FAQs

Support

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about Assembly. Still have questions? Contact our team.

What is “Neurodiversity”?

Neurodiversity refers to the variety of ways in which people’s brains can function. It includes diagnosed neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia and acknowledges the overlaps between them and advocates for their acceptance as natural variations of the human lived experience.

How does the Assembly programme work?

Our unique, needs-led programme is made up of a range of clinician-guided, parent-led modules to address your child’s specific needs and build your child’s social, emotional and executive function skills. We start with a holistic, trans-diagnostic assessment, which we have developed to provide a profile of each child’s individual strengths and difficulties. This enables our clinical team to recommend training modules that complement any other clinical recommendations parents might already have received. Our modules focus on the following skills:

Emotion regulation skills
Self-esteem & emotional well-being skills (inc. anxiety management)
Sensory skills
Organisational & planning skills
Social communication & Language skills
Attention, Concentration & Impulse control skills

What does your Emotional Regulation training module do?

The Emotional Regulation training module is designed to help you navigate your child’s emotional outbursts, offering in-the-moment techniques to support you when your child is experiencing acute emotional dysregulation, as well as longer-term skill building exercises to help your child to better understand and handle their emotions. It has been designed as a 5-week module with a new activity each week, although the module can be completed at your own pace. Each activity is designed to help you build long-lasting skills at home and address themes such as identifying emotions, understanding your child’s sensory and communication preferences, and co-regulation.

How do I access the Emotional Regulation training module?

Download the Assembly for Families App on the Apple app store or access it from your web browser
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To access the Emotional Regulation module, scroll down below the free resources and click on the Emotional Regulation module
Sign up and make payment (as an introductory offer, this is only £25 for 5 weeks).
You will be contacted to arrange a welcome call.
Start with our short Emotional Regulation-specific questionnaire.
Continue with the five exercises on sensory preferences, co-regulation, tailoring communication, and identifying and articulating emotions. One exercise will be created bespoke for you.
A clinician will be checking in with you regularly to problem solve and tweak any exercises if necessary.

Will you see my child?

No, we are not a clinical service that sees children directly. Our mission is to support you in helping your child at home. However, many of the activities that make up our programme modules will involve your child.

Will I have direct access to a clinical psychologist?

This is not a clinical service so our clinicians are unable to offer diagnoses or therapy. However, our clinicians are on hand to guide you through the modules and moderate the parental support forum. Further, once you have completed our holistic assessment, you will have the opportunity to book a 1:1 call with one of our clinicians to discuss your child’s unique profile and explore next steps. Please note these 1:1 calls incur an additional fee.

What age range is Assembly suitable for?

Currently, our modules are designed to meet the developmental needs of children between the ages of 4-14 years, although we are working on expanding our offerings across a broader age range in the future.

What do you mean by ‘Executive Functioning'?

Executive functioning is a term used to describe the set of mental processes (skills) that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, problem-solve and juggle multiple tasks. Key skills are Working Memory (holding and manipulating information in mind), Cognitive Flexibility (adapting thinking to new information), Inhibitory Control (resisting impulses and distractions), Planning and Organization, Time Management and Self-Monitoring (particularly tracking progress and adjusting actions as needed).

Why have you created a holistic non-diagnostic assessment?

In short, it helps us to identify each child’s individual needs and complements any formal diagnosis. Diagnoses (for example, ADHD, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia etc) are ‘catch all’ descriptions- as each child will manifest functional difficulties in an individualised manner, and it's important to understand their specific needs. We also know many diagnostic reports, although usually containing many useful recommendations, do not discuss other related areas of difficulty which also impact on a child’s functioning. We have therefore designed a holistic assessment which provides an overview of 6 key developmental dimensions: Concentration; Impulse Control; Emotional Regulation & Cooperation; Play, Social Communication & Language; Sensory & Motor Management; and Emotional Well-being & Agency. Our clinicians will use the profile (the child’s relative strengths and difficulties) to recommend skills-building exercises which complement any other clinical recommendations parents might already have received.

Does my child need to have a diagnosis for us to enrol on your programme?

No - our programme is specifically designed on a needs-led basis, meaning we can support you with your child’s development without a diagnosis. We do ask that you complete our holistic assessment, which will enable us to identify your child’s unique profile and work with you to meet their needs.

I know my child has additional needs but I don’t want a diagnosis. Will you work with us anyway?

Of course. We understand that the diagnosis route is not for everyone and our programme is specifically designed on a needs-led basis, meaning we can support you with your child’s development without a diagnosis. We do ask that you complete our holistic assessment, which will enable us to identify your child’s unique profile and work with you to meet their needs.

How do I know if Assembly is right for me and my child?

Assembly is not a crisis or psychiatric emergency service. Assembly is a non-clinical service designed for families seeking a holistic, non-diagnostic approach to their child’s development.

As we do not see your child and work with them directly, we cannot provide the necessary support for children requiring intervention for self-harm, suicidal behaviour or thoughts, eating disorders, psychosis, severe depression or other serious mental health conditions. In short, we are not an alternative to CAMHS.

A child with complex needs, such as self harm or a combination of school-related learning, behavioural and emotional needs, requires a comprehensive approach which usually involves multi-agency multi-disciplinary assessments and support. The school SENCO and the GP are usually involved in setting this up. Once the right support for the child is in place, Assembly would be able to support parents. For example, Assembly may be appropriate once you and the school have a plan in place to help your child return to school or the distress triggering the self harm is being addressed through appropriate therapy.

Who founded Assembly and how can I get involved?

Assembly was formed out of parent need. Our founder, Ayse Tanyeri, was looking for ways to support her son, and finding no accessible solutions teamed up with Dr. Frank Burbach, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with 30 years of NHS experience, and a strong Clinical Advisory Board, to create Assembly. Visit our Team page for more details.