The team provides specialist, multi-disciplinary provision for children with a learning disability whose health needs cannot be fully met by general health services. 

The Specialist Learning Disability Team consists of:

- Consultant Psychiatrist for children with a learning disability
- Clinical Psychologist
- Registered Learning Disability Nurses

Direct support is provided by other teams within Integrated Children’s services:

- Speech and Language Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Dietetics (food and nutrition)

The service is for children/ young people who have a learning disability and additional health needs. There is an open referral system and referrals can be made by parents/carers, GP’s, paediatricians, teachers, social workers and other professionals involved with the child/young person.

All referrals must be made with parents/carer’s consent, and where appropriate, the child/ young person’s consent.

The service is provided to children/young people from 0 to 18 (19 if still in school).

As a team we identify three different levels of intervention: which may be appropriate for each child or family referred to the service:

Level 1 - Single professional – one lead professional who will liaise with other professionals and monitor
Level 2 - Multi professional – one lead professional, however input from all or part of the team for specific pieces of work
Level 3 - Complex Intense need – one lead professional, however frequent. Intense support from the key team members.

This provision supports young people with a learning disability who have additional mental health or complex needs, such as high anxiety, verbal /physical aggression, significantly impaired sleeping / eating, self injury and sexually inappropriate behaviours, where universal services are unable to meet the young person’s needs and;

- The behaviours are impacting upon the quality of life of the young person and or others.
- Presents a risk to the health and safety of the young person or others 
- Are persistent
Where basic interventions , parenting and behavioural have already been tried with no change 

We focus upon early intervention, prevention and wellbeing, and improving access for children and young people with learning disabilities and existing mental health needs to specialist services.

Support we offer parents :
- Parent training workshops (topics covered – Autism, Understanding behaviour, Parent wellbeing and Sleep).
- Stepping Stones Triple P parenting programme
- 1-1 Triple P parenting programme 
- Individual work with parents 
- Post diagnosis education
- Individual work with children
- Understanding Sensory processing difficulties
- Management of complex sleep difficulties 
- Understanding Communication difficulties your child may be experiencing 
- Management and support of complex epilepsy 
- Management of anxiety