BCHC staff with child and parent image

Services

Community Paediatrics

Resources

Assessment, diagnosis, management and treatment for children and young people where there are concerns regarding a child’s development.

Useful resources for patients, parents and carers

Due to the high volume of calls to the Community Paediatrics Service, we are unable to respond to all queries. Please find below links to websites, support groups, forums and information that we hope you will find useful: 

 

ADHD

 

 

Autism

 

 

Birmingham Community Healthcare: service web pages

  • BCHC Health Visiting Service: Birmingham Forward Steps is a combined health visiting and voluntary agency partners early years’ service who support all families across Birmingham with children upto the age of 5 years. They give specific support to children with additional needs and will signpost to other agencies as required such as GPs, midwives and school nurses.
  • BCHC Immunisation Team: the immunisation team delivers routine national childhood immunisations to children at school in Birmingham and Solihull, and to those that live within Birmingham and Solihull, offering protection against disease.
  • BCHC Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service: support children and young people (aged 0 - 18 years, or 19 years in full-time education in special schools) to carry out activities (or occupations) they need, want, or are expected to do, but are prevented from doing due to impairments, injuries or developmental conditions.
  • BCHC School Health Support Service: give confidential advice, care and support to schools, children, young people and their parents.  Protect and promote the physical and emotional health of children and young people, to ensure that they get the most from their education.
  • BCHC Special School Nursing Service: a citywide service providing nursing care and support across 27 special schools.
  • BCHC Speech and Language Therapy Service: provide evidence-based support to children (0-19) with a range of specific speech, language and communication difficulties and those with difficulties swallowing, eating and drinking.

 

 

Cerebral Palsy

  • Contact : for families with disabled children.
  • Contact: Hemiplegia information.
  • Scope provides practical advice and emotional support while promoting a vision of equality.

 

 

 

Challenging behaviour

 

 

Downs syndrome

  • Downs Syndrome: resources, support and facts on downs syndrome to help both those who have the condition and their families.

 

 

Eating

Parents of autistic children often have concerns about their restricted eating patterns.

  • Feeding with love: you may find the resources on Zoe Connor’s website (paediatric dietitian with an interest in autism) useful to manage concerns around eating.
  • The Feeding Trust
  • ForwardThinking Birmingham: eating disorders.
  • National Autistic Society also has some specific information regarding why autistic young people may have difficulties with eating.
  • SEED is an Eating Disorder Support Service and can offer a range of support and guidance.

 

 

Emotional Regulation

Some children may benefit from ongoing support in developing problem-solving skills, including perspective taking. You may find the following books useful:

  • The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Ross W. Greene
  • Interactions and Controlling Their Emotional Responses by Kari Dunn Buron & Mitzi Curtis

 

Children who experience anger or anxiety may benefit from learning the warning signs of when the anger or anxiety is beginning to build; as well as a clear plan of what works to calm herself down at each stage. A useful resource:

  • The Incredible 5-point Scale: Assisting Children with ASDs in Understanding Social Interactions and Controlling Their Emotional Responses by Kari Dunn Buron & Mitzi Curtis

 

 

Financial and Mobility Assistance

  • Blue Badge Scheme: from 30 August 2019, the Blue Badge Scheme to support mobility was extended to individuals with a non-visible difficulty such as autism.
  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA): if your child is under 16 you may be eligible to apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) on behalf of your child.
  • Personal Independence Payment: those over the age of 16 may be eligible for Personal Independence Payment.

 

 

Gender identity 

 

 

Hearing 

 

 

Information for blood tests

 

 

Learning Disability Annual Health Checks (AHCs)

Find out more about AHCs and access resources (including a letter template requesting addition to the GP Learning Disability Register)

All about your Learning Disability Annual Health Check

 

 

 

Mental Health and Wellbeing

  • KOOTH Mental Health Services : for 11 to 25 year olds now available in Birmingham. Kooth is a free, safe and anonymous service to support young people’s emotional and mental health in Birmingham.  Online self-referral is available at www.kooth.com. This is an online platform for advice and support and is linked into the wider mental health support from Forward Thinking Birmingham.

 

 

Neurological disabilities

  • Neural: the collective voice for the 80 organisations campaigning together to transform outcomes for those with neurological conditions.

 

 

Sensory impairment

 

There are also many books available that talk about the sensory systems, how sensory differences can impact on behaviour and what techniques can be used to help manage sensory issues.

  • The Out-Of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder. By Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A.
  • The Out-Of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for kids with Sensory Processing Disorder. By Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A.
  • Too loud too bright too fast too tight: What to do if you are sensory defensive in an overstimulating world. By Sharon Heller, PH.D.

 

 

Siblings and peers

  • Autism Superheros is a comic strip book which aims to increase awareness of autism in children.
  • Birmingham Carers Centre provides support, information and advice to people who care for friends and family with disabilities.
  • Sibs is a charity supporting siblings of children with a range of difficulties including SEN, autism or other serious long term condition. They offer information and advice to parents and professionals on who to support siblings.
  • Teifi and Friends: there are also resources to help your child’s peers or siblings begin to understand autistic differences. Teifi and Friends is a cartoon which shows some of the difficulties an autistic person may have and promotes acceptance.

 

 

Sleep

 

 

Social understanding

Your child may need ongoing support with developing social understanding. There are a number of useful resources which you and school may wish to explore. These include:

  • Understanding the unwritten rules of friendship  by E Kennedy-Moore & N Madorsky Elman
  • Friends Forever: How Parents Can Help Their Kids Make and Keep Good  Friends  by Fred Frankel
  • Social Skills Success for Students with Autism/ Aspergers: Helping Adolescents  on the Spectrum Fit in  by F Frankel, F & JJ Wood
  • Friendships: The Aspie Way  by Wendy Lawson

 

Support for families with disabled children

  • Cerebra: working with you and your amazing child.
  • Contact support families with information and guidance, as well as bringing them together.
  • SEND Birmingham Local Offer: the Birmingham Local Offer will provide you with support and information on special educational needs.

 

 

If you are waiting for a new or a follow up appointment and you are concerned about your child’s health please contact your GP, call 111 or 999 if an emergency.

Our patients and their carers and families are the reason we're here, so we want to hear your views about the Trust and our services.