind Institute: Why do kids act out?
  • Anna Freud: Common difficulties - Aggression
  • Very Well Mind: How psychologists define attention

• Resources for parents, carers and families: 

  • NHS: How to care for someone with communication difficulties
  • BBC: Speech and language difficulties 
  • Gov.uk: Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

  Resources for teachers:

  • Oxfordshire County Council: Early Years SEN toolkit - Communication and interaction
  • NSPCC: Supporting children who have additional needs and disabilities

  General resources:

  • Speech and Language UK 
  • TES: How communication needs and behaviour are linked
  • Austism.org: Understanding and developing communication
  • Special Needs Jungle: Free course in Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) in children with mental health difficulties
  • Chatterbug: How important is an adult’s role in developing a child’s communication
  • Islington.gov: Bright Start Support for Under 5s with emerging SEND and disabilities
  • Communication Matters
  • Twinkl: Visual Communication Cards
  • BBC Bitesize: SEND

• Resources for parents, carers and families:

  • Beyond Autism: Sensory needs parents’ coffee morning with the school’s Occupational Therapist
  • The Mighty: How to Satisfy 6 Kinds of Sensory Needs for Kids With Autism
  • He’s extraordinary: 32 Activities for Sensory Seekers
  • Parenta: ‘Sensory diets’ and how they can help children diagnosed with ADHD
  • Understood: Understanding sensory processing challenges in your child

  Resources for teachers:

  • NAS: Reasonable adjustments for autistic pupils’ sensory differences

  General resources

  • NHS: Sensory-friendly resource pack
  • NAS: Sensory differences
  • Autism Speaks: Sensory issues
  • NAS: Sensory differences - a guide for all audiences
  • The Spectrum: Autism sensory strategies
  • Very Well Health: Sensory overload - Symptoms, causes, and treatments
  • NHS: Sensory Processing in Young People with a Learning Disability and/or ASD
  • Autism Together: Vestibular sense and the autistic spectrum
  • Psychology Today: Autism and sensory needs
  • Understood: The difference between sensory processing challenges and ADHD
  • ADDitude: Never enough? Why ADHD brains crave stimulation
  • Very Well Mind: Understanding hypersensitivity in ADHD
  • Scouts: Sensory processing differences and disorder (SPD)
  • Learning Disability Today: A beginner’s guide to neurodiversity
  • Learning Disability Matters: Sensory issues
  • Sensory Trust: Using Widgit and symbol languages
  • Smart Kids: Sensory processing disorder overview

• Resources for children and young people

  • Mencap: Changes to special educational needs and disability support (easy read guide)

  Resources for parents, carers and families:

  • Gov.UK: SEND support - Easy-read guide for parents
  • Islington.gov: Education, care and health assessment pathway
  • Family Action: SEND information for parents and carers
  • Gov.UK: Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
  • Gov.UK: Apply for school transport for a child with special educational needs and disabilities
  • Islington.gov: Short breaks service
  • Special Needs Jungle: One parent’s seven steps to success for her autistic son’s EHCP
  • NAS: Education, health and care plans in England
  • Child Autism UK: Help with funding and the EHC Plan
  • Scope: Applying for an EHCP
  • Scope: Special Educational Needs (SEN) Support

  Resources for teachers:

  • Gov.UK: SEND code of practice - 0-25 years

  General resources:

  • Islington.gov: SEND local offer
  • Islington.gov: Services in primary and secondary schools 
  • Islington.gov: Education information required by the LA to consider an EHC needs assessment request
  • Family Action: Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) services
  • Action for Children: About Islington Short Breaks
  • Action for Children: Short Breaks
  • Ambitious about Autism: Education, Health and Care plans
  • IPSEA: EHC plans, EHC needs assessments and SEND Tribunal appeals
  • NAS: Long awaited SEND Improvement Plan released

Resources for professionals:

• Therapist Neurodiversity Collective: Neurodiversity-affirming therapy - Positions, therapy goals and best practices

Resources for teachers:

• Teach Early Years: Neuro affirming practice - Early Years advice from Kerry Murphy

General resources:

• NAS: How to talk and write about autism
• RDs for Neurodiversity: The Neurodiversity Affirming Model
• Learn, Play, Thrive: Goal Writing for Autistic Students Course
• Positive About Autism
• CBC: I Want To Share 10 Positive Traits That Some People With Autism Have
• SEN Magazine: Positive about autism
• Autism Education Trust: Positives of being autistic - Jessica
• ADDitude: What I Would Never Trade Away
• Very Well Health: 10 Surprising Benefits of Having ADHD
• ADDept: THE ADHD ADVANTAGE - The 10 greatest benefits of ADHD brains
• BBC: The good things about ADHD - ’It’s my superpower’
• BBC: Inside Our Autistic Minds - Demystifying autism and overstimulation
• The Guardian: I’m a woman with ADHD - here are all the reasons why I’m proud of it
• The Guardian: ‘We don’t need to be cured or fixed’ - writers speak out on autism
• NAS: Stories from the spectrum

