Nicki Ford

I qualified as a learning disability nurse in 1989, and whilst working in a residential setting with adults, I attended UEA on a part-time basis to raise my qualification to degree level. I successfully completed my non-medical prescriber training in 2019. 

After qualifying, I worked with adults in a residential setting, but have worked exclusively with children and young people with learning disabilities and their families since 2001; the last 4 years were as a Nurse Prescriber in a Learning Disability CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service).

Over the years, I have gained valuable knowledge and skills via formal training, and from experience, supporting young people and their families where neurodiversity and additional mental health issues impact life on a daily basis. 

I am also an assessor using the ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) and the ADI-r (Autism Developmental Interview – revised), and have facilitated a variety of parenting support programmes such as Cygnet and Positive Behaviour Support.

I take pride in using a person-centred, collaborative approach with young people and their families to arrive at an agreed treatment plan, whether this be through the prescribing of medication, a non-pharmacological approach such as therapeutic support, or a combination of the two. I fully support the STAMP initiative (Supporting Treatment and Appropriate Medication in Paediatrics) whilst acknowledging the benefits that medication may add to quality of life.