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What you can expect
The Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Neurodevelopmental Service provides a specialist diagnostic assessment for children and young people with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Neurodevelopment means brain development. There are many different ways that this can be affected. Examples of things this can have an impact on are learning, memory, interacting with others, friendships, managing emotions, attention and concentration.
Who are we?
We are a community service for 0-18 year olds in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
We are based at St David’s Hospital Children’s Centre and Llandough Hospital Children’s Centre.
In our service are Paediatricians, Occupational Therapists, Nurse Specialists, Clinical Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, Pharmacists and Administrators.
We are part of the Children, Young People and Family Health Services Directorate and work closely with colleagues from across the Directorate including from Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health.
What do we do?
- Work with you and your child to understand their strengths and difficulties
- Diagnostic Assessments
- Offer advice and support to families
- Provide information about other services that may be helpful
Who do we see?
Children who may have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Around 50% of the children we assess receive a diagnosis of ASD or ADHD, 50% have other identified needs that could be understood and supported by other services.
What is Autism?
Autism is a lifelong neurological disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world.
Autism is a spectrum condition and effects people in different ways. Like all people, Autistic people have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Autistic people may have difficulties with the following:
- find it hard to communicate and interact with other people
- find it hard to understand how other people think or feel
- find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable
- get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events
- take longer to understand information
- do or think the same things over and over
Autism is not an illness
Being Autistic does not mean you have an illness or disease. It means your brain works in a different way from other people.
It’s something you’re born with or first appears when you are very young.
If you’re Autistic, you’re Autistic your entire life.
Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a “cure”. But some people need support to help them with certain things.
Click here to find out more about Autism from AutismWales.org.
What is ADHD?
ADHD is a neurological condition that many children, young people and adults have.
It is something which lasts a lifetime, although by adulthood many people have learnt how to live happy. successful lives with their ADHD. For lots of people having ADHD has been a real strength that has helped them to succeed in their careers and life.
Some of the main characteristics of ADHD are:
- Hyperactivity (having lots of energy and needing to fidget/move about a lot)
- Impulsivity (not being able to self-regulate or control thoughts, feelings or actions)
- Inattention (difficulty remembering information and concentrating)
Someone with ADHD might also:
- Forget things
- Talk too much
- Take unnecessary risks
- Daydream a lot
- Interrupt others
- Find taking turns difficult
- Easily lose things
- Struggle to organise themselves
