nancy.lean@kcl.ac.uk

The journey to diagnosis can feel long and lonely, with many parents left ‘in limbo’. Accessing peer support for parents is vital: ·       to signpost and access knowledge for advocacy – “my child isn’t just naughty” ·       for validation for mental health support – “my parenting isn’t to blame” Simple changes at school and home

There is a crisis in the NHS ADHD services; access to support is severely restricted and waiting times from being accepted as a referral to being assessed, diagnosed and treated are very long. Sometimes families are waiting for over two years. In addition to delaying much-needed help, these long waits could make the problems faced

Those of you who have been following the progress of the OPTIMA study will know that the research team is supported by a ‘PPIE[1] panel’ of parents with lived experience of the referral process for NHS child mental health or behavioural support services. You can read more about the responsibilities of the panel here. We

In OPTIMA, we test whether the STEPS app can help support parents waiting for specialist assessment and treatment for their child with a clinical service. It is important that we share the results of this work with other researchers, clinicians and the general public, by publishing the results in a scientific journal. Before any study