Tailored training at YPAS: neurodiversity guidance in action
Background The Young Person’s Advisory Service (YPAS) provides mental health and emotional wellbeing services for Merseyside Children, Young People (5-25 years old) and Families. As long-standing CORC members, YPAS’s commitment to developing outcome measurement resulted in achieving a Badge of Recognition for Leadership and Management in 2024. Recent development work has focused on supporting staff training and development.
YPAS identified that staff wanted more support in using outcome measures with neurodivergent young people through the CORC Staff Practice and Attitudes Survey. To support this work, YPAS joined our working group alongside other practitioners and researchers to develop guidance to use outcome measures effectively with neurodivergent children and young people as part of mental health support.
YPAS experts by experience (neurodivergent young people aged 16-25) also provided their valuable views and insights. We shared the guidance at the 2025 CORC Forum, and the next step was to bring this to the wider YPAS team.
Tailored training Regional Improvement Officer, Rachael Grant, attended YPAS’s away day to deliver tailored training for staff. The session explored the challenges in using outcome measures with neurodivergent young people and methods of addressing them, such as adapting measurement tools for accessibility and changing the way data is discussed with young people.
A panel discussion followed, with input from Rachael, a young expert by experience and YPAS staff, including Gayle Wood - Parenting Practitioner and Liz Long - Children and Young person's Therapist. Discussion included neurodivergent young people and parent-carer’s experiences of outcome measurement, and the challenges of balancing young people’s desire for more time to complete measures, with the time limited nature of some interventions. Overall, staff fed back that they found the session useful and informative.
Lorna Birrell, Therapeutic Operations Manager at YPAS said:
Get involved Join our upcoming training on Using outcome measures effectively with neurodivergent children and young people and those with learning disabilities on Monday 27 April 12:00-13:30.
To find out more about tailoring this training to the needs of your service, please get in touch at corc@annafreud.org.