Jargon Buster

Children and young people who have ADHD find it difficult to pay attention and are often hyperactive meaning they might have trouble sitting still and concentrating on a task in hand.

A service to give patients, families / carers information about NHS services and tries to help with patient’s problems and concerns quickly and in a friendly way.

A type of medicine that attacks the bacteria that makes you sick – some are made from mold! Penicillin comes from orange mold!

A way of finding out someone’s situations and their needs and to see if they need any support in their daily living and how to get a better quality of life.

Part of the local NHS that provides help and treatment for children and young people with emotional, behavioral and mental health difficulties and also supports their families.

This is a type of therapy that involves working with people to help them change their patterns of emotions, thoughts and behaviors. It might help a person to look at ways you are thinking negatively and replace these thoughts with more happier and useful ones.

This means not telling other people about what you tell them in private. There are rules about sharing information about you. If a member of staff is worried about your safety (or someone else’s safety) they may have to tell certain things about you to others – this is part of their job to keep you safe.

This means saying ‘yes’ to something that will have an affect on you and informed consent means that you fully understand what you are saying ‘yes’ to.

A nurse who has mental health training and works with people in their homes or in the community.

One of the most common mental health problems. If diagnosed with depression you may have a constant feeling of despair and of being weighed down e.g. a person with depression might find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning.

A Health Professional has figured out what’s making you feel unwell. Doctors collect all kind of information to find out what’s making you ill and ordering tests like blood tests and CAT scans. Doctors can then treat you with medicine.

A government department responsible for health and social care.

People who have an eating disorder find their life becomes centered on food – anorexia, bulima and compulsive eating are all examples of eating disorders.

Your local doctor, that initially treats you, but they may ask for you to see more specialist doctors and nurses who have more in depth knowledge of what may be wrong with you.

A plan for the care and treatment of patients with complex health problems. The ICP sets how different professionals should work together to give the best care, stop any delays and to improve results for patients.

A named person who will be your main contact and support worker within a service.

Term used if a child or young person is looked after in foster care or in residential care (children’s home). Sometimes people use the letter CiC (Children in Care).

Used to describe a person who has difficulties learning and find it hard to understand new and difficult to understand information and to develop.

Obsessions appear like repeating thoughts or ideas which can be frightening and can make a person feel upset. Usually with these thoughts can be an a feeling that you need to carry out an action again and again e.g. having to wash your hands all the time.

Participation means making sure that children, young people and parents have a say and what they say can change the way health services are run and to check health professionals are doing a useful job and in the right way.

When a person feels or acts the same way as they have done in their past. This could be a medical condition such as depression or addiction to a drug e.g. someone who had problems with alcohol were to give up and then start again – this would be a relapse.

A record of any risks that a health worker will think about when working with a person – this would include looking at whether the person may be a risk to themselves or might harm anyone else.

Finding children and young people who have suffered, or are likely to suffer from harm and making sure they get the right help and support to stay safe.

The term to describe someone who deliberately harms him/herself. Self harm is often how people deal with very strong emotions and feelings of distress. Young people aged 15-19 are most at risk and is more common in girls.

The means telling and helping someone seeking help from one service to another which might be more useful to them.

A way of helping children and young people to understand muddled feelings and upsetting events usually by talking through and explaining themselves in a safe and welcoming space.

Organisations working in the community which are not directly funded by the government e.g. Barnardo’s

X-rays are like light rays but have a higher ‘frequency’ which makes them invisible and allows them to pass through the human body. This is really useful for looking inside the body to see if there are any problems to be treated.