News - Helping create an effective neurodiversity pathway for children, young people and families

Cheshire West Voluntary Action (CWVA) has helped coordinate a neurodiversity pathway project for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, working with community sector organisations to capture the voices of children, young people and their families.  

The aim of the engagement was to hear and use these voices to influence how the current offer across Cheshire and Merseyside can be redesigned to one that is based on the needs of people in the community.

While CWVA coordinated this project, 27 community sector organisations from across the Cheshire and Merseyside region played a key role in capturing the views of people with lived experience.

458 in-depth conversations in total took place, with 267 engagements directly with children and young people and 191 responses from families and carers.

41 per cent and 47 per cent of those who engaged were female or male respectively, with 11 per cent unknown or preferring not to say.

The Lundy Model was used for the engagement, using a checklist and feedback forms to make sure there was a structured approach across the project.

This model looked at ‘space, voice, audience and influence’ throughout each stage of the engagement so people were able to express their feelings and wishes in a safe environment on their terms, giving them a voice and the power to shape and influence decisions that affect their lives.

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