Neurodevelopment Autism Pathway Service (School age 4-16 years)

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Specific referral criteria:

• Wigan Resident and/or
• Registered Wigan General Practitioner.
• Aged 4-16 years- referrals will only be accepted up until the 15y 11 months
•  Difficulties are suspected indicative of possible Autism Spectrum Condition where further specialist assessment is required to consider possible diagnosis/ outcome.

Step 1. Referral into the Autism Pathway Service

Referrals will be accepted from General Practitioners, Paediatricians, Speech, and Language therapy service, CAMHS and educational staff.  If a parent has identified some social communication difficulties with their child, they are to approach the GP or school to complete referral. Once a referral has been received an information pack is required to allow effective triage.

Where school are completing the referral they can include the information pack with referral form.

In Consists of two components:

Parent pack to be shared with parent/ carer- to include consent, questionnaire, parent views summary, all about me.

School pack- to include school summary and questionnaire to be completed by school.

Both components to be returned as one email/ document.formation pack for triage.

Step 2. Triage:

Once the Neurodevelopment team receive the completed information it will be triaged/ assessed by the ND Team in line with the national guidance to help identify the features suggesting possible Autism or if there is an identified need.

The triage team will consist of Neurodevelopment Pathway Manager, Neurodevelopment Pathway Co-Ordinator, Health and Development Practitioner and other professionals’ bodies, who will decide if the application meets criteria.

Step 3.  Assessment Phase

A face-to-face assessment is required by Community Paediatricians - this will be requested by the neuro developmental pathway team, to support a physical examination / medical investigation / developmental history / systematic assessment for conditions that may co-exist with autism / possible genetic, microarray tests etc. All children receiving formal assessment through the pathway process will need to have a medical assessment by the consultant.

Referral to Speech and Language Therapy service will be completed for a social communication assessment, if not already completed.

All assessments/reports will be collated by the Neurodevelopment team to prepare for the final diagnostic stage.

Pre-Diagnostic support:

Children and young people and their families will be provided with support once needs have been identified at triage point. This can include signposting to other services, having an allocated worker from the pathway service to give updates about waiting times, or providing training and other interventions for the child/young person, their family, or both.

• Sensory workshops – training sessions and / or a session offering advice on specific areas of need. Liaison with the Occupational therapy department and share advice.

• Sleep workshop – The Neurodevelopment team will offer a support for children who have sleep difficulties.

• Communications - A Twitter account and face book page the Neurodevelopment service has been developed and this includes rolling up- to-date information regarding training events, and useful links to external websites such as the National Autistic Society. 

• This is the stage when the child or young person will be placed on the pending panel list. The Neurodevelopment Manager will allocate places on the panel based on, the date of the referral received and the full completion of assessments

 

Step 4 - Diagnostic decision and outcome:

When all appropriate assessments are completed and information available, the Neurodevelopment Pathway Manager will arrange for the case to be discussed at one of the monthly multi-agency diagnostic panel meetings. Panel members consist of professionals who are highly specialised in the field of Autism. These can include Consultant Paediatrician, Social Care, Special educational needs, and disability Team (SEND), Educational Psychology, Targeted Education Support Service (TESS), Speech and Language, Education Manager, and Occupational Therapy.

Each case is presented by a professional attending the panel meetings. The DSM-5 assessment tool is completed alongside patient information presented to decide whether the child meets criteria for a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Condition, and a multi-agency diagnostic decision will be made jointly at panel. After discussion and debate all professionals need to agree with the outcome before this is signed off.   The outcome decision is shared with parents/carers via letter posted within 48 hours of the panel discussion. This is followed by a more detailed report which consists of information from the decision, information, and discussion at the panel meeting.  a detailed report will be produced as a summary document explaining the decision made at panel and shared with parents / child or young person / referrer.

Post Diagnostic Offer:

Each family whose child receives a diagnosis of Autism are invited to a training session where they can access Autism Awareness training and share information; this is also an opportunity for the parents to come together and have discussion and ask questions.

They receive electronic pack of information

Signposted to other appropriate services/ support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Partners:

• Children’s Social Cares
• Local Authority and Education departments- Early Years setting.
• Other WWL Health services, including Children’s Community Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Complex Nursing.
• Children and young people, their families and carers.

 

We will arrange to see you at a place convenient to you:

• Your home
• A local clinic
• Children’s Centre
• Nursery/ early years setting

 

We are based at Platt Bridge Health Centre and work closely with parents/ carers, young children and other professional teams. Office hours are Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 16:30, but can be flexible and sometimes see families between 8am and 6pm.

Contact number: 01942 482432

 

The Team: 

Specialist Nurse for Early Years/ Team Lead: Emma Wilson

 Nursery Nurse: Alexandra Roberts

 Nursery Nurse: Clare Winstanley

 Nursery Nurse: Lisa Barnett

 

Referrals

Referrals are accepted by post to the address below:

Platt Bridge Health Centre

Rivington Avenue

Platt Bridge

Wigan

WN2 5NG

 

Or Email: wwl-tr.earlyyearshanddteam@nhs.net

Once a referral is received, it will be triaged by the team and prioritised in line with the service prioritisation criteria. If you would like to discuss child prior to completing a referral please contact the Team Lead on 0300 707 1472

Once the referral is accepted families will be contact to arrange an assessment to be carried out. This will involve assessing and planning support and possible onward referrals to other services to ensure seamless support for the child and their family. The parent/ carers are fully involved with the care that is provided ensuring each element of the child’s needs are supported.

