Mayden and University of Bath collaborate to improve mental health outcomes for young people
December 15, 2025Together we are improving health records to support better outcomes for neurodivergent youth
Read moreWe’re exploring how children and young people with behavioural difficulties or neurodivergence navigate mental health support, to identify ways to make this support more accessible and useful to them.
There is a gap in support for children and young people with behavioural and neurodevelopmental conditions, which are frequently misunderstood and may go unrecognised – especially in girls. This group often has high levels of anxiety and depression, which they typically receive little or no support for. Gaps in support affect young people’s mental health, education, work prospects, relationships and the wellbeing of their family members.
We aim to understand what support exists, what does/doesn’t work well, and the impact of not receiving effective support. Additionally, we aim to use electronic healthcare records to map the care pathways of neurodivergent young people and see whether they benefit from standard treatments like CBT. Together, this will allow us to inform improvements to mental health care for children and young people with behavioural difficulties or neurodivergence in the region.
This project is shaped by young people with lived experience, parents and carers, healthcare professionals and teachers. We are working with the MHRG youth strategy group, WAY Young Changemakers, Young Swindon and Wiltshire and BANES Parent Carer Forum. We are open to hearing from other organisations who would like to support this work.
Using electronic health records to understand service use and treatment outcomes among neurodivergent children and young people.
Interviewing young people (aged 16-25) with behavioural and attentional difficulties, and their parents/carers to understand their experiences of trying to access mental health support.
Interviewing health and social care professionals to map current care pathways and understand what types of support are available.
Following a group of children (aged 9-12) and their families for up to 3 years to understand the predictors of receiving support for behavioural and attentional difficulties, and the impact of this support.
Together we are improving health records to support better outcomes for neurodivergent youth
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Updates on the Network launch event, research work, partnerships, public involvement activities and resources.
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