Child Pre-Assessments Information
Child Pre-Assessments Information
We know that too often it is incredibly difficult to obtain an ADHD diagnosis for your child. Parents are often at the end of their tether by the time they come to us.
We know how obstructive GP’s can be, how the waiting list at CAMHS can be several years long and how asking teachers to recognise ADHD is sometimes impossible.
We really do understand how parents can get to desperation point when they just cannot access the diagnosis and support they need for their child.
But we can help you get your child pre-assessed and diagnosed usually much quicker than the NHS. Waiting times to see the paediatrician vary but will always be a matter of months, not years. And our pre-assessment will always take place within 1-3 weeks of you booking.
To get the ball rolling you need our Pre-Assessment service. This is where an ADHD Psychotherapist, Counsellor or Coach who is highly trained in assessing ADHD and ASD and all the Comorbidities will spend around two hours with your child and two adults who know them well.
They then prepare a highly detailed report, which can run to anything from five to fifteen pages, detailing every ADHD trait and flagging up every comorbidity we see indicators for.
For this service we charge £595. There is no VAT on top and – with your permission – we will send copies of the report with our recommendations to your child’s GP, school and any other medical professionals involved with your child.
We know this Pre-Assessment is extremely important because only we will identify the ADHD comorbidities like Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and any other of the numerous ADHD Coexisting conditions. These will NOT be identified by a paediatrician whereas our assessment will and in the report we will ask your GP to refer your child to Occupational Therapists or any other professionals who can diagnose the comorbidities.
It is very often the comorbidities that are impacting your child most, especially at school, which is why it is critical they are spotted and the correct referrals requested.
We will provide you with all the documentation any paediatrician will require to be filled in by your child’s school.
We also provide an add on service where we will liaise with your child’s school to ensure the paperwork is filled in correctly reflecting all the issues your child has at school. Another service that can be added on is for one of our qualified Assessors to attend your child’s school, observe them in class and include this information in the report.
You then have the choice to use this report to hasten your journey through the NHS – our reports have historically proven very powerful at dramatically speeding up assessment times – one Mum told us “It was unbelievable. I had been battling for two years and got nowhere but within two weeks of them receiving your report I had everybody on the phone offering us appointments from the doctor to the school headmaster and CAMHS”
Or, if you choose to go privately at this point, our local ADHD specialist paediatrician will accept our report as ‘A second professional’s opinion’.
The diagnostic appointments of which you will need 2 will cost £500 and will need to be paid directly to the specialist paediatrician.
The paediatrician will diagnose and medicate from the age of five. For children of approx seven and up the paediatrician will conduct these appointments by video. For younger children it would mean you visiting him at his clinics in either central London, Harrow in West London or Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire.
Should the paediatrician and you decide to medicate your child, initially the prescriptions will be issued privately. However once your child is titrated onto the optimum dose of the most suitable medication the paediatrician will write to your GP and request them to medicate on the NHS. The paediatrician we use is not only a private paediatrician but he’s also very senior in the NHS so his diagnosis should be recognised by your GP.
Sarah Templeton who set up and runs Headstuff ADHD Therapy, has written a book released in 2021, specifically for parents of ADHD children. It’s called ‘How NOT to Murder your ADHD Kid! – Instead Learn How to be Your Child’s Own ADHD Coach’. The book is currently available on Amazon, eBay and will soon be in shops. There is an enormous amount of information in here which will help you on this ADHD journey as well.
We are passionate about children receiving the right diagnosis, having their comorbidities recognised and the correct support put in place at the earliest age possible. As most of us at Headstuff were late diagnosed, we know how not having the correct diagnosis can massively impact your performance at school, your qualifications and your career prospects not to mention your self-worth and self-esteem.
The first step is by you booking in for our Pre-Assessment and one of our specialist Pre-Assessors will be in touch with you within 48 hours. Standardly you will be offered an appointment within 7 to 14 days.
Our Head of Pre-Assessments is Kelly Young and if you have anymore questions you can email her at HeadstuffADHDPreAssessments@gmail.com
Our Head of Pre-Assessments is Kelly Young and if you have anymore questions you can email her at HeadstuffADHDPreAssessments@gmail.com
See what Kelly’s previous Pre-Assessment clients have said …
We really enjoyed my child’s pre-assessment with Kelly.
She explained everything very clearly and really put both my child and me at ease. She’s got a great sense of humour which really eased the process and she’s very warm.
I really recommend her, and in fact have shared her details with a friend who is about to use her for a pre-assessment. The report she produced is clear and detailed and most of all – helpful.
Thank you
Kelly is very knowledgeable about ADHD and related conditions and is very empathic and understanding about the difficulties kids have. Kelly has an excellent manner and immediately put my daughter at ease. Kelly allowed her to express herself freely, but also ensured that all of the key issues were addressed. My daughter and I both found the session very informative and helpful.
I wanted to let you know about my experience with Kelly.
I bought the audio book “How Not to Murder Your ADHD kid” when I noticed the author runs Headstuff ADHD Therapy.
I looked into all the therapists profiles and what support they could offer me and my 10 year old autistic son.
