Co-Production Session 4

The study team would like to thank parent carers and professionals you who attended the fourth co-production session on Tuesday 2nd September, your input is greatly valued and is helping to shape the Neurodiversity Profiling Tool.

If you weren’t able to join the session, you can still contribute by completing the survey at the link below:

🔗 Co-production Session #4 Survey

Your feedback is really important to ensure the tool is meaningful, practical, and co-produced with the community. 

Please contact cwp.ndprofilestudy@nhs.net if you have any questions. 

Update August 2025: The Centre for Autism Neuro Developmental Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities (CANDDID) study team are evaluating the Neurodiversity Profiling Tool pilot and would really value your views.

You may have already heard about the Neurodiversity Profiling Tool, based on the the Portsmouth Model.

 Its aim is to build a better understanding of a child or young person’s needs, so that the right support can be put in place.

This summer, parents, carers, neurodivergent people, and professionals from a range of sectors have been taking part in co-production workshops. The work is still ongoing, but we now have an early draft of the tool to share.

For ease of access, this draft has been set up as a Microsoft Form. Please note that the final version will be laid out more clearly – this is just a quick way for people to view it and give feedback.

We’d really value your thoughts on the content (e.g. wording, examples, clarity), rather than the layout at this stage.

Communications and frequently asked questions from Parent Carer Forums (PCF) in Cheshire and Merseyside regarding the Cheshire and Merseyside Neurodevelopment Pathway for children and young people, including a response to the Special Needs Jungle article (July 2025).

I have heard that the profiling tool used in Portsmouth will be used in Cheshire and Merseyside. Is this true?

Yes. Children’s health and care teams across Cheshire and Merseyside are committed to improving service delivery, access and outcomes for neurodiverse children, young people and families, focusing on meeting needs as early as possible. They have identified good practice in Portsmouth and Cornwall and their work with profiling tools.

As part of the development of the Cheshire and Merseyside Children’s Neurodevelopment Pathway, Wirral and St Helens have been piloting the use of a profiling tool over the last few months, and the response has been very positive. We are now making further plans to develop and adapt the profiling tool (now called the This Is Me profiling tool) for Cheshire and Merseyside in partnership with parents/carers, Local Authorities and other organisations.

You can find more information here:

Cheshire and Merseyside Neurodevelopment Pathway - NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

When will the tool be launched?

Following the launch of the Cheshire and Merseyside Children’s Neurodevelopment Pathway in June 2025, we are making plans to start the roll-out of the This Is Me tool in every area across Cheshire and Merseyside, with full roll-out in 2026.

How will the This Is Me tool benefit my child?

The This Is Me tool is used to build a profile of your child’s individual strengths and needs so that we can offer you flexible, tailored support. For some children and young people, this might mean reasonable adjustments at school or a referral to a sleep service, for example. For others, it may highlight the need for medical assessment sooner.

In the past, children, young people and families may have had to wait for a formal diagnosis before they could access this support. However, the This Is Me tool means that support needs can be identified much earlier, with no requirement to have a neurodevelopmental assessment or diagnosis first.

We are currently developing a digital version of the tool for those that prefer to complete it electronically.

Is the This Is Me tool going to replace formal neurodevelopmental assessments?

No, the This Is Me tool will not replace neurodevelopmental assessments. It is designed to help the teams working with you and your child to learn about their strengths and needs so that they can offer personalised support earlier in the process. Children and young people can receive this support while they wait for an assessment, after they have been assessed, or if they have not been referred for an assessment.

Will the This Is Me tool stop my child from getting a diagnosis?

No. We understand how important a neurodevelopmental diagnosis can be to children and families for many different reasons. The tool is not intended to be a barrier to this; it is designed to help children, young people and families access support based on individual needs before, during and after the assessment process. If you decide to access support as a result of the This Is Me tool, it will not prevent your child from receiving a diagnostic assessment.

What if we don’t have an assessment or diagnosis – can we still get support?

Yes. We know that not every neurodiverse child will need or want a diagnosis, but they may still benefit from support in some areas. The tool will help to identify these areas based on your child’s individual needs, regardless of their formal diagnosis (or lack of). If you decide not to pursue an assessment for your child, or if they don’t meet the criteria for referral or diagnosis, you can still access support via the This Is Me tool.

Were neurodivergent children and their families involved in developing the tool?

Yes. It is very important to us that the voices of children, young people and families are at the centre of the This Is Me tool, so we have been working closely with them, and with local organisations, to co-produce and evaluate the tool. We chose our training partner, Koala North West, based on their excellent track record of supporting and advocating for neurodiverse children, young people and families in the region. Additionally, project meetings involve representatives from Parent Carer Forums and third sector/voluntary organisations from across Cheshire and Merseyside to ensure that the voices of children, young people and families are represented at every level. Many of our clinicians and leads also have personal lived experience of neurodiversity in addition to their professional experience.



Is there a risk that this will encourage children to mask?

We understand that masking can have a negative impact on neurodivergent people and we have consulted with children, young people and families to ensure that the tool does not encourage this. The tool uses neuro-affirmative language, does not portray neurodiversity as inferior or deficient, and focuses on recognising strengths and support needs. It does not seek to change, discourage, or “re-train” valid neurodiverse behaviours or communication styles. We will continue to refine and improve the tool based on the co-production feedback we have already had from children, families and professionals, and on further co-production feedback going forward.

Thank you for supporting us to make co-production as inclusive as possible.

📧 If you have any questions or feedback, please contact:

CWP.NDProfileStudy@nhs.net



For more information on the PCF and what we do...

click below