FAMILIES of children and young people who have neuro-diverse needs are benefiting from a new programme of support, Devon County Council (DCC) has said.

It is thought that around 15 per cent of children and young people in Devon have a neuro-diverse diagnosis, or neuro-diverse needs as yet undiagnosed.

This equaties to at least 30,000 children and young people across the county.

Families are faced with a wide range of services and support, from NHS primary care, through to schools and education services, through to Children’s Services and into adulthood, employment and independent living.

The network of support is often seen by parents and young people as complex and difficult to navigate, DCC say.

Working in partnership with local authorities, including DCC, the NHS is employing keyworkers – or ‘navigators’ as they’re also known – to work with families whose children have a neuro-diverse diagnosis to help them navigate their way through the ‘system’.

For example, in Plymouth, the small team of ‘navigators’ has been working as part of the community-based ‘Neurodiversity Wellbeing Team’ since June of last year.

The team are supporting parents and young people with navigating the complex networks of health, education, social care, community, and voluntary services.

Over the last few months, the team have spent time building their knowledge of the network of support that’s available across the UK’s ocean city.

It is hoped that the key worker scheme, subject to further, long-term funding, can be expanded to include all of Devon.

‘Developing and expanding this service is part of our wider strategy to ensure children and young people who are neurodiverse can have their needs identified and met without waiting for a diagnosis’ Su Smart, Director of Women and Children's Improvement for NHS Devon, said.

‘This service is helping families receive support and help while they are waiting for a diagnosis.

‘We are really pleased to be able to support the expansion of the keyworker pilot to cover the whole of the NHS Devon area including Torbay, Plymouth and Devon local authority areas.’ Su added.