Autism assessments (ASC)
Autism assessments are a series of evaluations that are conducted to diagnose or rule out autism spectrum disorder (ASC). The assessments can be carried out by different professionals, including a psychologist, a paediatrician or psychiatrist, and a speech-language therapist.
There are various types of autism assessments, but the most common ones include:
- Developmental screening: This is a brief evaluation that is used to check if a child or young person is developing normally for their age. If a child or young person is found to be at risk for autism, a comprehensive evaluation is conducted.
- Comprehensive diagnostic evaluation: This evaluation involves a series of tests, observations, and interviews to assess a child's behaviour, communication skills, social interaction, and cognitive abilities. The assessment may include standardized tests, questionnaires, and direct observations.
- Neuropsychological evaluation: This type of evaluation assesses a child or young person's cognitive functioning, including memory, attention, problem-solving, and language skills.
- Speech and language evaluation: This type of evaluation assesses a child or young person's communication skills, including their ability to understand and use language.
- Medical evaluation: A medical evaluation can be done to rule out any medical conditions that may be causing the child's symptoms.
It is important to note that autism assessments are not a one-time event, as autism is a developmental disorder that can present differently at different ages. Therefore, ongoing assessment and monitoring are necessary to ensure the child receives the appropriate support and interventions.
ASC Assessment Process: Before the assessment
Parents/carers will be asked to fill in some questionnaires and scales prior to the assessment. School staff are very important in helping us to understand how your child/young person functions in their school life.
Therefore, with your permission we will also send the teacher and/or SENCO some questionnaires to fill in and seek additional information about your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
What will happen during the assessment
We are currently accepting referrals for Autism assessments for young people who have a background of social care involvement. Once the young person has been referred, the referral will be screened by one of our senior clinicians, and if accepted, we will send our Autism Screening pack to the relevant parties, including school, carers and the young person themselves, as appropriate. This will then be discussed in by our Specialist Multi-Disciplinary Autism Team, which includes Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Speech and Language Therapists etc. Then, if further assessment is indicated, a member of our specialist team will complete a full developmental history and a semi-structured observational assessment.
We will then feedback the results to the referrer, young person and carers, and well as completing a report. We will keep the referrer and team around the child fully updated at every step of the journey, as appropriate.
What happens after the assessment
At CB4C we believe that the most important part of any diagnostic assessment is what happened afterwards. Following both the full ADHD and Autism assessment, we will feedback to the carers and young person, and complete a detailed diagnostic report, which includes a bespoke action and support plan. This will include recommendations based on the reports and observations made as part of the assessments, and will include strategies on how best to support neurodivergent people. The report may include areas such as supporting with behaviours that challenge, sensory needs, and communication difficulties.
Our focus is always to make any strategies or interventions as practicable, useful, and easy to implement as possible. If required, our experienced clinicians can also work with the young person and wider team to co-produce a more detailed plan to provide a holistic and detailed intervention plan.