North Cumbria Children’s Learning Disability and Behaviour Support Service

The workshops and programmes in this booklet will help you to support your child. Workshops are held in various locations and online. You will be advised prior to the sessions.

Throughout this booklet some words have been shortened; this is what they mean:
LD – Learning Disability
MDT – Multi Disciplinary Team
GDD – Global Developmental Delay
GP – General Practitioner (your family doctor)
NAS – National Autistic Society
CNTW – Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
NICE – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
PBS – Positive Behaviour Support

This term is used when a child takes longer to reach development milestones than other children their age (e.g. learning to walk, talk, movement skills, learning new things, socialising).

For some children, the delay in their development will be short term and can be overcome with additional support or therapy.

The inability to understand new or complex information, learn new skills (impaired intelligence), with a reduced ability to cope independently and/or impaired social functioning.

These difficulties must be present before adulthood and not explained by other factors.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world.

Two thirds of people with Autism do not have a Learning Disability. While Autism and Learning Disability can overlap, they are not the same thing.

Parent referral
Please contact us by telephone or email or access a referral form on our website. A referral can also be made through your GP, Paediatrician, school and other professionals.

Professional referral
Please access a referral form on our website

Tel: 01900 705 081
Email: [email protected]

The Children’s Learning Disability Service are a team of experienced Learning Disability nurses, assistant practitioners, clinical support assistants and peer supporters. We offer a service when a child or young person requires specialist support arising from their Learning Disability and its impact on their health. We often do this by working to advise parents or other health professionals working with the child.

We work with:

Children aged 2-18 years
With evidence of Global Developmental Delay (aged 5 and under) or a diagnosis of a Learning Disability (aged 6 up to 18)

and

Who require specialist support beyond universal and targeted services

A programme for parents/carers of children with Global Developmental Delay or a diagnosed Learning Disability (2-18 years). This is our first option for treatment in line with NICE guidelines.

Aims of the programme:

• To bring carers together to explore common difficulties and normalise these behaviours
• To work in partnership with families and professionals
• To acknowledge and develop parental wellbeing and resilience through sharing the group’s knowledge and experience
• To increase confidence in understanding and responding to children’s behaviour

 
Number of sessions 6
Duration of each session 2.5 hours
Number of places per family 2

Individual support for children and their families with Global Developmental Delay or a diagnosed Learning Disability (2-18 years) who require specialist support, arising from their Learning Disability and its impact on their health.

What we can support with

Improving quality of life for children and their families through support with:

• Behaviour
• Sleep
• Emotional well-being and mental wellness (e.g. anxiety)
• Sensory regulation
• Skill development (including play skills)
• Puberty and healthy relationships
• Transitions
• Access to heath provision/health promotion
• Building capable environments

Individualised support for children and their families (2-18) years with Global Developmental Delay or a diagnosed Learning Disability, using a framework of Positive Behaviour Support.

Aims of Positive Behaviour Support
To ensure high-quality support that aims to increase quality of life goals to reduce the likelihood and impact of behaviours that challenge through:

• Improving the quality of a young person’s life and that of their family and people around them
• Providing the right support for a young person to lead a meaningful life and learn new skills
• Offering a preventative approach to reduce the likelihood of behaviours that challenge
• Helping understand why behaviours that challenge occur
• Understanding the child’s unique view of the world and ensuring things that are important to them are present
• Establishing a bespoke plan to help the young person flourish and prosper

Peer Supporters are members of our team who have lived experience of caring for a child with additional needs. They can give parents/carers time and a friendly ear to listen.

Aims of Peer Support:

• To utilise their own lived experience to offer understanding, compassion and empathy with families
• To offer parent/carers support, advice and empowerment
• To support parent/carers to ensure their voices are heard in situations that may be overwhelming
• To work with families individually, inspiring hope and positivity
• To help families recognise their own strengths and goals
• To provide a link between clinical staff and families, helping staff understand the potential day-to-day challenges that may be faced
• To facilitate optional group work to help support families on their journey within our service

The Children’s Early Intervention Behaviour Support Service are a team of experienced Learning Disability nurses, assistant practitioners, clinical support assistants and peer supporters.

We are able to offer early intervention support through a group based approach to learning for parents and carers of:

Children aged 2-11 years
Who require early intervention support

and

who have evidence of a diagnosis of Autism

Parenting a child with neurodiversity involves a complicated set of emotions, tasks and skills. Our programmes and workshops aim to provide support based on sound theory, research and experience of what works best.

The programmes and workshops we offer are:

• NAS EarlyBird Programme
• NAS EarlyBird Plus Programme
• Sensory Workshop
• Sleep Workshop
• Behaviour Workshop
• Anxiety Workshop
• Confident Minds Programme
• Empowering Parents Programme

A programme for parents/carers of children with a diagnosis of Autism aged 2-5 years.

Aims of the programme:

• Improving communications and interactions with children under five
• Using structures to support their child in a range of settings and situations
• Developing basic play and social skills
• Understanding and supporting their child’s behaviour
• To create a support network of peers to share experiences of parenting a young child with Autism

 
An EarlyBird parent book will be provided to each family attending the sessions.

