Multiple Needs

Initially:

• Decision made within seven working days if referral meets criteria
    - Decision made for further assessment
    - Core Assessment, which is completed in 35 working days
• Child seen within seven working days as part of Initial Assessment (IA)
• Preventative services may be provided to reduce impact of child’s disability
• These services could be identified and provided in conjunction with universal services such as:
    - Access to community resources
    - Multi-agency working with appropriate professionals
• Once IA completed may refer back to LPG
• Access to support agencies
• Referred to Team via Common Assessment/LPG
• Team member will attend LPG meeting
• OT services

Plus in some cases:

• Decision made within 24 hours
• Child seen within seven working days as part of Initial Assessment
• Allocation to social worker
• Core or specialist multi-agency assessment
• Service guaranteed

Specific advice and training on access to education where children and young people have the following needs:

• Social Communication and Interaction Difficulties, including Autism (SCID)
• Special Educational Needs/Information and Communication Technology/Alternative and Augmentative Communication needs (SEN/ICT/AAC)
• Specific Learning Difficulties/Dyslexia (SpLD)
• Physical Disability (PD)
• Hearing Impairment (HI)
• Visual Impairment (VI)

General and specific training in these areas for school and setting staff, parents and other professionals.

Pre-school group for disabled children where children can have a maximum of twice a week.

Plus:

Key working for individual children if requested including Team around the Family meetings.

Intervention is negotiated with individual families based on the presenting need.

The length of intervention is often long term (until the young person turns 18 years of age) although the frequency of contact will vary dependant on the existing need.

We may offer a service from a single profession - e.g. community nursing, although children and young people who present with more complex behavioural or mental health needs are likely to receive intervention from the Clinical Psychologist and/or Consultant Psychiatrist as well.

Paediatric Therapy

Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy

Therapists' Involvement

Following Assessment: Difficulties and circumstances experienced by the child related to Physiotherapy and/or Occupational Therapy need direct therapist intervention for short periods of time in order to improve or facilitate change, or until problems resolve.

Evidence of therapeutic progress with child.

Description of Intervention

Evaluation of specific performance areas.

Advice and training of child, carers and other professionals.

Assessment and advice on equipment.

Collaboration and partnership with child, parents and other agencies.

Development of treatment programme/advice.

Level of Intervention

Short block or repeated short block of individual therapy and/or group therapy and/or work with parents and carers for a previously agreed period.

Multi-agency liaison

Review – termly

Provision of written therapy programme, report and information.

Initial referral from GP or consultant.

Level 3 SPARK only - referrals from schools following completion of their intervention and ABC checklist.

Weekly home visits, from Portage teachers, for children who are complex, to develop skills through play.

All skills areas are worked upon and the team work closely with other therapists.

Children may also attend Special Tots for one session each week.

Key worker support if requested.

Support for all areas relating to education both maintained and non-maintained.

School inclusion support for six children starting school each year.

Parent referral or professional request for service to the Salt Way allocation group.

01793 465360.

Speech and Language Therapists  in this team have specialist skills in the following areas – Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Cleft Lip and Palate, Deafness and Hearing loss, Alternative and Augmentative Communication, Eating and Drinking, Down Syndrome, Special School work. They work with other team members, including families to improve children’s skills and/or opportunities for communication or eating. Support Practitioners help us to do this.

Staff contribute to multi-agency assessment via the Early Years Pathway, but they also work in mainstream and special schools and Specially Resourced Provisions across the Borough. Training is offered, for example in Signalong and eating and drinking difficulties.