I contacted Kelly desperate for help and guidance with my EHCP application. I paid for a consultation which was booked in very quickly with Kelly.
Kelly was very direct with her help and support which I really needed to hear. I dont need any beating around the bush and waffling on. It was clear to me that Kelly is very experienced and knows her subject matter thoroughly.
She put me at ease and understood exactly where I was coming from with mine and my son’s life and all the hoops we have had to fight to get through and continue to do.
She highlighted the services offered by Headstuff and I booked in for Kelly to complete an ADHD pre-assessment on my son.
My son was aware of when Kelly was going to be speaking with him on zoom. He was nervous during the assessment but interacted well with Kelly who put him at ease and made him feel like they were just chatting – she gave him breaks and kept his attention well.
The report is well documented, clear, concise and describes my son and his struggles very accurately.
Kelly is very professional, has empathy, understanding and guided both of us through the assessment comfortably.
Kelly is a real asset to Headstuff.
My 8 year old son was finding it very hard to concentrate and focus at school. We had also noticed this at home during daily activities.
We decided we wanted him to have a pre-assessment and a friend had suggested Headstuff. We paid for the assessment online and promptly received an email and arranged a Zoom meeting for the following week.
Kelly was great and made us all feel at ease instantly. My son engaged really well when answering the questions and it was all very informal, more like a chat with a friendly face.
Kelly is very knowledgeable and was able to link us up with a very good paediatrician.
The detailed report was written up and sent across to us within a few days.
We are now on to the next stage of diagnosis and meetings with the school. I believe the pre-assessment has helped enormously in making the process easier and move along a lot quicker.
I would definitely recommend Kelly and the team at Headstuff to anyone thinking of having their child pre-assessed for ADHD or any of the comorbidities.
Thank you for this pre-assessment report. You have really captured the essence of Lucy’s difficulties. It is incredible the difference it makes talking to people who actually understand and know about the challenges neurodiverse people face daily.
You are an excellent advocate and I’m so happy we met you! Lucy enjoyed talking to you and she rarely talks to anyone.
We don’t often tell people how good they are at what they do, we too often make complaints. This is definitely one of the instances when someone has not only done their job but done it to a very high standard – I can’t thank you enough and this is only the beginning.
Your report will certainly open up lots of avenues to be explored with Lucy and begins the road to understanding and accepting herself and finding happiness.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for the assessment today. You really put my son at ease and he actually very much enjoyed talking to you.
He said he felt like it was such a relief to have had the chance to talk about things, to get some sort of idea finally of why he struggles with certain things and has some different behaviours to most of his friends!! I feel a sense of relief too.
I just wanted to say thank you for such a positive experience and for the advice you have given so far.
I got in touch with Sarah Templeton regarding our 6 year old daughter who had been for triaged out of the NHS pathway because she wasn’t exhibiting enough traits in the school setting despite being a completely different child at home and struggling (the usual story for girls). Sarah conducted a pre-assessment and indicated SPD, traits of Autism and ADHD.
Following a formal complaint to the NHS provider and submission of Sarah’s pre-assessment document, our daughter’s ADHD referral was finally accepted and she is awaiting assessment and we are positive it will result in diagnosis.
Sarah was also able to signpost us to Kelly, Head of Headstuff’s Pre Assessment service, in relation to our eldest daughter who is 12. Our daughter struggles to talk to people she doesn’t know and was really reluctant to speak about ADHD or any of her feelings.
On the day of the pre-assessment Kelly made her feel comfortable and spoke about her own lived experiences which we found really beneficial and our daughter responded well to. She explained exactly what she would be doing to ensure she understood the process.
Our daughter coloured a picture throughout the assessment and her creativity was acknowledged by Kelly. At one stage our daughter left the room crying because she clearly felt embarrassed about some of the topics discussed. Kelly was really accommodating and reassured her she didn’t have to be present or if she was – she could be off screen.
After a hug she continued with the assessment and finally felt comfortable enough to resume on screen.
Kelly provided our daughter with validation for how she feels and thinks in relation to some of her behaviours. She was incredibly knowledgeable around not only ADHD but a whole range of neurodivergent conditions such as autism, dyspraxia, dysgraphia and dyslexia.
She was also very knowledgeable as to how her secondary school could and should help support her in school and the adjustments we could ask to be considered.
Kelly’s communication was fantastic and the final report was thorough with advice on what steps to take next. She also provided information on a number of options for assessment such as a private pathway or via the Right to Choose.
Due to our daughter’s struggles and hormones playing a part we made the decision to pay privately for a quicker assessment. As a result our daughter received her diagnosis of Inattentive ADHD yesterday. This was 8 weeks from our appointment with Kelly. In reflection we could’ve waited and saved ourselves the cost but there was no guarantee due to changing criteria for ‘Right to Choose’ that she’d get seen.
As our 6 year old has a little time to go before hormones start to impact her further, we have followed Kelly’s advice and been successful in getting her onto the Right to Choose pathway and she should be seen within 7 months as opposed to the 2-5 year current NHS waiting list in our area.
We are incredibly grateful to Sarah and Kelly for their help and cannot recommend them enough.