The Pines building, originally designed specifically to support the needs of autistic children and young people, allowed families to attend their appointments in a single, predictable space, relieving some of the pressures that make attending appointments so difficult. It also served as the homebase for the very popular Pines Information sessions, provided at that time by the National Autistic Society Scotland and CHIP+ (now Thriving Families), as well as other training sessions related to neurodevelopmental differences.

Around the same time that the Pines building opened in 2009, an informal collaboration began between the motivated and highly-trained specialists who provided their services within that purpose-built space. This unofficial group of colleagues, who would come to be called ‘The Pines Training Team,’ were committed to guaranteeing the best information and support was available to the children, families, and professionals who relied upon on them. They ensured that those who needed help knew where to turn to get it.

Over time, changing needs and capacity necessitated a broadening of the services that were provided out of the Pines building. This, in addition to the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, applied increasing pressure to the Pines Training Team to find ways to meet the learning and support needs of families and professionals without access to in-person training and communication. In response to these needs, the Training Team pooled their incomparable knowledge and creativity to craft an informative online space dedicated to providing technical understanding, practical strategies, and multimedia resources that would be available to users when and where they needed them – The Pines Website was born.

Time, of course, has continued to march forth, and it has brought with it new understanding and new insights into the best ways to support neurodivergent people. It has also continued to impact where and how local services can be offered. As with all that’s come before, the Pines Training and Team has adapted to meet these new needs and new realities; to reflect these essential differences, the team name also changed to the Neurodevelopmental Training and Website Team.

We’re now embarking on a new stage in this journey with the development of the ND Hub steering group.

The moniker may have changed, but one thing has remained exactly the same – the unyielding purpose and dedication of this collaborative partnership to ensuring that specialised, caring support is available for neurodivergent children and young people and their families.