What’s in a CAMHS ADHD assessment please ?

[Iamsodone]

Hello
can anyone let me know what is in a CAMHS ASD assessment please ?
how many appointments ? What tools do they use ?
for those who got diagnosis this way, what help/support did it lead to?
We are in London
thank you

The assessment process from ADHD and ASD varies area to area, even within London, so it depends on where you live. Post diagnosis support also varies from diagnosed and promptly discharged to actual support.

They should be following NICE guidelines:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87

@BrumToTheRescue thanks, what would "actual support" can look like for a child with social skill difficulties and some anxiety but no speech/language delay and minor sensory differences ? we are in Wandsworth, who has set up WAAS their job seems to try to maximise the number of ASD children into mainstream but they provide very little targeted support for instance
would actual support be in the form of weekly sessions of SaLT or accommodations around school life ?

@11plusNewbie SALT and OT can support social interaction and social communication difficulties. You may find they have a knock on effect on anxiety, too. Long term ongoing SALT and OT is unlikely via the NHS in any ICB, but in some areas a block of a few sessions or a few group sessions are available following diagnosis for those who require them. For the anxiety, in the areas who provide more post diagnosis support, you might actually get some support such as play therapy or art therapy or group support. For the areas who still have an autism specialist teaching service, sometimes there will be a referral on to them to support adjustments in school. Sadly, it isn’t a level playing field and too many are diagnosed and promptly discharged. For the level of support you mean you would need an EHCP with the provision included in there. That is the route to provision in excess of what is typically otherwise available on the NHS.

For ADHD like the OP mentions, separate to medication, the better areas sometimes provide coaching.

@BrumToTheRescue our area has pretty much nothing in terms of ADHD support and certainly no coaching, which I think would be the best option for us :( Even the medication provision is really thin (follow-up appointments are about 18 months apart at the moment)

we were offered 6 weeks of weekly social skill group by our local Autism support entity but the first one we went to was totally unsuitable, it seemed to be geared to children who have totally different challenges.

I am not convinced my DD is autistic though, she has some social communication challenges but I feel there are mostly due to her severe ADHD/RSD. her challenges are more performance related than understanding but I don't know where to get help or in what form to get it. It's like you'd need an adult body-doubling in social situations to guide her
thank you

@11plusNewbie does DD have an EHCP? If not, have you requested an EHCNA?

no we haven't
at the moment she needs a kind teacher who gets her, how do I put that in an EHCP
not sure what we would put in an EHCP.
she probably needs better movement breaks than the ones she is getting

From your posts, an EHCP could include coaching/mentoring, OT and SALT. It can include movement breaks and staffing to ensure that happens when DD needs them. Whilst it can’t state a particular teacher is required, it can describe the features staff need, the adjustments necessary and the environment required.