Autism Assessments

What is Autism?

Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects how individuals communicate with other people and interact with the world around them. Autism is more common than you may have thought and it is estimated that one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum.

As Autism spectrum condition, it affects people in different ways. Autistic people will have different strengths and what they find difficult will vary.

Challenges with social communication and social interaction
Repetitive and restrictive behaviour
Sensory difficulties, such as over-or under-sensitivity to light, sound, taste or touch
Specific interests or hobbies
Difficulties with describing and coping with strong emotions
Meltdowns and/or shutdowns

Difficulties making sense of verbal and non-verbal communication, like gestures or tone of voice.
Repeating what others say
Difficulties making and holding eye contact
Finding it hard to ‘read’ other people
Challenges recognising and expressing emotions and the emotions of other people
Struggling to form relationships with others
Not always responding to voices or sounds
A strong need for routine and finding change highly distressing
Repetitive movements such as hand flapping, rocking, spinning
Disliking loud or distracting noises
Sensitivity to how things feel (such as clothing or labels)
Having really focussed interests and wanting to share knowledge with other people.

“Sophie was wonderful with our daughter during her ADOS-2 assessment”

What does an Autism Assessment involve?

An initial consultation

To get an overview of the current difficulties

Pre-screening questionnaires

To provide a more specific indicator of common traits associated with the autism spectrum

The ADI-R

A detailed, structured interview with an appropriate informant to obtain information about someone’s early development.

The ADOS-2

An in-person, observational assessment that includes several activities, questions and general conversation

Multidisciplinary Team Meeting

Your assessing clinicians will hold an MDT meeting to discuss your assessment and determine the outcome.

Feedback meeting

A meeting to let you know the outcome of the assessment and give you time to ask questions

A comprehensive report

You will receive a report detailing the findings of the assessments

Recommendations

We will provide individualised recommendations, based on your or your child’s needs.

What to expect from an Autism assessment

At Xpert Psychology, all autism assessments are conducted with three clinicians. Our multidisciplinary teams include a consultant clinical psychologist, a clinical psychologist and either, a speech and language therapist, occupational therapist or registered nurse.

We only use gold standard, evidence-based assessment tools that have been recommended by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). We understand that Autism can present differently in males compared females and non-binary people, and our clients often share their concerns about their autistic traits being missed, or being misdiagnosed with conditions other than autism. Rest assured we are up to date with recent advances in autism research and we have a good understanding of how differences present.

Autism assessments for adults cost £2050, whilst assessments for children cost £1950. All child assessments include school-led observations and reports.