Local-route checks: 7 September 2026; Medway NHS routes updated 5 October 2026. Everyday-help sources checked: 22 September 2026. Autism Central, appointment adjustments, dental-care guidance and Medway SENDIASS contact checked: 17 October 2026. For Kent and Medway families, including children without a diagnosis.
A waiting list can make everything feel paused. Start with what is hardest for your child today: communication, getting through school, everyday tasks, or feeling safe and settled. You can ask about support for those needs while the assessment process continues. These routes help you choose a next step; each service has its own access criteria.
Small changes for everyday life
Choose one part of the day that feels difficult. You do not need to try every idea at once. Adapt these starting points to your child’s communication, interests and preferences.
Make communication easier
Use a short sentence about one thing, then pause. Pictures, objects or gestures may be easier to follow than more talking. Offer a simple choice where there is a real choice. Ask nursery or school what helps there, and share what works at home. NHS communication ideas.
Make the next step clearer
Keep familiar routines where possible and explain changes ahead of time. Some children find a visual sequence useful. Ask a professional supporting your child whether a now-and-next board would suit them. Kent’s NHS First and Then board leaflet says to use its advice with a healthcare professional. A plan helps share what is happening; it is not a reason to press on when your child is distressed.
Leave room to settle after school
A child may appear to cope at school and need time to recover afterwards. Make space for rest and familiar enjoyable activities. Notice whether light, noise, clothing or a busy schedule makes things harder. Harmless stimming does not need to be stopped. NHS guidance on supporting an autistic child.
If your child is overwhelmed now, start with comfort, communication and recovery. For persistent, new or changing difficulties, ask your GP or the team supporting your child for advice.
What helps my child: a small paper plan
Optional SENDPath prompts for a conversation at home, nursery or school. Use words, pictures or your child’s way of communicating; leave anything blank. This is an organising aid, not a clinical assessment.
What I enjoy, and what I want adults to understand:
The part of the day I find difficult:
What helps me feel comfortable or communicate:
One change to try together, and when we will check how it felt:
Original blank prompts from SENDPath · sendpath.uk/guides/help-while-waiting-kent.html. Nothing needs to be sent to SENDPath. Keep completed paper or saved copies somewhere private.
Print just the four-prompt plan, or copy the prompts into your own notes. This page does not collect your answers.
Make a health appointment easier to manage
Before the visit, tell the team which communication and sensory adjustments help your child. You could ask:
- Could an appointment at the start or end of the day reduce waiting?
- What quieter space or changes to lighting are available?
- Can words, pictures or another familiar way of communicating help explain what will happen?
- How can staff allow the personal space your child needs?
NICE recommends adapting health and care settings and appointment arrangements to the child’s needs. Use the blank “what helps my child” plan if it helps you explain them. These optional prompts do not need to be completed before asking for help.
When toothbrushing is difficult
The brush, toothpaste or surroundings may feel uncomfortable. Notice what your child shows you, and include their choices and preferred way of communicating. You do not have to solve every part at once.
- Try one manageable change. A quieter place outside the bathroom, a softer brush or a less strongly flavoured, low-foaming fluoride toothpaste may feel easier. Ask your dentist which options suit your child. Autism Central’s toothbrushing ideas explain small steps and visit preparation.
- Keep the dental basics in view. NHS advice is to brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste. Follow the NHS age-specific toothpaste guidance and your dentist’s advice. If brushing remains difficult, ask the dental team for an individual plan.
- Prepare the visit together. Tell the dental team how your child communicates and what feels uncomfortable. Ask about a quieter appointment, a familiar comfort item and explaining what will happen. Our appointment questions and blank support plan can help you describe what your child needs.
Finding help: ask a general dental practice about NHS care and any adjustments needed. A dental professional may refer a child for Special Care Dentistry when specialised treatment is needed. This is not automatic from an autism diagnosis. Check the NHS dental access route.
Pain or swelling needs dental advice. Contact a dentist for toothache lasting more than two days, or toothache with fever or a swollen cheek or jaw. For urgent dental advice if you do not have a dentist or cannot get an emergency appointment, call NHS 111. Swelling around an eye or neck, or swelling that affects breathing, swallowing or speech, needs emergency help (A&E/999). Read the full NHS toothache and urgent-help guidance.
Support for you matters too
Feeling overwhelmed does not make you a bad parent. If you can, ask someone you trust for one specific form of help, such as company at an appointment or time for a break. Speak to your GP if your own mental health is becoming difficult to manage. NHS advice for parents and carers.
Free peer support for parents and carers
Autism Central offers free, NHS-funded peer coaching for adult family members and carers in England who support an autistic person. You can talk through everyday difficulties and possible next steps with a trained peer guide. Its current booking guidance explains phone and video options and who the service supports.
It also offers free online group learning. Peer support is not therapy, diagnosis or professional legal advice, and is not an urgent-help service. Check the current arrangements directly; for urgent needs, use our urgent-support page.
For practical school and SEND questions, use the Kent and Medway advice routes below. For urgent help, use the urgent-support page.
A useful local-route sheet to keep: Download the free one-page guide and school meeting notes (PDF). Print it or share the link with another parent.
The current assessment update
NHS Kent and Medway says routine autism and ADHD referrals are unlikely to be seen before April 2027 under its 2026/27 activity plans. Referrals continue, but providers place people on waiting lists when their funded activity limit is reached. Priority includes clinical need and people already on assessment or treatment pathways. April 2027 is not a promised appointment date. The ICB says providers will contact affected patients; contacting the GP about these commissioning changes will not alter an existing referral’s management. Read the NHS update.
