AUTISM ASSESSMENT DETAILS
Exploring an autism assessment is an important moment in your life.
Whilst Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, people come to us to explore an Autism assessment at any stage in life. Many young people now recognise themselves as being neurodivergent and find the diagnosis useful in identifying coping strategies.
Having your autism assessment/Your child’s autism assessment:
We offer comprehensive autism assessments that are holistic, and person centred.
Our approach is prompt and flexible.
The clinician will explain and go through each step of the assessment with you and your family. At the end of the assessment process the clinician will also explain why we gathered the information we did and what purpose each information had in the outcome.
We will explore different aspect of your (patient/client) life and your family members concerns, before arriving at a diagnostic conclusion. Ultimately, our aim is to find meaningful ways of understanding your experiences, difficulties, preference and traits. This may mean using an autism framework and/or other psychological formulations.
We will use gold standard’ autism assessment tools based on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidance’s recommendations. This includes the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) and a developmental history interview informed by informed by the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) or The Developmental Diagnostic Dimensional Interview (3Di).
Our approach ensures that our findings are reliable, accurate and valid. This means that your autism diagnostic assessment outcome will be recognised by the NHS and internationally.
Our assessment process assures:
Rapid outcome
Comprehensive and Thorough investigations
Gold-Standard Autism Assessment tools
NICE Guidance-compliant
Recognised by the NHS
Trained clinician with extensive experience in the field of neuroscience and neurodiversity.
Compassionate, person-centred approach
Achieving a meaningful outcome for you
Gaining understanding and control
What to expect of an autism assessment?
Step 1: Initial autism screening
An initial meeting to understand your current concerns, (be it for you or in a child’s case, concerns expressed by carers), life circumstances, and early life experiences. Following the initial screening, we will share recommendations and decide with the best way forward.
Step 2: Autism Assessment:
Clinical Interview
An initial meeting in person to understand your current concerns, life circumstances and early life experiences. Afterwards, we will share recommendations and decide with the best way forward.
Observational Assessment
We will carry out a standardised assessment called ADOS-2. This gives us an opportunity to understand what social skills are present and perform a behavioural observation.
Informant interview:
If possible, this involves speaking to someone that knows you or the child well. We will include this information in the final report.
*Sometimes, we may need additional assessment meetings (such as a school or work observation) to gather more information and better understand the patient/client experiences and needs, in which case, we will discuss this with you or the person responsible.
What to expect at your feedback and outcome
We will share with you the diagnostic outcome. This involves explaining the diagnosis of ASD and how the information gathered helps us to reach our conclusion.
There are three possible outcomes:
You (patient/client) meet the diagnostic criteria
We will explain why we think an autism framework makes sense in understanding your experiences and presentation. We will discuss your strengths and needs. Where appropriate, we will explore therapy options for your difficulties.
You (patient/client) do not meet the diagnostic criteria
We will consider differential diagnoses or alternative ways of understanding your difficulties. Additionally, we will discuss the kind of help that you would benefit from.
We are not able to conclude (for now)
Sometimes people may have experienced complex trauma or mental health difficulties. The effects on their well-being and functioning may need to be addressed before considering a neurodevelopmental diagnosis.
In this case, we will discuss the kind of help that you would benefit from. Subsequently, we may continue working with you or signpost you to our colleagues in our professional network.
Ultimately, our aim is to find the best way to understand you (patient/client) and your needs and identify the most helpful way forward for interventions and support.
Fees:
Standard autism assessment: (Includes, Initial screening assessment, observational assessment, informant interview, outcome appointment and final report) £1450
Enhanced autism assessment: (Includes, Initial screening assessment, observational assessment, informant interview, review of previous doctor’s reports, one extra observational assessment, outcome appointment and final report) £ 1600
The prices reflect our experiences and expertise in working with autistic individuals, as well as the quality of service you will receive.
If you are interested in arranging an assessment or finding out more information, please contact us on the number listed below.
The assessment is carried out at:
Tower Hill Clinic
St Magnus House
3 Lower Thames Street
Ground floor, London, EC3R 6HD.