Testimonials from clients

Our journey with Headstuff started with Kelly Young who was also phenomenal...again that immediate connection with Deven. Had it not been for wanting Deven to work with a male he could identify with, we would have happily continued with Kelly. Clearly the organisation has a talent to spot people who 'get it' to work alongside people with neurodiversity/ADHD etc.  I just wanted to get in touch and let you know the impact you have had on our lives and thank you. I wish every young person had this...the whole world would be a much better place.

My daughter and I have struggled to achieve any compassionate and sensitive response from any professional to date. Until we met your team and in particular Kelly.

Emerging neurodiversity is a ride, not only for the child but for their parents too. It may be helpful for me to list some of the qualities we experienced in pre assessment with Kelly:

Compassion
Genuine concern
Empathy
Kindness 
Well informed and experienced
Solution focused
Straight forward and direct communication -delivered like a hug! 
Inclusive of all family members 
Connection- appropriate use of self. 
Humour! 
Sharing of resources, knowledge and experience 
Amazing timescales!

If every neurodiverse family had a 'Kelly' we would rule the world! Thanks Headstuff for everything you do. Lucy

Kelly is very knowledgeable about ADHD and related conditions and is very empathetic and understanding about the difficulties that kids have. Kelly has an excellent manner and immediately put my daughter at ease. Kelly allowed her to express herself freely but also ensured all of the key issues were addressed. My daughter and I both found the session very informative and helpful. 

Dad, teen daughter

We really enjoyed my child’s pre-assessment with Kelly.  

She explained everything very clearly and really put both my child and me at ease. She’s got a great sense of humour which really eased the process and she’s very warm.

I really recommend her, and in fact have shared her details with a friend who is about to use her for a pre-assessment. The report she produced is clear and detailed and most of all – helpful.

Thank you 

Mum , Essex 

I wanted to let you know about my experience with Kelly. 

I bought the audio book “How Not to Murder Your ADHD kid” when I noticed the author runs Headstuff ADHD Therapy. 

I looked into all the therapists’ profiles and what support they could offer me and my 10-year-old autistic son. 

I contacted Kelly desperate for help and guidance with my EHCP application. I paid for a consultation which was booked in very quickly with Kelly.

Kelly was very direct with her help and support which I really needed to hear. I don’t need any beating around the bush and waffling on. It was clear to me that Kelly is very experienced and knows her subject matter thoroughly. 

She put me at ease and understood exactly where I was coming from with mine and my son’s life and all the hoops we have had to fight to get through and continue to do.  

She highlighted the services offered by Headstuff and I booked in for Kelly to complete an ADHD pre-assessment on my son. 

My son was aware of when Kelly was going to be speaking with him on zoom. He was nervous during the assessment but interacted well with Kelly who put him at ease and made him feel like they were just chatting – she gave him breaks and kept his attention well. 

The report is well documented, clear, concise and describes my son and his struggles very accurately. 

Kelly is very professional, has empathy, understanding and guided both of us through the assessment comfortably.

Kelly is a real asset to Headstuff. 

Mum, ASD Son, 10

My 8-year-old son was finding it very hard to concentrate and focus at school. We had also noticed this at home during daily activities.
We decided we wanted him to have a pre-assessment and a friend had suggested Headstuff. We paid for the assessment online and promptly received an email and arranged a Zoom meeting for the following week.
Kelly was great and made us all feel at ease instantly. My son engaged really well when answering the questions and it was all very informal, more like a chat with a friendly face.
Kelly is very knowledgeable and was able to link us up with a very good paediatrician.

The detailed report was written up and sent across to us within a few days.

We are now on to the next stage of diagnosis and meetings with the school. I believe the pre-assessment has helped enormously in making the process easier and move along a lot quicker.
I would definitely recommend Kelly and the team at Headstuff to anyone thinking of having their child pre-assessed for ADHD or any of the comorbidities.

Parents 8-year-old ADHD Son, Hertfordshire

Thank you for this pre-assessment report. You have really captured the essence of my daughter’s difficulties. It is incredible the difference it makes talking to people who actually understand and know about the challenges neurodiverse people face daily.

You are an excellent advocate and I’m so happy we met you! Lucy enjoyed talking to you and she rarely talks to anyone.

We don’t often tell people how good they are at what they do, we too often make complaints. This is definitely one of the instances when someone has not only done their job but done it to a very high standard – I can’t thank you enough and this is only the beginning.

Your report will certainly open up lots of avenues to be explored with Lucy and begins the road to understanding and accepting herself and finding happiness.

Mum, 14-year girl, Bucks

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the assessment today. You really put my son at ease, and he actually very much enjoyed talking to you.
He said he felt like it was such a relief to have had the chance to talk about things, to get some sort of idea finally of why he struggles with certain things and has some different behaviours to most of his friends!! I feel a sense of relief too.
I just wanted to say thank you for such a positive experience and for the advice you have given so far.

