If your child is described as ‘lovely’ and ‘so well-behaved’ by their teacher, and you are picking them up off the kitchen floor by 3:45pm, you are not imagining it. This pattern is common enough to have its own name: after-school restraint collapse.

Booking that first appointment can feel like a big step, and it is completely normal to arrive with a few nerves, yours as much as your child’s. Most families tell us afterwards that it was far less daunting than they expected. This guide walks you through what actually happens in a first session, how to prepare your child, and what you can expect to walk away with.

Deciding to seek an autism assessment is a significant step, and most parents arrive with a mix of hope, worry, and a very long list of questions. An assessment is not a test your child can fail. It is a careful, structured way of understanding how your child thinks, communicates, and experiences the world, so that the people around them can support them better. This guide walks you through the process, from referral through to report.

Depression in young people is more than sadness or a difficult week. It is a mood condition that can affect energy, motivation, sleep, appetite, concentration, and the way a young person sees themselves and the world around them. It often looks different in children and teenagers than it does in adults, and it can go unnoticed for a long time, sometimes mistaken for laziness, moodiness, or ‘just a phase’. If you are worried about your child, your instinct matters. This guide is here to help you make sense of what you may be seeing and how to respond.

School refusal is when a child experiences significant distress about going to school and struggles to attend or stay there regularly. School refusal is not about defiance or laziness. Most children who reject school actually do want to attend but often feel overwhelmed or unable to cope. School refusal is usually linked to anxiety or emotional distress, rather than behavioural problems.