Autism Diagnosis Assessments
Our multidisciplinary team, consisting of our Psychologist, Specialised Speech and Language Therapist and Paediatrician can provide assessment and diagnosis for Autistic Spectrum Conditions, for children and young people between the ages of 5-17 years (for 18+ please click here).
We strictly adhere to the NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines for autism assessments. If you are seeking a private autism assessment, we recommend choosing a clinic that follows these guidelines. This helps ensure your assessment is clinically robust, your report is valid, and your diagnosis is widely recognised and accepted.
The Assessment Process
We provide a gold-standard, multidisciplinary assessment, involving a minimum of three appropriately qualified professionals, including a Paediatrician. Our Psychologists act as the lead clinicians throughout the process and bring extensive experience in assessing neurodevelopmental conditions and mental health difficulties. All have previously worked within NHS paediatric neurodevelopmental assessment teams, ensuring a high level of clinical expertise and consistency with NHS standards.
Important note for families seeking private autism assessments:
If you are exploring private Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) assessments, we strongly recommend checking that the provider follows NICE guidelines and uses a multidisciplinary team that includes a Paediatrician. Assessments that do not meet these standards may affect the external recognition of your child’s diagnosis and/or report. While no private clinic can ever guarantee NHS acceptance, since final decisions always rest with individual NHS services and local policies, we want to reassure you that, to date, we have never encountered a single case where one of our assessments has been rejected.
In fact, many of our clients themselves are doctors and school SENCOs who have read our reports for their patients/pupils and have then booked in with us for their own child.
Our autism assessments take place in calm, welcoming therapy rooms designed to help children and young people feel at ease. Depending on your child’s age and needs, we may bring in resources or toys to support the process. The rooms are not pre-filled with these items, as we want to create a comfortable environment without unnecessary distractions.
Next Steps: Our Two-Stage Assessment Approach
Your child’s autism assessment is divided into two stages. This is an approach our clinic has used successfully for many years and is designed to be both ethical and child-centred, ensuring that every child’s needs are carefully considered.
We structure the assessment in this way for two key reasons:
- To avoid families paying for a full diagnostic assessment when it is not clinically indicated
- To ensure children do not undergo unnecessary or inappropriate assessments or appointments
This staged approach allows us to take time to fully understand your child’s presentation before progressing to a diagnostic assessment. It ensures that assessments are only carried out when they are genuinely needed, appropriate, and likely to be beneficial for your child and family. Above all, this approach prioritises your child’s wellbeing, avoids unnecessary stress, and supports accurate, thoughtful clinical decision-making.
Step
Psychological Mental Health Assessment & Formal Autism Screening
This stage involves a mental health assessment conducted by a Psychologist. It provides an opportunity for the clinician to meet with your child and parents/carers, observe interactions and behaviours, and gain a detailed understanding of your child’s strengths and difficulties.
Please read more about this below.
Step
ADI-R Parent Interview, ADOS Assessment and Medical Assessment
Step 2 will only be undertaken if the findings from Step 1 indicate a strong likelihood of autism.
It involves three further appointments with our multidisciplinary team.
Please read more about this below.
Read more about the steps...
This stage involves a mental health assessment conducted by our Psychologist. It provides an opportunity for the clinician to meet with your child and parents/carers, observe interactions and behaviours, and gain a detailed understanding of your child’s strengths and difficulties. In addition to meeting NICE requirements, it helps determine whether autism is likely to be the most appropriate explanation for your child’s presentation, or whether other developmental, emotional, or mental health factors may be contributing to their difficulties. Some conditions can present in ways that resemble autism, and this step ensures that the correct assessment pathway is followed.
During this step we will also organise home and school screening questionnaires. Our clinic uses the SRS-2 (Social Responsiveness Scale) and the SCQ (Social Communication Questionnaire) which are widely used, evidence-based autism screening tools.
Duration: Approximately 2 hours
Location: Face to face in our clinic
Prior to the appointment you will be asked to complete:
- Standardised autism screening questionnaires
- A detailed family history and developmental questionnaire
With your consent, we will also liaise with your child’s school to gather information about their learning, behaviour, and social interaction in an educational setting.
Feedback may be provided during the appointment or via a follow-up telephone feedback session. The Psychologist will share with you whether your child meets criteria to progress to Step 2, the diagnostic stage. This does not mean a diagnosis is ‘guaranteed’ but it means there are indicators to continue the assessment.
If your child does not progress to Step 2, a psychological mental health report will be shared with you. In these cases, there is no requirement to pay for Step 2. For children who do move on to Step 2, findings from Step 1 will be fully incorporated into the final diagnostic report.
If, following Step 1, our Psychologist recommends progressing to Step 2, the remaining stages of the assessment should be booked within two weeks of your Step 1 feedback appointment.
There is no obligation to proceed if you decide that you do not wish to continue. However, if you choose to move forward, booking within this two-week timeframe helps to minimise delays, ensures continuity throughout the assessment process, and supports the most accurate clinical formulation and reporting.
Step 2 consists of three further appointments with members of our multidisciplinary team, allowing us to gather the comprehensive information needed to reach a robust and evidence-based diagnostic conclusion.
1. Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2)
As your child will already have met the lead Psychologist in Step 1, the ADOS-2 is completed by a highly experienced, ADOS-trained Speech and Language Therapist. The ADOS-2 is one of the most widely recognised and reliable tools for identifying autism. It involves structured activities and interaction designed to observe social communication, language and non-verbal communication, play, imagination, and flexibility of thinking.
Duration: Approximately 1–1.5 hours
Location: Face-to-face at our clinic
2. Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised (ADI-R)
Parents/carers will then meet with the lead Clinician, without the child present, to complete the ADI-R. This is a detailed developmental interview exploring early development, communication, social interaction and behavioural patterns across childhood.
Duration: Approximately 2-3 hours
Format: Usually conducted remotely
3. Paediatric Medical Assessment
Your child will also be seen by a Paediatrician for a medical consultation and physical examination. This helps determine whether there are any medical or developmental factors that may support or refute an autism diagnosis.
Duration: Approximately 30 minutes
Location: Face to face in a private medical centre in Chiswick (on Chiswick High Road)
All three appointments are included in the Step 2 fee.
Following completion of all assessment stages, the multidisciplinary team meets to integrate the findings from Step 1, ADOS-2 results, ADI-R outcomes, Paediatrician’s report, and the school information and screening questionnaires. This formulation meeting ensures a thorough, balanced, and accurate understanding of your child’s needs.
Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition and should never be diagnosed without careful consideration. A reliable diagnosis can only be achieved through multiple assessments, observations, and professional perspectives.
- A verbal feedback session will be provided by telephone once all stages are complete
- A comprehensive written diagnostic report will then be shared with parents/carers. We strongly recommend sharing the report with your child’s school and GP to support appropriate understanding, adjustments, and care
Fees
Full Autism Assessment (Step 1 + Step 2): £2,960
This includes:
- Four clinical appointments (approximately 5-7 hours total)
- Feedback meetings
- Liaison with your child’s school
- Multidisciplinary formulation
- A detailed, formal diagnostic report
NICE compliant autism assessments are provided by our HCPC Registered Clinical Psychologists, Linda Campbell-Arthur: Registration PYL37777, Dr Holly Barker: Registration PYL041730 and Dr Parul Sabey: Registration PYL32791