"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change" - Wayne Dyer
Claire blurb....
No - this is a private service and self-referral is anticipated in the majority of cases.
Most UK health insurance policies don't cover ADHD assessment or treatment. At this time we are not working with any UK insurers.
No. This is a private service and we have no special access to obtaining faster NHS assessment.
Please note that if you have an assessment with our service there is no fast track to treatment under the NHS - if you get referred to the NHS after assessment you will join their queue for treatment.
Each client is unique - the number of appointments to achieve a stable medication regime is often in the order of 3 - 6.
It is worth noting that after a diagnosis and effective treatment it is common to experience strong emotions regarding one's prior life which may warrant further exploration.
This is not an emergency service. Appointments are by prior arrangement. If you are in a crisis please contact emergency services, eg NHS 111, Lifeline, Samaritans etc
Sometimes it is necessary to re-schedule or cancel an appointment. The Cambridge ADHD Centre asks that clients provided as much notice as possible so that the appointment can be made available for another client. A reminder text is usually sent two days before each appointment but clients are responsible for remembering their appointments. A cancellation fee of up to 50% may be charged for appointments re-scheduled or cancelled within 36h.
In an ideal world every child who is having a hint of difficulty would have a full educational psychology assessment.
Nearly all children will benefit from increased self awareness of their learning style and process.
We aim to identify who will benefit from extra assessment and to helping your young person develop a full understanding and love of their own neurodivergent features, as well as supporting parents and their school to provide the best environment possible for them to grow up in.
ADHD is a difficulty of directing and focussing attention when required to do so. It is a deficit of attentional control, rather than a deficit of ideas, talent or potential.
It creates issues with performance which rarely reflect underlying ability.
Your young person is bright and inquisitive – their neurodiversity will bring them huge strengths and the positive elements of ADHDare amazing. It can make you fearless in your pursuits and determined and ready to try everything and anything life has to offer. A young person with ADHD will try, maybe fail, but get back up and keep trying and be successful often more quickly and with far more gusto than their neurotypical counterpart.
ADHD particularly impacts on formal education and can lead to anxiety, tension in yourself, emotional dysregulation which can be so painful and immense difficulties with relationships, rejection sensitivity, understanding time, and being able to make decisions.
Active treatment of ADHD can reduce the negatives and facilitate the positives of having ADHD and an independent SEN Consultant can help facilitate that process by working with your child and also with their school.
Whereas ADHD almost always impacts negatively on the process of formal education, Autism can impact positively as well as negatively on formal education.
Children who are having particular educational issues for either reason can benefit from specialist SEN input.
If children are having more emotional issues with Autism the Drs or the SEN team can advise on the most appropriate source of input.
ADHD frequently co-exists with other neurodevelopmental profiles too, examples most commonly being: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Dyslexia and Auditory Processing Disorder. Children with ADHD may be very sensory sensitive.
Without doubt, there will be learning difficulties of some description, due to the commonality of the relative inefficiency in executive functioning, listening skills, information processing and memory – working and perspective memory are both typically affected. It does not take away an ounce of intelligence though…
If you grow up not knowing that ADHD is part of who you are, you will never know how to manage all the frenzied behaviour that is good and exciting, nor all the trickier stuff - this will just really get you down. People who are diagnosed with ADHD have the chance to get to know themselves, rather than just guessing. They are more able to forgive themselves when they make mistakes and learn that their ADHD can be such a strength. If left undiagnosed, young, and older people, are left open to follow more inappropriate paths to self-regulate.
A diagnosis is a gift to your child or young person to help them grow up knowing it is part of who they are, and this far outweighs not confirming it for them. Legally in school, at university and even in the workplace later, they will have protection through having a diagnosis, in a number of ways, including having Reasonable Adjustments made for them in any setting, and Access Arrangements for tests.
Claire taught as a mainstream primary school Class Teacher then specialised as a Special Needs teacher 20y ago.
She became a SEN Co-ordinator, then a Specialist Advisory Teacher for the Local Education Authority, then was head of Learning Support at St Faiths in Cambridge and for some of that time was National Prep School Advisor for SEN. She is an experienced advisor and trainer for schools. She is also the current editor of the Learning Development section of ‘Broadsheets’ Magazine, published by SATIPS (Support and Training in Prep, Primary and Senior Schools).
She has recently completed and received a Distinction for a Masters in Psychology on the optimum parenting approaches to supporting children with ADHD.
