Service overview
We work with children and young people aged 5 to 17, and their families, to understand their mental health needs and experiences.
Our team supports children with a moderate to severe learning disability who may show emotional distress through changes in behaviour, including aggression. We also offer assessments and support for emotional difficulties such as low mood and anxiety.
We offer a full assessment, which includes talking to the young person, their family, and others involved in their care, like carers, teachers, or other health professionals.
After that, we'll recommend what support we think might be helpful. This might include therapy, nursing support, medication, behaviour strategies, or signposting to other services.
Accessing our service
We support children and young people aged 5 to 17 who have needs indicative of a moderate or severe learning disability. They must be registered with a GP in Berkshire. This includes Bracknell, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, Slough, Wokingham, Reading and West Berkshire.
Referrals can be made by parents, carers, professionals, or by young people themselves.
Once we receive your referral, our Common Point of Entry (CPE) Service will review it and decide if our Learning Disability Team is the right service to help.
If it is, we'll send you a letter to let you know what’s happening next and add your child to our waiting list for an assessment. You'll receive a follow-up letter to confirm the date, time and location of your appointment.
If our service isn't the right fit for your child, we'll recommend other services that are better able to support your child.
Preparing for an assessment
Most first appointments take place in person at Erlegh House and last about an hour. If needed, we can make adjustments, like offering a virtual appointment.
The first appointment would usually not include your child, but we’ll explain this clearly in your appointment letter. Parents or carers are able to bring a second person with them for support if needed.
After that, we may arrange to visit your child at school and speak with their teachers to get a full picture of how things are going.
If your child comes to the clinic, we'll ask you to share details of their likes, dislikes and sensory needs, so we can make the space comfortable and help them feel at ease.
Managing your health
It’s important to make sure your child has regular health checks. This includes seeing the GP, dentist, and optician. If your child is 14 or older and has a learning disability, they can get a free yearly health check with their GP to help spot any problems early.
If you're a carer, let your GP know. Registering as a carer means you can get extra support, like a free flu jab. It also helps your GP understand your role better, especially if you ever become unwell and someone else needs to help while you recover.
ABC Behaviour Record Chart
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Sleep Monitoring Chart
File size: 193KB
My Care Passport - Learning Disability
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Your e-Health Passport
Your e-Health Passport lets us know what's important to you - from your preferred name and pronouns to how you'd like us to support you and communicate with you.
Learn moreContact us and FAQs
Erlegh House
CAMHS Learning Disability Service
Contact number: 0118 904 6660 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
Email: CAMHSLearningDisabilityTeam@berkshire.nhs.uk
Location detailsFrequently asked questions
Is the CAMHS Learning Disability Service a crisis service?
The CAMHS Learning Disability Service is not a crisis service.
If you need urgent help between 8am and 8pm, Monday to Friday, please call 0300 365 1234.
Outside of these hours, call 0800 129 9999. For emergencies, you can call NHS 111, or 999.
Do you diagnose learning disabilities or difficulties?
No, we don't currently diagnose children and young people with a learning disability or learning difficulties.
Do you assess for autism or ADHD?
No, we don’t offer assessments for autism or ADHD. If you're looking for these services, there are other teams within Berkshire Healthcare that can help.
We can also help you with
Is there any information for friends, family and carers?
If you’re a family member/carer or you look after someone, there’s practical, financial, and emotional support available to you from a range of local communities and national organisations.
How do I request an interpreter?
We can provide language translation and interpretation support whenever you visit or contact us.
Tell our staff which language you prefer to use, and we will make sure the right communication support is in place for your assessment and treatment. Please let us know as early as possible so we can ensure the appropriate translation or interpreting support is available.
We offer a range of professional services to ensure everyone can understand and be understood:
- telephone interpreting
- video remote interpreting (VRI)
- face‑to‑face interpreting
- written translation
- British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting
How can I get information in an accessible format?
Anyone with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss has the right to receive information in a format that meets their needs. Under the Accessible Information Standard (AIS)—a legal requirement for all health and adult social care providers—we must ensure that people who use our services, including carers and families, can understand the information we provide and communicate effectively with us.
We can offer information in a range of accessible formats, including:
- British Sign Language (BSL)
- large print
- braille
- audio
- easy Read
- text message
- face‑to‑face support with a carer or advocate present
If you need information in any of these formats, please tell a member of our team and we will make sure your communication needs are met.
Are service dogs allowed to my appointment?
Yes. You are welcome to bring your registered service animal, such as a guide dog, hearing dog, medical alert dog, or other trained assistance dog to your appointment.
These animals are recognised as essential support and are permitted in most areas of our services.
To help us prepare, please let the team know before your appointment if you will be attending with a service animal. This allows us to make sure the environment is safe and comfortable for you, your animal, and other patients.
Please note that service animals may not be able to enter certain restricted clinical areas for safety or infection‑control reasons, but we will always work with you to find an appropriate alternative.
Treating our team with respect.
Respect is important.
We will be polite and kind and we expect that you treat our staff in the same way.
Abuse, hate and discrimination against our staff is unacceptable.
We will take strong action against anyone who is verbally, racially, physically, or sexually abusive to them.
This includes contacting the police to prosecute, and stopping future access to our healthcare services.
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