Neurodevelopmental Assessment Pathway

What the Service Does:

The Neurodevelopmental Pathway (ND Pathway) in East Lothian is the name for the series of steps that are followed when a child or young person is being assessed for one or more neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Learning/ Intellectual Disability (LD or ID), Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

In East Lothian, there is one pathway for all the neurodevelopmental conditions above. It takes a holistic approach to the assessment of a child/ young person’s needs. This approach reduces the need for a family to explain their story repeatedly and the child/ young person is only on one waiting list, rather than multiple ones for different neurodevelopmental conditions.

Referrals to the Neurodevelopmental Conditions identified above need to come through the Single Point of Access. These are screened on a weekly basis.  

Age Range: From 0-18 years  

How to Access: Request for Assistance for this service should be made via the Mental Health & Wellbeing - Single Point of Access

Contact Details:  

loth.eastndreferrals@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk

The ND Pathway is coordinated by the NHS. Unfortunately, due to the review of the consent process by Caldicott, the NHS ND Pathway team are unable to email parents directly in response to queries. 

For this reason, the preferred route for parental queries needs to be through the referrer (school/ Health Visitor etc).

Expected Main Referrers: 

School/ Nursery Staff

Health Visitors for children who are pre-school and NOT in an educational setting.

Note: GPs, 3rd Sector, CAMHS, AHPs, Young People, Families, Social Work can also make referrals but need to include information from the school context as part of the request. 

This link takes you to a list of frequently asked questions about the ND Pathway Mental Health & Wellbeing - Single Point of Access. It includes information about waiting lists.