Support for families around neurodevelopmental conditions

Amaze now has more secure funding from NHS Sussex to offer support for families with a child or young person on the local neurodevelopmental pathway (NDP) in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove. This means we can continue to offer more information, training and support for parents of 0 to 25 year olds who are neurodivergent or on the way to assessment for neurodevelopmental conditions like autism, ADHD and tics/Tourettes, through the NDP Family Training and Navigation service. This funding also helps support our Face 2 Face peer support for parents and our Amazing Futures youth activities.

NDP Family Training and Navigation offers parents an in-depth navigation call, followed up by resources to cover things like understanding neurodivergent conditions, how local pathways work, information on support networks and help for common issues (including self-help options and where to try next). The training side includes regular courses like our popular “introduction to neurodiversity” and a variety of sessions on hot topics like sensory needs. This service is particularly helpful early in your family’s journey, whilst on waiting lists or soon after diagnosis.

Face 2 Face groups welcome all SEND parents whether or not your child has a diagnosis, but they are a great place to connect for support with other parents of neurodivergent children. There are online and in-person groups across the area with a warm welcome ready for you.

Amazing Futures groups are for young people with any kind of SEND age 14 to 25. They are a welcoming place where neurodivergent young people can have fun, make connections and be “unapologetically themselves” as they like to describe it.

You can refer yourself to any of these services and you don’t have to have had an assessment or diagnosis yet to use them, which is important with local waiting lists for assessment as long as they are.

We have mentioned previously that there is work happening across Sussex to try to address some of the challenges around the neurodevelopmental pathway. A lot of thinking, co-production and planning has been going on behind the scenes, led by NHS Sussex with the health services involved plus partners like the local authorities, voluntary organisations, and the parent carer forums. Despite everyone’s best efforts there has frustratingly not been much impact on the ground yet, so we will wait to update you once this moves along further.