Mum, Son 16, Surrey

Just to let you know, Kelly was amazing. She was patient, kind and very helpful. Many thanks.

Mum, Boy 14, Bedfordshire

We had completed Connors ADHD questionnaires earlier in 2021 however his school scored him low, in contrast to our own scores which were high.

Our Community Paediatrician was therefore unable to diagnose him with ADHD. He really began to struggle in Year 10 with the greater complexity of the work & the amount of homework that was expected and had started to miss a lot of school owing to anxiety.

Kelly from Headstuff conducted a 2-hour pre-assessment and produced a very comprehensive report which was sent to school and used as a referral to a consultant paediatrician they work closely with.

Kelly was lovely and immediately put my son at ease at the assessment which was conducted over Zoom. She explained that she herself has ADHD. He was so relaxed that all his ADHD traits came out – mimicking me, rolling his eyes at me, annoying the dog, spinning & wheeling himself up and down on the office chair and eating 4 packets of crisps! He said afterwards that he “felt heard and understood”.
The report covered topics such as inattention, disorganization, procrastination, time blindness, overthinking, impulsivity, fidgeting, hyperactivity, losing things, not following instructions, emotional issues, anxiety, and sensory issues. The conclusion was that my son was showing several traits of ADHD and should be seen by a paediatrician for assessment ASAP. It also listed several accommodations that should be adopted by the school.

I am convinced that the Headstuff pre-assessment report made a big difference as the Connors & Vanderbilt questionnaires returned by school now showed far greater evidence of ADHD traits.

My son received his ADHD diagnosis last Thursday which was just 2 months from the pre-assessment, and I am over the moon. We will now be able to get him an EHCP and the help that he deserves. Our GP was able to take over shared care for the ADHD medication, so my son is getting this on the NHS and has just started taking it.

Mum of 14-year-old ADHD Boy

Kelly – I just wanted to thank you for today. After our session finished, my husband and I cried!

I have been saying my eldest has ADHD and ODD for over 13 years! I have studied childcare and worked with children for over 20 years. I’ve had schools, health professionals and numerous agencies tell me they’re just ‘naughty boys’ and it’s my parenting skills and my lack of consistency.

They’ve made me attend numerous parenting courses over and over again. They made me doubt myself and almost give up trying to parent my boys because I felt I was constantly failing them and that nothing I did was right.

My eldest’s mental health has suffered so badly that he’s self-harming and even Young Minds Matter won’t help him.

It’s cost us our mental health and nearly cost us our marriage. I can’t thank you enough for lifting such a huge weight off my shoulders.

I’m not sure where we go from here. I think I will probably get the eldest assessed as well so he has peace of mind transitioning into college in September.

But honestly THANK YOU. I can now start to rebuild my own confidence and help the boys with theirs and hopefully help them understand themselves a bit more. And help my husband understand the whole situation. We are truly grateful.

Mum, Boy 7, Humberside

Kelly,

Thank you for the report, I’m hopeful that this will be useful to our daughter’s teachers in terms of highlighting some of the more subtle difficulties she is having.

I wanted to thank you again for how lovely you were with her in the assessment. She was quite anxious about it beforehand, but you had such a lovely calming manner, and your humour and ability to make it feel like a friendly chat was really fantastic 🙂

Mum of girl 8, Leicestershire

I would like to say a massive THANK YOU to Kelly for all that she has done for our family. She is an amazing coach and helped us through a very difficult time. She met with each of my daughters, one who was already diagnosed with ADHD and the other who has since been diagnosed (with Kelly’s help).

My daughters are like chalk and cheese, they have opposing sensory issues – long story short, one likes peace and quiet, the other is very loud. This has been an issue for many years.

Kelly really connected with them both, she made them feel heard and she ‘got’ them, they enjoyed talking to her. She helped me to identify the girls’ different needs and came up with suggestions of different tools and routines, really practical advice that has helped them in their everyday lives. We have all felt the benefit!

Kelly is extremely knowledgeable and also very flexible, she recognises that what works for one person may not work for another, so we would trial something and if it worked great, if it didn’t work, she would have plenty of other ideas. I literally can’t thank Kelly enough; she’s made such a difference to our lives!

Mum, Daughters 12 & 14, Herts

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the assessment today. You really put my son at ease, and he actually very much enjoyed talking to you.
He said he felt like it was such a relief to have had the chance to talk about things, to get some sort of idea finally of why he struggles with certain things and has some different behaviours to most of his friends!! I feel a sense of relief too.
I just wanted to say thank you for such a positive experience and for the advice you have given so far.

Mum, Son 16, Surrey