Events

Sarah is a community paediatrician seeing children with developmental, behavioural and learning issues. She is also a Designated Doctor for Safeguarding and Medical Advisor for Fostering and Adoption. Whilst training Sarah became aware of the poor outcomes for children who grow up in care and developed a passion for working with children in care, those in need of safeguarding and those looking for permanent families through fostering and adoption.

Through this work she has gained experience in the difficulties this cohort of children face such as developmental trauma, increased learning and developmental difficulties, the effects of antenatal drug misuse and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). From 2019 Sarah led the creation of an NHS based Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Service in the North East. Sarah is committed to ensuring children and young people get the right understanding and support through sensitive assessment and diagnosis.

Dr Anderson works within both the paediatric and adult regional sleep service in Newcastle exploring the links between sleep, mental health and ageing within her research in Newcastle University. She was the clinical lead developing the online insomnia programme Sleepstation, now available within the NHS.

She sees and treats paediatric and adult sleep disorders, has published over 100 research papers, reviews, book chapters and the book “How to Beat Insomnia and Sleep Problems”. She is past President of the Sleep Medicine section of the Royal Society of Medicine and is Honorary Medical Advisor to the DVLA. She runs annual sleep training conferences in Newcastle and leads work to improve child and adult sleep in hospitals.

Paula is the Senior Advanced Clinical Practitioner for the ADHD and Autism Service at South West Yorkshire Partnership Teaching NHS Foundation Trust. The team was established in 2009, and Paula has worked for the team for over 5 years.

She has over 35 years’ experience as a nurse, working with people with learning disabilities across a variety of roles, including cancer and palliative care nursing, learning disability nursing, and ADHD services. Paula also has 13 years’ experience as an independent non-medical prescriber and has a specialist interest in STOMP (stopping over medication of people with a learning disability and autistic people) and substance use.

Her role includes the assessment and diagnosis of ADHD and the initiation and titration of medication as recommended by NICE. She is also the carers champion for the service and leads on service user feedback.

Dr Tandle is a community paediatrician in North Tees Hospital and sees children with developmental, behavioural and learning issues. In addition, he has specialist interest in children with musculoskeletal problems. He specialises in managing children with hypermobility spectrum disorders especially Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and their associated complications such as chronic pain, fatigue and dysautonomia.

He has a particular interest in sleep disorders in children with autism, ADHD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr Munib Haroon is a Consultant Community Paediatrician and the lead for autism and ADHD at the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust. He is the author of three textbooks including ‘ABC of Autism’ and ‘ABC of Neurodevelopmental Disorders’ which is also being translated into Chinese. His next book on a similar topic is aimed at the public.

His main research interests lie in evidence-based medicine, and he has published several systematic reviews including for the Cochrane Collaboration and has previously co-authored the Guideline Development Handbook published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

He has been chief and principal investigator in National Institute for Health Research Portfolio Studies and spoken to professionals in the judiciary and the recruitment industry in the UK and EU on adjustments for neurodivergent people.