Pre 5 Years Assessment Team

When we are considering if an assessment for possible attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is needed, we are looking for the following characteristics which cannot be explained by other needs:

For more information about what ADHD can look like, click here.

Before the referral, we request that the following questionnaires are filled in by parents and school as part of the assessment process. Help can be requested to fill in questionnaires by emailing nds@nchc.hs.uk

• Early Years Observation Questionnaire
• Teacher Observation Questionnaire (TOQ)

*If your child is not yet in nursery, is home-schooled or out of school, detailed information from parents (plus any other information from other professionals relating to neurodevelopmental difficulties/differences) will be considered.

As part of the assessment, members of the team will spend time with you discussing your child's early life and development. This may be a questionnaire, clinic appointment, a home visit or a video call.

It may be helpful for you to gather or prepare information in advance of this appointment. This may include information about your child's milestones, early development and life events.

We have clinics in the Children's Centre at Norwich Community Hospital (NCH), Thorpe Health Centre, West Pottergate Medical Practice, and St James Clinic in King's Lynn.

You can find more information about the clinics in which we carry out assessments, including travel and parking information, on our location and travel information page.

Team members will spend time observing and getting to know your child to learn about their strengths and needs. This may include assessments in clinic, at home or in school.

Appointments will be child friendly, and we will work as flexibly as possible around you and your family.

Every child will be discussed at a multi-professional panel meeting throughout their assessment. 

All observations are made in line with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and diagnostic discussions are based on these criteria. The decision is a team decision and is not made by one profession alone.

When a diagnostic decision has been reached by the team, you will be offered a feedback appointment with a member of the NDS team. You will receive written information including NDS reports following the feedback meeting.

ADHD assessment guide for young people

Autism assessment guide for young people

Cognitive assessment guide for young people

Occupational Therapy assessment guide for young people

QbTest assessment guide for young people

NDS clinicians also support the delivery of 'Puffins', a 4-week information group coordinated by Family Action and designed for caregivers of autistic children/young people. For more information about Puffins, please click here.

We are currently developing a 2-session information group for caregivers of children/young people with ADHD.

If a diagnosis is not given, the NDS will feedback the reasons and factors that have influenced this decision. You will still be provided with the assessment reports and a summary explaining the non-diagnosis. We are currently developing an information pack for young people who have not received a diagnosis. 

For children over the age of 6 years, the overall assessment period could take four to five years.

For children under the age of 6 years, the overall assessment period could take around three years.

If you are not happy with the waiting time for your child’s assessment, you can use the NHS Choice Framework (‘Right to Choose’) to choose another healthcare provider to carry out the assessment.

You do not need to have a formal diagnosis when applying for an EHCP. To apply for an EHCP, your child will need to have identified additional needs (please see the Norfolk SENDIASS website for more information).

A child can be on a waiting list or may not even be referred into the service before an application for an EHCP is made. Some young people start their assessment having already received an EHCP.

A diagnosis also does not necessarily mean that a young person will need an EHCP.

The Neurodevelopmental Service is an assessment-only team. Receiving a diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental disorder does not resolve any difficulties/differences that your child/young person may be experiencing and therefore alternative support needs to be explored regardless of whether a diagnosis is given.

Norfolk is working towards a needs-led culture rather than a diagnosis-led culture. Just being accepted for a neurodevelopmental assessment is sufficient to request reasonable adjustments within your education setting.

Please visit our useful resources page or the Just One Norfolk ND Digital Library for information about other services that can be accessed for support.

Please do let us know if you move out of Norfolk. If you move area before your child’s assessment has started you will be transferred to the team responsible for neurodevelopmental assessments in your new area. Some teams will honour the original referral date, but other teams will not.