 

Specific referral criteria:

• Wigan Resident and/or
• Registered Wigan General Practitioner.
• Aged 4-16 years- referrals will only be accepted up until the 15y 11 months
•  Difficulties are suspected indicative of possible Autism Spectrum Condition where further specialist assessment is required to consider possible diagnosis/ outcome.

Step 1. Referral into the Autism Pathway Service

Referrals will be accepted from General Practitioners, Paediatricians, Speech, and Language therapy service, CAMHS and educational staff.  If a parent has identified some social communication difficulties with their child, they are to approach the GP or school to complete referral. Once a referral has been received an information pack is required to allow effective triage.

Where school are completing the referral they can include the information pack with referral form.

In Consists of two components:

Parent pack to be shared with parent/ carer- to include consent, questionnaire, parent views summary, all about me.

School pack- to include school summary and questionnaire to be completed by school.

Both components to be returned as one email/ document.formation pack for triage.

Step 2. Triage:

Once the Neurodevelopment team receive the completed information it will be triaged/ assessed by the ND Team in line with the national guidance to help identify the features suggesting possible Autism or if there is an identified need.

The triage team will consist of Neurodevelopment Pathway Manager, Neurodevelopment Pathway Co-Ordinator, Health and Development Practitioner and other professionals’ bodies, who will decide if the application meets criteria.

Step 3.  Assessment Phase

A face-to-face assessment is required by Community Paediatricians - this will be requested by the neuro developmental pathway team, to support a physical examination / medical investigation / developmental history / systematic assessment for conditions that may co-exist with autism / possible genetic, microarray tests etc. All children receiving formal assessment through the pathway process will need to have a medical assessment by the consultant.

Referral to Speech and Language Therapy service will be completed for a social communication assessment, if not already completed.

All assessments/reports will be collated by the Neurodevelopment team to prepare for the final diagnostic stage.

Pre-Diagnostic support:

Children and young people and their families will be provided with support once needs have been identified at triage point. This can include signposting to other services, having an allocated worker from the pathway service to give updates about waiting times, or providing training and other interventions for the child/young person, their family, or both.

• Sensory workshops – training sessions and / or a session offering advice on specific areas of need. Liaison with the Occupational therapy department and share advice.

• Sleep workshop – The Neurodevelopment team will offer a support for children who have sleep difficulties.

• Communications - A Twitter account and face book page the Neurodevelopment service has been developed and this includes rolling up- to-date information regarding training events, and useful links to external websites such as the National Autistic Society. 

• This is the stage when the child or young person will be placed on the pending panel list. The Neurodevelopment Manager will allocate places on the panel based on, the date of the referral received and the full completion of assessments

 

Step 4 - Diagnostic decision and outcome:

When all appropriate assessments are completed and information available, the Neurodevelopment Pathway Manager will arrange for the case to be discussed at one of the monthly multi-agency diagnostic panel meetings. Panel members consist of professionals who are highly specialised in the field of Autism. These can include Consultant Paediatrician, Social Care, Special educational needs, and disability Team (SEND), Educational Psychology, Targeted Education Support Service (TESS), Speech and Language, Education Manager, and Occupational Therapy.

Each case is presented by a professional attending the panel meetings. The DSM-5 assessment tool is completed alongside patient information presented to decide whether the child meets criteria for a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Condition, and a multi-agency diagnostic decision will be made jointly at panel. After discussion and debate all professionals need to agree with the outcome before this is signed off.   The outcome decision is shared with parents/carers via letter posted within 48 hours of the panel discussion. This is followed by a more detailed report which consists of information from the decision, information, and discussion at the panel meeting.  a detailed report will be produced as a summary document explaining the decision made at panel and shared with parents / child or young person / referrer.

Post Diagnostic Offer:

Each family whose child receives a diagnosis of Autism are invited to a training session where they can access Autism Awareness training and share information; this is also an opportunity for the parents to come together and have discussion and ask questions.

They receive electronic pack of information

Signposted to other appropriate services/ support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Partners:

• Children’s Social Cares
• Local Authority and Education departments- Early Years setting.
• Other WWL Health services, including Children’s Community Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Complex Nursing.
• Children and young people, their families and carers.

 

We will arrange to see you at a place convenient to you:

• Your home
• A local clinic
• Children’s Centre
• Nursery/ early years setting

 

We are based at Platt Bridge Health Centre and work closely with parents/ carers, young children and other professional teams. Office hours are Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 16:30, but can be flexible and sometimes see families between 8am and 6pm.

Contact number: 01942 482432

 

The Team: 

Specialist Nurse for Early Years/ Team Lead: Emma Wilson

 Nursery Nurse: Alexandra Roberts

 Nursery Nurse: Clare Winstanley

 Nursery Nurse: Lisa Barnett

 

Referrals

Referrals are accepted by post to the address below:

Platt Bridge Health Centre

Rivington Avenue

Platt Bridge

Wigan

WN2 5NG

 

Or Email: wwl-tr.earlyyearshanddteam@nhs.net

Once a referral is received, it will be triaged by the team and prioritised in line with the service prioritisation criteria. If you would like to discuss child prior to completing a referral please contact the Team Lead on 0300 707 1472

Once the referral is accepted families will be contact to arrange an assessment to be carried out. This will involve assessing and planning support and possible onward referrals to other services to ensure seamless support for the child and their family. The parent/ carers are fully involved with the care that is provided ensuring each element of the child’s needs are supported.