She writes: My career has enabled me to have the privileged position of helping to develop the lives of children, striving to support them to meet their potential and to be confident and proud of themselves, no matter what. Having raised three of my own in that time, there are no barriers to learning or emotional wellbeing that I have not encountered and been determined to remove.
A parent-only initial consultation, when you can discuss your young person together in more detail and you will be given as much advice as possible during that session; we can also decide on the next best steps from there.
A longer initial session in which a member of the team meets and spends some time with you and your young person, with follow up strategies included
We can are then able to offer a range of ways to support going forward, either directly working with your young person, or indirectly working with you, providing ongoing advice and strategies, which includes helping you to liaise with your young person’s school.
We are very pleased to be able to liaise with your child’s school on your behalf as we find this a particularly effective way to collaborate to build the best environment in which your child can thrive.
After any initial session, further support will be bespoke and flexible to suit and meet your young person’s needs.
Adults may also choose to have a neurodevelopmental screening conversation with our experienced Special Needs Consultant and her team who can advise regarding the value of further detailed assessment.
Initial consultation with parents only
One hour
£180
Initial consultation with child or young person
Two hours
£280
Includes the majority of the time spent with your child, then feedback to parents with initial strategies for school and home.
In person or by video call. Home visit also possible - surcharge may apply, depending on location.
Initial consultation meeting with child or young person, including a detailed follow up report
Individual bespoke booked sessions for children or parents, ongoing after initial consultation
One hour
£430
£120
One hour
Joint meetings with schools and parents
Follow up advice meetings via phone or video calls for parents
£120
One hour
Online. On school site, if within 20 mins of Cambridge
£120
Very few GPs are trained to initiate medication for ADHD so such a request will be declined. Medication should be initiated and stabilised by a specialist service. Once the specialist service has done this, the GP has the option to enter into a shared care agreement with a specialist service, part of which is to provide ongoing NHS prescriptions.
It is worth checking with your NHS GP from the outset whether they are able to support you in a shared care agreement for provision of prescriptions, in the event that you are diagnosed.
GPs are not obliged to enter into a shared care agreement with a private provider and there is a range of reasons why they may choose not to do so.
The Cambridge ADHD Centre is available to offer education and support to NHS GPs who require further information.
If your NHS GP practice cannot assist you on the basis of limited capacity, then options would include you writing to your Member of Parliament to highlight the pressure on General Practice and/or registering with another practice.
Not necessarily. As a neurodevelopmental condition, some features of ADHD can be expected to remain stable throughout your lifetime. However, it is common that the impact of some of these can decrease over time. A young adult who didn't learn organisational skills in childhood due to limited available attention can often learn more effectively when taking medication and having learned new skills and self awareness may function better than before without medication. Some adults benefit from medication daily, others find it more useful for specific types of task requiring prolonged concentration. Others make life choices which sidestep some of the difficulties created by their ADHD or which allow the benefits which come with their ADHD to be more fully realised.
Any confidential information you give The Cambridge ADHD Centre will be stored in password protected two-factor authentication practice management software. Information will be shared within the multidisciplinary team with those who have a legitimate interest. Information will only be disclosed to additional parties with your prior consent, with the following exceptions:
- if you are involved in a legal situation and your file is subpoenaed
- if there are specific concerns about your safety or the safety of others, the service may need to disclose this information to other relevant professionals
As soon as there are symptoms which are causing a negative impact.
ADHD often makes formal education more complicated and can make some types of employment more difficult. Many people with ADHD have more innate ability than their academic marks may suggest, having achieved these results with less than their full attention. Early identification and treatment reduces the risk of academic underperformance, with its associated psychological scars and real-life consequences. The treatments available for ADHD are extremely effective and make a big different to the course of a child's education.
Well yes actually. There are many positive aspects of having ADHD in addition to the negative ones. Many adults are very grateful for their ADHD which gives some advantages in adult life.
Exploring the benefits and impact of ADHD is long process of building self-awareness and skill acquisition. All this is achieved more readily while taking medication.
We are actively working on this and will keep you informed.
The DVLA states "You must tell DVLA if your attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects your ability to drive safely". Further information is available from the DVLA website
This is a complex area and best discussed with your clinician.
If you have any questions or would like to liaise directly with our SEND Consultant team please click here.
Bookings links to Semble....