Autism assessment

Before the assessment

How long will it be?

The appointment will be quite long, around 1 and a half hours to 2 hours.

You may need to wait in a waiting room before being seen. If your child will struggle with this, please let the receptionist know.

You will also have to answer some questions. If your child will struggle while you do this, please bring someone else with you who can take your child out if needed.

Does my child have to come?

Yes, your child will need to be present for the appointment.

Please contact us if you think your child may need some adjustments or support to be able to attend and participate in the assessment.

Do we need to bring anything?

You can bring ear defenders if they will help your child. It will be helpful to bring something to entertain your child, such as toys or a tablet. Your child will be able to use these during their appointment if they need to.

If your child is likely to want a drink or snack, please bring this with you. Your child will be allowed to eat and drink during the appointment.

It can be helpful to bring a list of questions you wish to ask. Think about specific concerns you have and bring examples to share from throughout your child’s life. Ask family and friends for examples they have seen.

Please bring any reports from previous assessments which your child might have had.

What if we cannot attend?

Please contact us if you think it is not possible for your child to attend, for example they are unable to leave the house, there is a restraining order in place or if they have already had a private assessment.

How can I prepare my child?

Prepare your child for the assessment by letting them know what to expect. Let them know it’s a chance for us to get to know them.

With younger children, we will mainly just be playing and chatting (if they are able to). With older children and teenagers, we will complete some activities and have a chat. There are no right or wrong answers.

Encourage your older child or teenager to understand why they are coming for an assessment and to think about any questions they may want to ask.

Show your child the video and social story to help them understand what will happen. The social story also includes photos of our sites and waiting rooms.

During the assessment

There will be at least 2 clinicians doing the assessment from a range of professionals, such as:

• doctor
• psychologist
• speech and language therapists

We will choose the best combination of professionals for your child based on the information from the referral.

There are 2 parts to the autism assessment appointment:

1. a discussion with you as parents or carers
2. observation of and interaction with your child

These will both take place at the same time and usually in the same room.

What questions will you ask me?

We will talk to you about your concerns and about your child’s development. We will ask you questions from before your child was born to the present day.

• We will want to know about your child’s health, their development and how they play and communicate.
• We will ask about yours and your family members health.
• We will ask lots of questions about how your child interacts with others, how they communicate with you and others, their friendships and interests.
• You will have the chance to tell us any concerns you have around specific behaviours, sleep, eating, anxiety, problems in nursery or school and any other worries you have.
• You will have a chance to tell us about what you think your child’s strengths are and what is working well for your family.

What about my child?

We want to interact with your child to get to know them and make some observations. We want to find out about their strengths and any differences or needs.

For younger children, this part of the assessment will mainly be play-based. We will have a selection of toys, but feel free to bring their favourite toys if you think that would be helpful.

For older children, we will complete some age-appropriate activities and also provide an opportunity for them to tell us about themselves and their experiences. They can do this without talking if they find it hard to talk to new people.

The clinician may do a physical check of the child such as listening to their heart and breathing.

Do we get a break?

After we have talked with you and your child, we will take a short break. The clinicians will discuss their findings and decide if a diagnosis is appropriate.

When do we find out?

After the short break, we will discuss the outcome of the assessment. You will be told if your child has been diagnosed with autism and given a written confirmation to take away with you and share with school and so on.

If your child does not receive a diagnosis a further assessment may be required, or you will be advised of next steps and additional support that may be helpful.

The clinician may suggest further assessment for other conditions such as ADHD, learning disability or developmental language disorder.

You will be given an information sheet with a list of support resources whether you receive a diagnosis or not.

After the assessment

You will receive a report of the assessment. This will take a while to produce but will be posted to you once complete.

If there are no other medical concerns about your child, they will be discharged from the Neurodisability service. There will be no follow up appointments.

Ongoing support can be looked for through the organisations listed in the information sheet handed out at the end of the appointment.