“The knowledge we have gained has given us more confidence to analyse problems and hopefully prevent them rather than lurching from one crisis to another.” – Parent

“Whilst there is no magic wand, EarlyBird is the closest thing you could wish for.” – Parent

Number of sessions 12
Duration of each session 2.5 hours
Number of places per family 2

A programme for parents/carers of children with a diagnosis of Autism aged 5-10 years.

Aims of the programme:

• To increase communication and interaction
• To develop structure to support the autistic child in a range of settings and situations
• To develop social skills
• To understand and support the child’s behaviour
• Problem solving
• To create a support network of peers to share experiences of parenting a young child with Autism

 
An EarlyBird Plus parent book will be provided to each family attending the sessions.

“EarlyBird Plus is an absolute must to help you begin to learn and understand how your child’s mind works.” – Parent

Number of sessions 12
Duration of each session 2.5 hours
Number of places per family 2 (+1 education professional)

A workshop for parents/carers of children with Global Developmental Delay or a diagnosed Learning Disability (2-18 years) or Autism. This is our first option for treatment in line with NICE guidelines.

Aims of the workshop:

• To help families understand how sensory environments impact on children’s ability to participate in activities
• To understand how children’s sensory processing impacts on behaviour
• To explore ideas and strategies and have access to further useful resources and information that may help
• To create a support network of peers to share experiences

 
Number of sessions 4
Duration of each session 2 hours
Number of places per family 2 (+1 education professional)

A workshop for parents/carers of children with Global Developmental Delay or a diagnosed Learning Disability (2-18 years) or Autism. This is our first option for treatment in line with NICE guidelines.

Aims of the workshop:

• To understand the importance of sleep for overall wellbeing
• To identify possible reasons for children’s sleep issues
• To help families recognise what they can do to help children sleep better
• To gain helpful tips of sleep strategies and direct to useful resources
• To create a support network of peers to share experiences

 
Number of sessions 2
Duration of each session 2 hours
Number of places per family 2

A workshop for parents/carers of children with Global Developmental Delay or a diagnosed Learning Disability (2-18 years) or Autism.

This is our first option for treatment in line with NICE guidelines.

Aims of the workshop:

• To understand behaviour that challenges and its impact
• To understand the reasons and purpose for behaviours occurring
• To explore the situations and reasons as to why behaviour may happen
• To introduce the importance of recording behaviours
• To share proactive strategies to reduce likelihood of behaviours occurring
• To create a support network of peers to share experiences

 
Number of sessions 2
Duration of each session 2 hours
Number of places per family 2 (+1 education professional)

A workshop for parents/carers of children with Global Developmental Delay or a diagnosed Learning Disability (2-18 years) or Autism. This is our first option for treatment in line with NICE guidelines.

Aims of the workshop:

• To provide a general introduction to anxiety and how to recognise it
• To give an overview of how anxiety affects children
• To look at how a family’s feelings of anxiety may have an impact on a situation
• To explore some strategies that may be useful to support children to manage anxious feelings
• To create a support network of peers to share experiences

 
Number of sessions 2
Duration of each session 2 hours
Number of places per family 2 (+1 education professional)

“You may not be able to stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn

A workshop for parents/carers of children with Global Developmental Delay, a diagnosed Learning Disability (2-18 years) or Autism (2-11)

Parenting can be full of challenges, big and small. We can all experience unhelpful thoughts, feelings and sensations that make it harder for us to parent in the way we want.

Aims of the workshop:

• To introduce the concept of being on auto-pilot
• To learn how to gather up your awareness
• To stop you from becoming entangled with unhelpful thoughts and emotions
• To clarify what is most important for you in life and encourage you to invest time in these things
• To identify the things that hold you back
• To look at developing mindfulness practices

 
Number of sessions 5
Duration of each session 2.5 hours
Number of places per family 2

We will book you an interpreter if you need one.

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:

• talk to the people directly involved in your care
• ask a member of staff for a feedback form, or complete a form on the Trust website www.cntw.nhs.uk (click on the ‘Contact Us’ tab)
• telephone the Complaints Department 0191 245 6672
• email [email protected] Please note that information sent to the Trust via email is sent at your own risk
• We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention.
  You can provide feedback in the following ways:
  – the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at
  www.cntw.nhs.uk/poy
  – complete a Points of You survey, available from staff.

 
Our service code, to use in the Points of You Survey, is CNTW249.

North Cumbria Children’s Learning Disability and Behaviour Support Service

Bases:
Unit 9
Lillyhall Business Centre Jubilee Road, Workington
Cumbria
CA14 4HA
Tel: 01900 705 081
Website

Fairfield Centre
The Carleton Clinic
Cumwhinton Drive
Carlisle
CA1 3SX
Tel: 01900 705 081
Website

Email: [email protected]

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think about this leaflet please get in touch.

This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre Tel: 0191 246 7288

Published by the Patient Information Centre
2023 Copyright, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Ref, PIC/878/1023 V2
www.cntw.nhs.uk
Tel: 0191 246 7288
Review date 2026