Kent or Medway? The KCHFT speech and occupational therapy routes below describe services in Kent. For Medway, start with the Medway routes. If your child's home, GP and school are in different areas, ask the GP or school to confirm which team covers your child.
If speech or communication is the worry in Kent
Before school: KCHFT Talking Walk-ins are play-based sessions where you and your child can meet speech and language staff and discuss concerns. No booking is needed. Check the current Family Hub timetable before travelling. Children registered with a Kent GP can use a convenient session in another district. If a speech therapist already works with your child, speak to that therapist instead. Find a Talking Walk-in.
At school: most KCHFT speech and language support starts through the school’s SENCO and School Link Therapy meetings. The NHS referral page lists exceptions, including children outside school and particular hearing, voice, feeding or swallowing needs. Use the route for your child’s circumstances rather than submitting a general referral automatically. Check the referral routes.
If everyday tasks or movement are difficult
For KCHFT occupational therapy and physiotherapy, east, north and west Kent families should ask their nursery, school or medical team to complete a referral with them. In south east Kent — Ashford, Folkestone/Hythe and Dover/Deal — parents and carers can refer, subject to local access criteria. This form is not for a social communication assessment. Read the locality rules before starting.
Write down two or three concrete difficulties to discuss: for example, getting dressed, joining playground activities, or managing a busy classroom. Include what your child enjoys and what already helps. This gives the conversation a useful starting point without asking you to diagnose the cause.
Support in Medway
NHS service change, 1 October 2026: KCHFT now provides most former Medway Community Healthcare (MCH) services. The NHS says to keep planned appointments and use your existing team’s contact details. Read what the transfer means for patients.
Speech and language concerns
Before school: speak to your health visitor, GP or nursery. At school: speak to the school or GP about KCHFT’s Medway speech and language team. Its Medway guidance still allows professional referrals from 2 years 6 months, subject to separate early-years and school-age criteria. You can discuss concerns sooner. Open Children’s Therapies, then the Medway access criteria and forms.
Help with everyday tasks
If daily tasks or hand skills are difficult, contact Medway children’s therapies on 0300 123 3444, or ask your health visitor, GP, nursery or school about support and referral. Check the Medway occupational-therapy criteria and referral forms; age, needs and other conditions apply. The Kent and Swale sections have different criteria.
Free advice about school and SEND paperwork
Medway has its own SEND advice service: Barnardo’s Medway SENDIASS. It offers free, impartial help with expressing your views, school meetings and SEND paperwork, including support for young people up to 25. Call 01634 623542. Find Barnardo’s Medway SENDIASS contact details.
Medway NHS transfer, therapy contacts and referral information checked 5 October 2026. Barnardo’s Medway SENDIASS contact checked 17 October 2026. Confirm current criteria with the relevant service. Read our correction record.
If school is becoming harder
Arrange a conversation with the teacher or SENCO about the support your child needs now. Ask for the agreed actions in writing and a date to review them. Kent’s guidance describes this cycle of agreeing support and checking progress. Kent’s first steps at nursery or school.
You could bring a short note: “The hardest part of the day is . My child says or shows . What could we try, who will arrange it, and when will we review it?” Add the child’s own views in whatever way they communicate. Keep a copy of the agreed plan so you do not have to start from scratch at the next meeting.
An EHCP is not determined by a diagnosis alone. NHS Kent and Medway confirms some children with EHCPs have no diagnosis. If you need advice about educational support or an assessment request, use the independent services below. NHS information about school support.
If you need someone to help connect the services
Ask your GP surgery whether it has a children’s health and wellbeing navigator. These workers help families coordinate care and find local support; availability varies. NHS Kent and Medway also lists local parent groups and separate Kent and Medway services. Find local support.
For free, impartial SEND information, Kent families can contact IASK: 03000 41 3000. In Medway, contact Barnardo’s Medway SENDIASS: 01634 623542. Check the service’s website for current arrangements. IPSEA also provides independent SEND advice through its current helpline and appointment routes.
For a school conversation, try our blank meeting planners. If attendance is becoming difficult, read our school attendance and support guide. The SEND glossary explains unfamiliar terms, and the Kent and Medway Local Offers bring local service information together.
A manageable next step
Choose one contact from this page. Save the source link, note when you contacted them, and write down the next agreed action. If a route does not fit, ask which local team can help. You do not need to solve every part of the system today.
For urgent mental-health support in Kent and Medway, call NHS 111 and select the mental-health option. If there is immediate danger or a life-threatening emergency, call 999. Current NHS urgent-help routes.
A simple sheet for the school meeting
Print this page or copy these prompts into your own notes. You can use initials rather than a full name. Nothing on this sheet needs to be sent to SENDPath. This is an optional organising aid; you do not have to complete it before asking for support.
What my child wants adults to understand:
The part of the day that is hardest, and what happens:
What already helps:
The adjustment or support we agreed to try:
Who will arrange it, and when it will start:
Review date, and how we will know whether it helped:
If you want to explore private services alongside these routes, use our questions to ask a therapist. Ask about your child’s needs, the practitioner’s experience, costs and the next available appointment.
Sources and keeping this page current
Original sources are linked beside the relevant information. Original communication, routine, overload and parent-wellbeing sources were checked on 22 September 2026. Autism Central, NICE appointment-adjustment guidance, the NHS dental-care sources and the Barnardo’s Medway SENDIASS contact were checked on 17 October 2026. The local-route check dates above remain separate; service criteria may change sooner. Compiled by the SENDPath Editorial Team using the primary sources linked on this page. These source-check dates describe the sections checked, rather than a new review of every fact. How we check information and our review limits. Tell us about a correction.
Help while waiting · Choosing a therapist · Kent therapist directory