Autism Assessment and Diagnosis
Our Autism Assessments - First Steps - Full Assessment - Post Assessment
We provide diagnostic assessment of autism spectrum conditions in children and young people aged 4 - 19 years old. Completing assessment as a team, our assessments follow good practice and clinical guidelines, and use “gold standard” assessment tools including the ADOS-2, ADI-R and DISCO. Assessment involves gathering information from parents, carers, and school, alongside direct observation and assessment of your child.
Our assessments are completed by clinical psychology, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy clinicians who specialise in the assessment and support of neurodivergent children and young people. Our comprehensive assessments aim to provide increased understanding of your child’s needs, and recommendations for support in education and at home.
First Steps – Initial Assessment Appointment (Fee: £165)
Our assessment begins with an initial screening appointment either with Dr Kate Baldry or Dr Laura O’Halloran. This appointment is usually with parents or carers only, but with older children it may be appropriate and helpful for them to attend also. This can be discussed with you when making an initial enquiry. The initial screening lasts approximately 75 minutes.
Our initial screening appointment starts to gather information to better understand your child's strengths and needs and to understand what has led you or others to query autism. During the appointment, we will ask about your child’s earlier development, your key concerns, and start to explore areas typically associated with autism spectrum conditions.
This appointment is also an opportunity to think about whether and how diagnostic assessment could be helpful and answer any questions you have about the diagnostic assessment process. The initial screening helps ensure that the most appropriate assessment and support is offered for your child and to help you decide how you as a family would like to proceed. There is no commitment to move forward with any assessment or intervention if it does not feel the best fit for your child and family.
Next Steps – Full Diagnostic Assessment (Fee: £1900)
If you choose to move forward with a full diagnostic assessment, this is usually completed over 3 assessment appointments which take place at our clinic in Northampton, alongside observation of your child in school and/or liaison with school staff:
- Further discussion with parents using either the Diagnostic Interview of Social Communication Disorders (DISCO) or the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R) – interviews developed for the assessment of autism spectrum conditions. You will meet with the same Clinical Psychologist as you did at the initial assessment appointment.
- Cognitive assessment of your child to identify cognitive strengths and differences. This is completed by one of our Assistant Psychologists.
- The joint assessment clinic where we complete the Autism Diagnostic Observational Schedule (ADOS-2) with your child, and includes involvement of speech and language therapy or occupational therapy depending on your child's needs. These clinics are held on Fridays and you will be offered an appointment on one of these clinic days.
We may also ask you to complete some questionnaires and will review any relevant educational or health records available.
We are currently able to complete the full diagnostic assessment within approximately 12 weeks of the initial assessment appointment.
What Happens After The Assessment?
Once all assessment appointments are complete, we meet as a team to discuss all the information gathered to decide whether a diagnosis is appropriate. Regardless of whether a diagnosis is made, we will think as a team about how your child can best be supported in education and at home. We may recommend strategies to support your child, or types of support and intervention which may benefit your child or you as a family.
We will then offer a feedback appointment to discuss our findings and recommendations and explain how we have reached our conclusion. Feedback appointments are included in the cost of the diagnostic assessment. A written report is also included in the cost of the assessment. We aim to provide this report within 4 weeks following your feedback appointment.