A consultant paediatrician is a specialised medical doctor who provides healthcare services to children and adolescents in community-based settings.

At The Evolving Mind Clinic our consultant paediatrician can offer the following:

• Comprehensive ADHD assessment process; in conjunction with other clinicians at the clinic
• General health screening as part of ASD assessment process
• Medication appointment and reviews
• Follow up appointment following a diagnosis to discuss implications and potential next steps.

What is A Consultant Community Paediatrician?

A Community Paediatrician is a doctor who has specialised in community child health (CCH). They work with vulnerable groups of children, including those with developmental disorders and disabilities such as ADHD and autism and other complex behavioural presentations. A Consultant has done extensive years of training in all aspects of paediatrics and is a specialist as recognised by The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

In addition to assessments, community paediatricians are advocates for children and families to help support their needs.

Children face many difficulties in school, ranging from learning difficulties to social emotional and mental health issues. in such cases, as assessment by a Child and Educational Psychologist will be able to advise both school and parent on the appropriate interventions needed.

At The Evolving Mind Clinic our Educational Psychologist can offer the following:

• Comprehensive assessment as part of an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) or to update an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• More specific assessment of Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs
• Direct work around attachment disorders
• Cognitive assessments including Dyslexia testing.
• Music as therapy
• Counselling
• Psychological and Psychometric testing

SEND Consultants have an in-depth knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice 2015 and Children and Families Act 2014 which underpins the way that local authorities should manage the assessment process for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) and the review process of EHCPs.

At The Evolving Mind Clinic our SEN Consultant can offer the following:

• Your initial meeting at The Evolving Mind Clinic will be with one of our SEN Consultants to talk through your initial concerns and the potential pathways available.
• Talk you through the reasons why you might apply for an EHCNA or why it might not be appropriate.
• Support you to apply for an EHCNA if necessary.
• Support you to review a draft EHC plan.
• Support you to liaise with the Local Authority (LA); we would want to empower you to do this independently as an EHCP can stay in place until a young person is 25, this means that there is likely to be a significant amount of correspondence with the LA over the years.

A Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) is trained to assess, diagnose and provide treatment for children with speech, language and communication needs.

At The Evolving Mind Clinic our SALT can offer the following:

• ADOS assessment as part of the full ASD assessment in collaboration with other clinicians in the clinic
• Speech and Language Assessments where there are identified difficulties with speech, language and communication.
• Speech and Language Therapy where this has been identified as appropriate by an assessment.
• Emotional literacy work and Zones of Regulation
• Work to support Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs in the context of communication.
• Support with social skills and friendships
• Parent training to support parent/ child interaction.
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) techniques
• Lego therapy which works on applying communicative skills to a group activity
• Picture Exchange Communication System (PECs) which supports early communication for non-verbal children.
• Attention Autism which works on attention skills

• Increasing self-awareness
• Learning new strategies and ways to manage difficult feelings
• Strengthening boundaries
• Greater understanding and sense of self and what is important to you in life
• Understanding the narratives that are holding you back or keeping you stuck
• Identifying patterns of thinking and feeling
• A space to consider things in a new way, gaining clarity and perspective on emotions, behaviours and relationships

An Occupational Therapist supports children and young people to participate in daily life as fully as possible, this can be through support with fine and gross motor skills and also with sensory integration concerns.

At The Evolving Mind Clinic our Occupational Therapist can offer the following:

• Fine motor skill development: writing, drawing, manipulating small items, cutting with scissors, hand strength and computer use.
• Gross motor skill development: running, climbing, ball skills, jumping, catching, and coordinating both sides of the body.
• Self-care: difficulties with dressing, eating, showering, toileting, following routines.
• Visual processing and memory: processing and retaining visual information.
• Sensory Integration: Identifying issues with sensory processing and teaching strategies to cope.
• Emotional regulation: Identifying, understanding and expressing emotions.
• Parental support to manage behaviour.
• Dyspraxia/DCD: working to improve the brain/body connection to allow for new skills to be learnt and executed with confidence.
• School support: Engaging in the classroom, school refusal.
• Social skills: Making and keeping friends, conversation with others, asking others to play, rules of play, turn taking, sharing, winning, and losing.