Will a private diagnosis be recognised?
The number one question we are asked is:
"Will this diagnosis be accepted by the NHS and my child's school?".
You don't want waste your time and your money on a discredited diagnosis.
So, how do you know which provider to choose?
What makes a credible diagnostic assessment?
It is important that a provider follows NICE guidelines. These are national recommendations for health and care in England. They are based on best available evidence and are put together by experts, people who use the services, carers and the public.
The NICE guidelines provide standard recommendations for assessments for autism. According to these guidelines, assessments should be:
- Made by a team of qualified professionals with the appropriate and specific training and expertise in diagnosing autism. These include skills needed to carry out an assessment of children with special circumstances (i.e. co-existing conditions, looked after children and young people) AND
- Based on a full picture of the life of the person being assessed encompassing:
- Their parents/carers concerns, and if appropriate, the young persons concerns
- The young person's experiences of home life, education, and social care
- The young person's social communication skills and behaviour
- A consideration of alternative/differential diagnoses and systematic assessment for co-existing conditions
- Developmental, medical and family history
- AND the assessment does not rely on any single autism-specific diagnostic tool to diagnose autism
The NICE guidelines for ADHD say that a diagnosis must be:
- made by a qualified professional with the appropriate and specific training and expertise in diagnosing ADHD AND
- based on a full picture of the life of the person being assessed; encompassing the person's:
- behaviour in more than one domain in their life (i.e. school and home)
- impacts of concerning behaviour
- developmental, medical and family history, AND
- based on evidence from a range of sources, including questionnaires completed by parents/carers and teachers, verbal observations of behaviour from parents/carers and teachers, and clinician observations of the individual.
Who might typically be included in a diagnostic assessment?
A range of professionals should be involved in the assessment including clinical psychology, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychiatrist or paediatrician.
The diagnostic decision should not be made by one sole professional.
Are private diagnoses equally recognised as those completed in the NHS?
If a diagnostic assessment follows NICE guidelines using evidence based and 'gold' standard assessment measures, as Every Mind does, there is no reason why it would not be recognised within the NHS. We are able to assess at a greater depth than the NHS can giving our diagnoses the upmost integrity.
Are private diagnoses recognised by the local authority and schools?
Many families are driven to seek a diagnosis for their child so they can access support via schools and an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP). Therefore it is vital that the private diagnosis is credible and accepted.
Again, if the diagnostic assessment has followed NICE guidelines, there is absolutely no reason why schools and local authorities shouldn't accept them. Every Mind diagnostic assessments are extremely comprehensive and thorough, and because of this, they are widely accepted by schools and local authorities, including those in other localities (nearby and nationally).
The Special Educational Needs Code of Practise (2015) is statutory guidance issued by the government and it details what local authorities should consider when deciding whether to complete an education, health and care needs assessment. This clearly states advice from health professionals should be sought when a child is being considered for an EHCP needs assessment. If the local authority ignores this advice, such as a private diagnostic assessment, they are deemed in breach of the code of practise.
Lets Collaborate
Ask us anything or just say hello....