Table 3.

NAIT activities and resources 2019–2022.

Activities & resources	Description
Multidisciplinary team	Representing 5–6 whole time equivalent staff, the NAIT team included expertise in speech and language therapy, education, psychiatry, occupational therapy, autism, health systems research, complex interventions development, evaluation methodologies and researchers with lived experience.
‘Divergent partners’ reference group	Meetings with a user group of adults with lived experience for consultation, review and to inform the development of the NAIT programme.
Meeting & reporting to government ministers	Regular meetings with senior government officials to present progress, receive feedback and discuss plans.
NAIT resources and practice guides	Topic guides, including evidence (where possible/relevant) for practitioners with practical information and strategies (e.g., remote assessment, hyperacusis, anxiety related absence from school).
Professional learning activities and training	A rolling series of multi-agency events on autism and other neurodevelopmental differences. Learning was at three levels graded from introductory-expert and provided by a multi-disciplinary team. Tailored content, based on local priorities, was available on request.
Professional support activities	Individual meetings with the NAIT team were available on request (e.g., local area leads from health or education) including support, problem solving, feedback and question and answer sessions.
Covid-19 guidance	A range of published material for staff, service users and families (e.g., stay at home advice for parents, return to school, and furloughed workers).
Initial teacher education (ITE) framework	An evidence-informed framework for initial teacher education on autism and neurodevelopmental differences was collaboratively developed by NAIT and a range of stakeholders, and will be used by all ITE institutions (universities) in Scotland.
Children & young people's evidence based practice guide	A guide to support selection of developmentally appropriate, evidence based approaches and supports. The guide contains a map of common evidence based autism interventions, organised by developmental level and target areas.
Children's neurodevelopmental pathway framework	A pathway including evidence based recommendations in relation to clinical neurodevelopmental assessment, diagnosis and interventions. The pathway includes referral management, triage, screening and surveillance, early development and history taking, contextual assessment, direct observation, and mapping to diagnostic criteria.
Adult neurodevelopmental assessment workbook	A guide to assist assessment of adults whose presentation is suggestive of a neurodevelopmental difference, with a particular focus on ADHD and autism. It includes risk assessment, evidence based tools for assessment, neurodevelopmental history, medical assessment including prescribing, and template letters supporting workplace adjustments.