BusyLizzie100 Report post Posted December 3, 2005 Keep seeing the word Camhs in various posts about seeking diagnosis, but what does it stand for? Am I missing something here or am I just thick?! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted December 3, 2005 Child and Adolescent , Mental Health Services, the jargon buster at the top of the page is my godsend Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BusyLizzie100 Report post Posted December 3, 2005 Thanks for that - what do they do and why haven't I heard of them before? Two of my three sons have ASDs, one of which Asperger's. Are they just not around everywhere? Should I find out about them? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phasmid Report post Posted December 3, 2005 No, you're not being thick. If you don't know ask, there's no point not knowing what the heck we're all on about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littlenemo Report post Posted December 3, 2005 CAHMS is mainly a clinical service for children with a range of problems. They are the main diagnostic service for ASCs, ADHD, Dyspraxia and many other conditions. In some areas CAHMS has an autism team and a few provide therapies and support as part of the NHS but most tend to refer on to other specialists. to get a referal to CAMHS it is probably easiest to go to the GP, if you think your child may have autism or AS then it is best to ask for a referal to a specialist in that field when you ask the GP to make the referal a referal may take several months and the diagnostic process is fairly lengthy for most people. hope that helps Zemanski Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tinminer Report post Posted December 4, 2005 We don't have CAMHS here in Cornwall either. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LizK Report post Posted December 4, 2005 Thanks for that - what do they do and why haven't I heard of them before? Two of my three sons have ASDs, one of which Asperger's. Are they just not around everywhere? Should I find out about them? CAMHS is basically another name for your local Child Psychiatry service which should be available in every area for under 16s with any sort of mental health problem. How they function depends on where you live in the country as they don't all work in the same way and the degree of funding to the services varies. Locally younger children with ?ASD get referred to paediatricians for assessment whereas older children and/or ones with behavioural issues get referred to CAMS. The CAMS team consists of child psychiatrists (drs), OTs , psychologists, specialist nurses and who you see depends upon the nature of the problem. Only a doctor or psychologist can diagnose ASD but other members of the team can do work eg social skills groups. Each CAMHS unit ought to have at least one consultant with a special interest in ASD though that is not always the case in every area HTH Liz x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
