Support and Services
There are a number of support agencies which may be recommended to you and your family for further help:
Autism:
The UK's leading charity for people on the autism spectrum and their families.
A charity supporting families with autistic children, young people and adults. They had a wealth of support and information on their website
An independently funded charity supporting autistic children, young people and adults, their families and carers in the North East of England.
Sunderland Autism Outreach Team
Offer high quality advice, service and training to schools and families in Sunderland who have children with Autism in their care.
Daisy Chain Family Support Service
The Daisy Chain team, Tees Valley, supports young people aged 0-18 years and their families, no matter where they are on their autism, ADHD, sensory processing, or Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) journey. This means that a young person does not need to have a diagnosis or be on the neurodevelopmental pathway to access support from the service.
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder:
A North East organisation that specialises in providing information, support and training on FASD.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder:
The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service.
We provide people-friendly information and resources about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to anyone who needs assistance.
Tics and Tourette’s:
Tourettes Action is a support and research charity working to improve the lives of people living with Tourette Syndrome. Also includes helpful advice on tics.
Emotional well-being and mental health:
Whether you want to understand more about how you're feeling and find ways to feel better, or you want to support someone who's struggling, we can help.
Support for All :
Local Offer
The Local Offer provides information for children and young people (from birth to 25 years) with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) and their families.
Parent partnership or SEND IASS(special educational needs Information and support service)
Services which give independent advice and support to parents/carers of children who have been identified as having special educational needs.
The Max Card is the UK's leading discount card for foster families and families of children with additional needs.
Grace House welcomes children and young people from across the North East, with additional needs. We provide a fun, safe, exciting environment where children can come and live life to the full.
Disability living allowance -Children
Overview and application
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There are a number of carefully selected associated professionals that work with Dr Mills. They may be recommended to complete required assessments to meet diagnostic criteria or gain the right understanding for your child:
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Educational Psychologist
Educational psychologists are trained to assess a child's learning and development. They use their specialist skills in psychological and educational assessment techniques to help those having difficulties in learning, behaviour or social adjustment.
Dr Mills works closely with child and educational psychologists. Behavioural difficulties often stem from a child struggling in school and children can be very good at hiding or masking their struggles. An Educational psychology assessment can reveal a child’s strength and difficulties in their academic abilities and when paired with an adaptive functioning assessment can be used to diagnose learning difficulties or disability. Feeding this information back to the school or into an EHCP assessment can improve the support a child receives.
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Occupational Therapist
Occupational therapists look at everyday activities or ‘occupations’. They assess how able a child is to carry out tasks and adapt to performing them if their health or ability prevents them from doing so. They can recommend various forms of support to improve a child’s ability to cope with or carry out tasks.
For children or young people with sensory difficulties an occupational therapist can carry out a sensory motor integration assessment looking at how the child perceives sensory input and responds to it, this can give a deeper insight into why sensory inputs may be driving difficult behaviours for some children. The therapist can then recommend particular strategies for managing these perceptions and in turn help a child to cope with and process these sensory experiences.
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Speech and Language Therapist
Speech and language therapists provide treatment, support and care for children who have difficulties with communication. They make also specialise in assessing difficulties with eating, drinking and swallowing.
Assessments of language and communication can be integral to understanding a child’s needs. Knowing their language abilities can often reveal difficulties with expression or understanding that may be causing difficult behaviours. Assessment of communication is essential in the diagnosis of conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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Diagnostic tests
Additional tests such as routine blood tests or genetic tests may be recommended and can be arranged at a separate clinic through one of our partners.