Autism Assessment

Assessment Process: What to Expect: Step by Step
Contact Us

We will communicate via email to answer any questions that you may have and send digital standardised screening questionnaires to determine if booking in an Autism assessment, ADHD assessment, or combined assessment, may be the right route for you, and to arrange the booking. 

We also offer a free 15 minute consultation call with director Dr Mairi Emerson-Smith, Chartered Clinical Psychologist, to discuss the assessment and ensure the assessment is the correct pathway for you or your child. 

Screening

After booking in your date, we will send you some paperwork to complete on background and developmental history, as well as assessment questionnaires to fill in ahead of the first meeting, including the CAT-Q (masking/camouflaging questionnaire).

Assessment

On the day of the assessment, our Clinical Psychologist will be waiting for you at our private Clinic and will carry out a comprehensive 2–3-hour observation and assessment, including an interview with parents/carers for child assessments, and with you and your informant for adult assessments, and a mental health assessment. 

In the assessment we utilise NICE recommended Gold standard standardised assessment tools; the 3Di or ADI-R developmental history assessment tool, and an ADOS observation assessment. 

For child assessments, a speech therapy assessment, by a Speech Therapist, will also be completed. Additionally, we may carry out a school observation, if required.

Our Clinical Psychologist will then collate and analyse all of the information from the screening paperwork, the parent/carer/informant interviews, the specific Autism assessment questionnaire scores, and observation.

Feedback Meeting

A feedback meeting will be arranged by telephone call with you to share the results of the assessment and discuss strategies and recommendations for next steps. This will be arranged within 7 days of the assessment date.

Report

A formal 20-30 page report will then be provided, up to 7 days after the feedback meeting. This will include information from the assessment tools, the mental health assessment, the diagnostic outcome, strategies, next steps, and recommendations. For child reports, this includes recommendations both for home and for school. For adults this includes recommendations for personal use, education, and the workplace. 

Post-diagnosis Support And Therapy

We offer further consultation sessions if required, to offer ongoing support around understanding the diagnosis.

We also offer psychological therapy interventions for those who may wish to process their diagnosis or for those who also have mental health concerns.

Ways of working

Face to Face

We can meet face to face in our private clinic based in Warley, Brentwood, Essex.

Virtual

Assessment and therapy sessions for adults can be conducted face to face or virtually through video call. Adolescent Autism assessments may be considered virtually in certain circumstances. Child Autism assessments would always be required to be face to face. ADHD assessment (adult and child) would always be required to be face to face. Feedback sessions post assessment will be conducted by telephone.

Who we can see?

We are an adult and child service that supports people aged 8 years and above. We can accept referrals from anywhere in the UK, and the clinic is based in Brentwood, Essex.