Frequently Asked Questions

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The journey to getting a neurodevelopmental assessment can be long and stressful. But ProblemShared makes the whole process accessible and affirming. Here's what you can expect from your journey.

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1. Enrolment

First, you need to be referred to our service by your GP. Once this has happened, the individual seeking an assessment (or the parent/caregiver of children and young people) will be sent some digital forms to complete before the assessment can take place.

If you are having an assessment for autism or ADHD, a form will also be sent to someone called your 'informant'. An informant is a person appointed by you, who knows you very well. Your informant should be able to describe any potential signs of a neurodevelopmental condition that you displayed during your childhood, or that you display currently, and how this impacts your functioning. In a child or young person’s case, this can be the parent/caregiver.

These digital forms are designed to provide your clinician with contextual information about any challenges you may be facing, enabling them to spend more time discussing what is important to you during your actual assessment.

Once you have submitted these completed forms to us, you will be added to our wait list for an assessment.

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2. Assessment

• ADHD Assessment (120 mins) - consultation, followed by a verbal diagnosis session which normally happens on the same day.

• Autism Assessment (60-120 mins) & Informant Interview (180 mins) - these are two separate interviews, or in the case of a child or young person being assessed, there will be the assessment with the child or young person, and then the informant interview without the child or young person. The diagnostic outcome follows in a separate meeting.

• Specific Learning Differences Assessment (180-240 mins with breaks) - these are two sessions conducted by a level 7 SpLD assessor, and a further 45-minute follow-up feedback session. In the case of a child or young person, their parent/guardian may attend.

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3. Report

Within 4-6 weeks of your assessment, you will receive a detailed written report complete with recommendations, resources and information about next steps.

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4. Post-diagnostic care

Following the completion of your online assessment, you will recieve your diagnosis, and you will be invited to consider your post-diagnostic support options.

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These include:

• Psychoeducation group sessions

• Prescribing of ADHD medication, where appropriate

• Education navigator for children and young people

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If you require additional mental health support at any stage of your journey, you will be eligible to be referred to the ProblemShared talk therapy service.

Once your child has received a diagnosis for a neurodevelopmental condition, they are eligible to access the ProblemShared education navigator service as part of their post-diagnostic support.

The education navigator programme is a specialist teaching and advisory service that aims to support neurodivergent students, their families, and their educational settings by providing bespoke recommendations to improve their experience in education. This includes absentee students who experience school anxiety, as well as full-time students.

The term ‘educational settings’ is used since this support is available to those attending private or public schools, colleges, and universities, as well as those who are home-schooled.

Before the education navigator process properly begins, you can request an optional introductory call with one of our team. They will take you through the process and answer any questions you may have at this stage. This session is not clinical in nature and should only take around 15 minutes.

To officially get the process started, you will need to complete a few forms. These include a school consent form, a parental consent form, a one-page profile completed by you, or in the case of clients under the age of 16, your child with your support, and finally, an online questionnaire. This questionnaire allows your clinician to focus our attention on the most important challenges you or your child currently face in their education setting.

Once you have submitted your completed files, one of our experienced education navigators will meet with you, or you and your child, to understand your diagnosis.

Child-age clients are not expected to attend this session, but we do request that their parent or caregiver brings their completed One Page Profile to the meeting to ensure that their child’s voice is represented.

During the session, your appointed education navigator will learn more about your or your child’s current education setting and home environment, and explore the effect of any steps that may have already been taken to improve the experience. If adolescents or young adults prefer to attend their appointment alone, we ask that a parent remains nearby, as your education navigator will need to seek their parental viewpoint as well.

Next, your education navigator will engage with you or your child’s education provider separately to understand the challenges they face and the support they can offer. This will be either an online meeting or, if the education setting cannot meet with us, through a comprehensive questionnaire. Your education navigator will also research the school and local authority to understand what support is available in your area.

Once this is complete, your education navigator will talk you through the support available to you locally and within the education setting, and how best to access it. A written report including recommendations, resources, and next steps is then shared with you within 28 days of the session.

Frequently asked questions

How can we help?