Neurodevelopmental Services
Welcome to the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board Neurodevelopmental Service.
Our opening hours are 08.30am-16.30pm, Monday to Friday. Our administrative teams are based at Keir Hardie Health Park, Merthyr Tydfil, and the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.
Contact Telephone Numbers: 01685 351026 or 01685 351038 (Keir Hardie Health Park) and 01656 753996 (Bridgend).
You are welcome to leave an answerphone message and we will aim to return your call within 24 working hours. Alternatively, you are welcome to email us with any general enquiries at CTT_ND_Service@wales.nhs.uk.
Our current waiting list for initial assessments is around two years from referral. Unfortunately we are unable to prioritize any referrals.
For repeat prescription requests, please send an email with the following information to CTT_ND_Service_Prescription@wales.nhs.uk:
- Your child’s name and date of birth
- Medication required
- How many days medication your child has left
- Which Health Board hospital site you would like to collect the prescription from
- Your contact telephone number
Alternatively, you can contact us on 01685 351038 with the same information as above.
Please request a new prescription when your child has 10-14 days’ medication left, as we cannot accommodate short notice requests.
- What we do
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We see children and young people age 2-17 years.
We provide diagnostic assessments for two of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We know that these conditions often come with other difficulties, such as sleep problems, unusual eating patterns, co-ordination problems, tics, behavioural challenges and mental health concerns. Where these other difficulties are present but have not yet been addressed, we will signpost you, or make referrals to, other services in the Health Board, the Local Authority or the third sector for their management and support.
We also provide follow up medication reviews for young people with ADHD or autism who we start on ADHD medication or sleep medication.
Please note, we are not an emergency service. So for mental health emergencies where you are worried about your child’s immediate safety (eg self-harm or suicidality), please contact your GP (or out-of-hours GP) or take your child to A&E, and the clinician who you see can refer to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) crisis team if appropriate. For physical health emergencies, please contact your GP or attend A&E as you would usually. For extreme aggressive behaviour that does not settle and that you are unable to manage, please contact Children’s Services and/or the police.
If you are concerned more generally about your child’s mental health (eg low mood, anxiety) or their physical health, again you should not wait for your child’s appointment with us to raise this. You should contact your GP in a timely manner, who can arrange referrals to the relevant services.
- Diagnosis and Neurodiversity
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Many of the young people we see have complex difficulties that aren’t easily or accurately described by a single neurodevelopmental diagnosis. We know that families want to understand their child’s difficulties, promote their wellbeing and help them reach their potential in school - but a diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental condition isn’t always the best or the only way to achieve this! Your child does not need a neurodevelopmental diagnosis to access help relevant to their needs in school.
Features of neurodevelopmental conditions are increasingly being viewed through the lens of ‘neurodiversity’, which is a term that describes variation in the way people’s brains work as differences rather than deficits. For a helpful article on neurodiversity, please see: https://childmind.org/article/what-is-neurodiversity/.
For information on ADHD, ASD and other associated conditions, please visit our information about signposting section.
- Who are we?
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We have specialist nurses, health care support workers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, clinical pharmacists, paediatricians and psychiatrists in our team.
- Where do we see families?
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Your appointment may be at:
- The Children’s Centre at Keir Hardie University Health Park. Please turn left as soon as you come in through the main entrance, and go to the Children’s Centre reception desk.
- The Children’s Centre at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. Please go through the main entrance, across the concourse and then turn right and go along the corridor. The Children’s Centre will then be on your right.
- The Children’s Centre at Ysbyty Cwm Cynon. Please go through the main entrance and then turn right just after the stairs. The Children’s Centre is then immediately on your left.
- The Outpatients department at Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda. On arrival, go through the main entrance and keep going straight ahead to the end of the corridor (past the café). Go through the double doors and turn right into Outpatients department.
- Cwm Gwyrdd Medical Centre. Please wait in the waiting area on the left when you come through the main entrance.
- The Children’s Centre at the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend. When arriving at the entrance to the hospital, the Children’s Centre is on the left at the back of the hospital in a separate building.
If you need to get in touch about appointments at any of these locations, please still call the Neurodevelopmental Service administrative teams on the telephone numbers above, rather than calling the individual hospital sites.
- What can I expect at my appointments?
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Your child’s first appointment will last up to 1.5 hours. If you have any of your child’s old school reports, it would be very helpful if you could bring these with you for your clinician to look at. You are also welcome to make a note of anything you specifically want to tell us or ask us, if this helps you. If you feel it would be appropriate, it would be helpful if you could talk to your child before their first appointment about why they have been referred to our service. This helps us talk openly with you and your child where possible. There are no medical tests that can diagnose or rule out ADHD or ASD. The assessments just involve asking you and child questions and observing your child’s behaviour.
Assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions often take more than one appointment, sometimes over several months. They may involve school observations or other clinic-based assessments as well as the initial clinic appointment. You may see more than one clinician during the assessment process.
We are a teaching health board and so medical students may be present in clinic.
Please ring to reschedule your appointment if you or your child are ill.