Autism Spectrum Diagnostic Assessment
How can we help.....
Strength focussed, neuro affirming diagnostic assessments for children and young people
How much does it cost? Is it recognised?
For answers to all your questions, including why chose us as your provider, head over to our FAQ's for more information.
The Diagnostic Assessment Process
STEP 1: The pre-assessment consultation/ screening appointment
This one hour session is an opportunity for you and your child to meet a clinician from the diagnostic team (clinical psychologist or speech and language therapist) to discuss what has led to you both considering possible neurodivergence, and to find out more about your child. The clinician can advise next steps in terms of assessment or another route. They can also discuss the diagnostic assessment in more depth.
The Diagnostic Assessment Process
STEP 2: The DISCO
Not an actual disco...DISCO stands for Developmental Interview of Social Communication disorder. This is an interview with the parents where your child's full developmental history will be discussed. This is an incredibly indepth tool (the interview lasts between 3-6 hours) and is great for picking up subtle developmental differences, particularly in girls, but also traits of other neurotypes including ADHD and PDA.
The Diagnostic Assessment Process
STEP 3: The School Observation
We always want to include your child's school within the assessment as they see your child on a daily basis. We will observe your child at school during a lesson and break time. We will also interview your child's teacher (or someone that knows them well at school) to gather more information about them. If your child is an older teen, we may only conduct a school interview as they are often too aware that they are being watched!
The Diagnostic Assessment Process
STEP 4: The ADOS
The ADOS (autism diagnostic observation schedule) is a semi structured observation of your child in clinic with a clinician (speech and language therapist or clinical psychologist).
This is a play and discussion based interview with fun and interesting tasks to complete.
The Diagnostic Assessment Process
STEP 5: The Cognitive Assessment (optional)
A cognitive assessment looks at your child's unique strengths and needs in terms of their cognitive abilities. This is a very useful assessment to understand how your child processes information, including their working memory, processing speed, and reasoning abilities. This is a fun, iPad based assessment in clinic.
The Diagnostic Assessment Process
STEP 6: The Occupational Therapy assessment (optional)
Our fabulous occupational therapist will conduct a sensory and motor assessment with your child in clinic. This is a fun, movement based session with your child which can give us more information about your child's sensory and motor strengths and needs.
The Diagnostic Assessment Process
STEP 7: The MDT meeting
All clinicians who have been involved in your child's diagnostic assessment will then meet within a multi-disciplinary meeting to discuss the assessment, whether your child meets diagnostic criteria, and importantly, what are the recommendations to help your child thrive within their life.
The Diagnostic Assessment Process
STEP 8: The Report and Feedback
The team will create a comprehensive report of their findings as well as recommendations for ongoing support. We see these reports as very important for the young person who may want to read them. We have worked hard to ensure the language we use within them is neuro-affirming and strength focussed.
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