Resources for parents, carers and families: 

• Start Sleeping: Autism and sleep - What parents need to know
• NHS: How to help your autistic child with day-to-day life
• Autism Parenting Magazine: Autism sleep medication - Is it safe and beneficial?
• NHS: How does sleep differ in a child with a neurodiversity?

General resources:

• NAS: Sleep and autism 
• NAS: Autism and sleep disturbance
• Autism Speaks: Sleep
• Spectrum: Sleep problems in autism, explained
• Sleep Health Foundation: Autism in children and sleep
• PsychCentral: How can autism affect your sleep?
• Embrace Autism: Autism & sleep problems - Solutions
• Sleep Advisor: Autism and sleeping problems - Patterns and disorders explained
• Sleep Foundation: ADHD and Sleep
• NHS: Living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• ADDitude: ADHD and Sleep Problems - This is why you’re always tired
• Very Well Mind: How embracing the chaos helps my ADHD
• Start Sleeping: Sleep and ADHD / ADD
• Very Well Mind: The relationship between ADHD and insomnia
• Different Brains: Neurodiversity and Sleep: Tips for helping different brains rest
• Neurodivergent insights: Autism, ADHD and Sleep - An expert guide on neurodivergent sleep
• Parenting the Diverse: Sleep

• Resources for parents, carers and families:

  • NAS: Making friends - Supporting your autistic child
  • The Mom Kind: Autism & friendship - Helping your autistic child form positive friendships
  • AANE: Friendships - Variations on a theme
  • YoungMinds: Supporting your child with ADHD
  • Child Mind Institute: Kids who need a little help to make friends
  • Very Well Family: How to encourage good sibling relationships
  • Sibs: Helping siblings have a positive relationship
  • NAS: Family relationships - A guide for siblings of autistic people
  • ADDitude: When ADHD Drains and Strains Sibling Relationships
  • NAS: Family relationships
  • NAS: Siblings
  • The Healthy Place: The impact of ADHD on siblings

  Resources for adults:

  • Very Well Health: The importance of social skills therapy for autism
  • NAS: Making friends - A guide for autistic adults

  General resources:

  • autism speaks: Social skills and autism
  • The OT Toolbox: Social skills checklist
  • Centre for Autism: Social skills 
  • The Spectrum: Autism social interaction strategies
  • Twinkl: Social skills 
  • Ambitious about Autism: 10 reasons people with autism struggle with friendships
  • Spectrum: How people with autism forge friendships
  • Twinkl: An expert guide to autism and friendship skills
  • Autism Society: Social connections
  • Incredible Kids: Autism and friendships!
  • HealthyPlace: ADHD and Friendships: How to make and keep friends
  • raisingchildren: Friendships - Children and pre-teens with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  • The Mighty: Object permanence - Why ADHD makes me ‘forget’ my friends

• Resources for children and young people:

  • NHS: Emotional regulation - What is it?

  Resources for parents, carers and families 

  • Additude: Take a deep breath - Teaching kids to control emotions
  • Mightier: 5 emotional self-regulation skills for kids
  • Meraki Lane: Self-regulation at home - 10 calming strategies for kids
  • Parenting for Brain: How co-regulation with parents develops into self-regulation in children

  Resources for teachers:

  • Inclusive Teach: Emotional regulation & SEND - Free printable resources
  • TES: 5 strategies to help children self-regulate
  • Twinkl: Zones of regulation teaching activity
  • NIHR: School-based self-regulation interventions can improve child academic, health and behavioural outcomes
  • SEND Supported: Understanding and supporting children with emotional regulation difficulties

  Resources for professionals:

  • NICABM: Applying the 3 Circles Model of Emotion to help clients heal shame

  General resources

  • Child Mind Institute: How can we help kids with self-regulation?
  • The OT Toolbox: Emotional regulation games
  • Growing Hands on Kids: How to teach emotional regulation skills to children
  • Smart Kids with LD: DBT may help regulate emotions
  • The OT Toolbox: Lion and Lamb self-regulation activity for kids
  • NHS: Emotional regulation
  • habits for wellbeing: The emotional regulation system

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