About Spectrum North West - Our Clinicians

She has worked with neurodivergent children and adults, including developmental delay, ADHD and autism, for over thirty years. Most of this time has been spent in either the NHS or social care.

Lesley was employed in the NHS until August 2017 and her most recent NHS post was as the lead specialist clinical psychologist on a community learning disability and autism team. She co-founded Spectrum North West in 2013.

As well as assessing people to see if they are neurodivergent, Lesley also provides adapted therapeutic interventions, both individual and systemic using an eclectic approach. Lesley provides undertakes assessment for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and has experience of supporting families at educational tribunal.

She has also provided training and consultancy for therapists, schools, colleges, the police, Approved Mental Health Practitioners (AMHPs) the NHS and a range of charities. For a number of years Lesley was a lecturer on the doctoral clinical psychology training courses at Liverpool and Manchester Universities.

Lesley is a co-host of the podcast ‘MASKING FOR IT’ – https://maskingforit.com/

Since 2011, Sarah’s NHS work has specialised in the identification of autism within a number of diverse patient groups, including secure forensic services for adults and children, CAMHS, community mental health services and community paediatrics. Sarah currently combines her work for Spectrum with part time work in the NHS, where she co-ordinates a paediatric diagnostic service, chairing the local MDT panel and contributing to some of the more complex diagnostic assessments, especially those where joint working with CAMHS is required.

Since then she has specialised in child and adolescent psychology and worked for a number of NHS services across the North West. These include CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), specialist services for adopted and looked after children and neurodevelopmental pathways.

In 2018 Zenobia left the NHS and now offers assessment and intervention services to Spectrum North West as well as running her own private therapeutic practice in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.

James is licenced to practice with the Health and Social Care Professions Council (HCPC, registration no. PYL042721).

James works in an NHS service for autistic adults and works on a freelance basis with Spectrum North West. He holds a licence to assess for and diagnose autism spectrum disorder using the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO) assessment tool. James is also trained in using the Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised(ADI-R) and module 4 of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, second edition (ADOS-II).

Jess has worked as a Speech and Language Therapist for more than 15 years with people with a range of communication difficulties with a particular interest in working with individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism Spectrum Condition, ADHD and learning difficulties. Most of this time has been spent in the NHS. Until recently Jess was employed in the NHS working on a neurodevelopmental conditions team as part of a CAMHS team. Jess is qualified in the use of standardised communication assessments and the use of the ADOS II for assessment of autistic spectrum conditions. She is trained in using the Qb Test for direct assessment of ADHD and the ACE (ADHD Child Evaluation).

Jess now works full time in independent practice and is a part of an NHS autism assessment pathway in Merseyside.

Gail combines her work with Spectrum with her Clinical Lead role for SpeechWise Ltd, an indpendent speech and language therapy company where she specialises in working with teenagers and adults with speech, language and communication needs. Gail is passionate about improving the outcomes of autistic young people and adults through supporting them and the people around them to understand and build a positive understanding of their own unique communication style.

Anna specialises in neurodevelopmental and sensory processing assessments in children and young people. Anna has completed post graduate training in sensory integration and she is a member of the Sensory Integration Network. Anna has completed her ADOS 2 training and she has a wealth of experience in carrying out the ADOS 2 assessment with a range of clients. She is trained in using the QB Test for direct assessment of ADHD.

Nicola has been working as an SLT for 25 years. Her career has always involved working with children within the NHS, and much of this has been focused on assessment and intervention for children with autism. Nicola has worked in a variety of environments, including SEN units, clinics, nurseries, schools and also in children’s homes. Nicola has a particular interest in working with preschool children. She is qualified to use interventions such as PACT (paediatric autism communication therapy), in the use of the ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) and she holds a licence to assess for and diagnose autistic spectrum disorder using the DISCO assessment tool, which was developed by Lorna Wing and Judith Gould.

Nicola works part time in the NHS where she coordinates the local autism pathway. This involves carrying out diagnostic assessments and leading the weekly MDT diagnostic meeting.

Clare has worked with autistic adults across a variety of settings including community teams, inpatient settings and for the past five years, within an NHS autism diagnostic service. Clare is registered with the HCPC and the RCSLT and is trained in a variety of autism diagnostic tools. In addition to diagnosing autism, Clare also provides autism training and consultation to other NHS professionals and is passionate about supporting neurodiversity within education settings and work places.

Eleanor is licenced to practice with the Health and Social Care Professions Council (HCPC, registration no. PYL35748).

Eleanor works on a freelance basis with Spectrum Northwest. She holds a licence to assess for and diagnose autism spectrum disorder using a variety of assessment tools. In addition to this, Eleanor is trained a range of therapeutic modalities including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approaches, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT) and Eye Movement Desnsitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).