Autism

 Autistic people will often report experiencing challenges with social interaction, coping with change, rigid repetitive interests and sensory overwhelm. These issues often co-occur alongside anxiety and low mood, as well as other neurodevelopmental issues such as  ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Sensory Processing Disorder.

Our assessment process, for both children and adults, takes into consideration all aspects of a persons experiences.  An assessment typically involves 2 separate appointments, the first is with an ADOS 2 trained clinician  which lasts up to 90 minutes. The  second appointment covers a person's developmental history using the ADI-R and can last for 3 hours. If the assessment is for an adult who does not have a parent available to provide their developmental history,  we will use a clinical interview, which will last for 2-3 hours.    

Specialists in Female Presentation:

The distinctions between the way that men and women with autism present have been well documented and may lead to people worrying that they might be misunderstood when being assessed for ASC.  Our clinicians have had training to identify these subtle differences. We use a number of tools which can permit us to provide a more robust outcome for females being assessed for autism.

 Our Autism Assessment Promise :

• All of our autism assessments will be conducted by clinicians who are trained in the standardised assessment tools, and follow the best practice approach set out in NICE Guidelines.

• We will never rush our assessment process and will ensure that we develop a comprehensive understanding of each person's experiences and difficulties.

• Every assessment will include a highly detailed report written by qualified clinicians who specialise in autism.

• Every assessment we conduct will be discussed in a Multidisciplinary Team Meeting (MDT) with a Clinical Psychologist to ensure we have a robust outcome.

• An autism assessment is just the beginning of a journey. We will always make post-diagnostic recommendations and offer support that best fits the needs of the individual. Irrespective of the outcome of an assessment, we will always ensure that people are guided to the support they will most benefit from.