Learning disabilities

Welcome to the Child and Adolescent Learning Disability and Mental Health (LDMH) Service.

Why refer to LDMH (CAMHS) Team?

We work with children and young people:

• up to the age of 18 years
• who have moderate, severe, or profound learning disabilities – find out more about learning disabilities below 
• who also experience mental health problems, or complex challenging and distressing behaviour – find out more about challenging behaviours below 
• who are registered with a Sheffield GP

Issues we typically support are:

• self-injurious behaviour
• aggression and agitation
• unsettled or distressed behaviours
• low mood
• opting out or withdrawn presentation

These issues would be having a severe impact upon the young person’s day to day wellbeing, access to the community and their quality of life.

We work together with young people, families, carers and professionals to make sense of the behaviour and develop support strategies. We use an approach called Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) to do this. Find out more about PBS below. 

We work in episodes of care towards specific goals agreed with families.  

We work in line with the STOMP and STAMP programme. This is a programme of work to make sure children and young people with a learning disability, autism or both are only prescribed the right medication, at the right time and for the right reason. Find out more about STOMP and STAMP at NHS.uk

We most often work with the key adults in the young person’s life.  This is because everyone brings valuable understanding, ideas and strategies that can be helpful to share. Our aim is to support everyone to develop a deeper understanding of what’s going on and how best to help the young person. We also sometimes work directly with the young person. 

Who are the Learning Disability and Mental Health team?

We are a small team of professionals who work across the city supporting children and their families. The team consists of professionals from child and adolescent psychiatry, clinical psychology, learning disability nursing, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and administrative support.

How to refer to Learning Disability and Mental Health?

We accept referrals from:

• professionals from health, social care and education (such as Ryegate professionals, community paediatricians, FIS workers, social workers, schools)
• professionals who are working with the family and have a good knowledge of the concerns. If someone cannot answer all the referral questions, then it may be more suitable for another person to complete the form. 

Please complete our referral form in full. Download the form here.

Please see the referral guidance and criteria information here.

We will return the referral if there is missing information. 

Which referrals are not for us?

Please see the referral guidance and criteria information here.

The following work cannot be completed by LDMH:

• Work with issues that are school based only (they should be supported by Educational Psychology and behavioural support service in education)
• Requests for assessment and diagnoses of Learning Disability, Autism or ADHD. LDMH team are not a diagnostic only service. 
• Support for singular issues (such as sensory challenges) that are not part of challenging behaviour.
• Crisis interventions.
• Requests for social care or respite.
• Where the family has not received any input from other services around the presentation of concern (such as Ryegate Children’s Centre, Speech and Language Therapy or Occupational Therapy via school, FIS workers).

Coming to an appointment

Please remember: We can arrange for an interpreter if you or your family need one. Let us know if you want or need information in a different format and we will try to do this.

Our service is confidential, and we will discuss with you who we share your information with.

Please let us know if you cannot come to the appointment so that we can offer the appointment to another family

Find out more about appointments: Joint Support Appointments.

Further information

What is a learning disability?

The World Health Organisation states that a learning disability is ‘a significant impairment of intellectual functioning’ and of ‘adaptive or social functioning’. A learning disability affects the way a person understands, learns and remembers new information. It also impacts upon the way a person communicates, manages independent living skills and social situations.

A learning disability is a life long condition, which affects a person across all areas of their life and is present from birth. It is not the same as a learning difficulty which tends to refer to a specific difficulty with a skill such as reading or writing.

What is challenging behaviour or behaviours of concern?

Complex challenging behaviour is defined as behaviour of such significant intensity, frequency or duration that is impacts upon the young person’s safety and the safety of others, reduces their quality of life and results in restrictions or limitations upon their access to community resources.

More information about this term can be found at the Challenging Behaviour Foundation website.

What is Positive Behaviour Support?

Find out more about PBS at:

Challenging Behaviour Foundation website

Autism.org.uk

Information while you wait for an appointment

LDMH CAMHS while you wait

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