We offer autism assessments for individuals from the age of 5 and into adulthood. Our team follow NICE guidance and our assessments have been accepted by local authorities and NHS trusts (however we always advise you check with your local area that independent assessments are accepted).
Our team are experienced in the various autistic profiles for example the autistic PDA profile and female presentation (not just for females). We use a range of tools during the assessment process including the ADOS-2, RAADS, ACIA and ADI-R as well as supplementary questionnaires such as the CAT-Q and EDA-Q.
Once we have completed your assessment, our team will meet (this is called a multi-disciplinary team meeting) to review the information we have found about your or your young person against the DSM-V-TR (Diagnostic Statistical Manual)
All our assessments come with a comprehensive report which details the outcome as well as recommendations we feel will be helpful.
For young people who do meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis we also provide an accessible strength based report.
What to expect;
- When you contact us, one of our Administrators will be contact with you to share some forms and questionnaires for you to complete. If you need support with these, do let us know and we are happy to help.
- We aim to book your first appointment with us within 6 weeks of confirming you would like to go ahead with an assessment but commit that no one will wait longer than 12 weeks.
- The first appointment is with our Peer Support Practitioners, who will complete your pre assessment interview with you online. This takes around 45-60 minutes to complete.
- Your second appointment is with one of our assessors who will complete a clinical interview. We will use either the ADI-R or ACIA and sometimes will use the RAADS-R if appropriate. This is completed online and can last between 1 hour and 30 minutes- 2 hours.
- The third appointment is what’s called the observational assessment. We use tools such as the BOSA or the ADOS-2 to complete this. This can be in person or online, and can last between 45 minutes- 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- The team then meet together with our clinical psychologist (multi disciplinary team meeting) to review the information we found about you and reach an outcome. Sometimes we need more information but we will let you know if this is the case. One of the team you have met will let you know the outcome of your assessment with us and your report will follow shortly after.
- We will then meet with you for a feedback appointment. This is an opportunity for us to see how you are following the assessment and to answer any questions you might have. We allow up to 60 minutes for this appointment but routinely last around 30 minutes.
We do offer a range of post diagnostic support as well- please have a look at our therapies service offer for more information.
Here are links to the guidance we use for our assessments;
– Assessing young people for autism
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg128 –
– Assessing adults for autism
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg142-
– autism assessment service NHS guidance
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/
Identifying & Assessing PDA