Q. What age do you provide assessments for?
Answer: We can assess children, young people and adults from age 3 years plus for Autistic Spectrum Conditions ASC.
ASC – We recommend that pre-school children should have had a paediatric assessment and speech and language assessment to screen for other conditions prior to having a private ASC assessment.
We can assess children, young people and adults for ADHD from age 6 years plus as per NICE guidance. Please note the QB test is not validated for under 6 years of age.
Please note, we offer a consultation prior to assessment for all children under 6 years of age. This is to ensure that we explore relevant factors to help ensure that we are undertaking the relevant assessments for your child and at the right time.
Q. Terminology?
Answer: We follow diagnostic criteria from DSM-5 ( Diagnostic and statistical Manual of of mental disorders fifth edition) to reach a diagnosis. However, in our reports we use the term Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) rather than an Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) as this reflects the wider spectrum and includes positive attributes of being on the autistic spectrum.
Both ASC and ADHD fall with the umbrella term of neurodiversity.
Q. Consent and confidentiality?
Answer: The law only requires one person with parental responsibility to consent for children to have assessments or treatment. It is however preferable that both parents consent to the assessment.
Young people over the age of 16 need to consent to the assessment for it to proceed.
Young people below the age of 16, can consent or refuse the assessment if they are of sufficient intelligence and maturity to make decisions about their care.
Young people falling into these categories may refuse assessment, and refuse sharing of their information with third parties including their parents.
Q. Sharing of confidential information
Answer: It may be appropriate to share confidential information if any of the following apply;
- Your full report will be shared with your GP / your child’s GP
- We are required to do so by law or under the terms of a lawful court order.
- The child or young person is deemed to have capacity and has given their consent for specific information to be shared.
- The disclosure of personal information is justified in the public interest.
- The disclosure of information when a child or young person may be at risk of serious harm.
Q. What do I need to do as a parent?
Answer: At the point of agreement of an assessment, we would ask that you complete our registration form. You are responsible for updating us on any changes to your details and telling us of any changes that may affect our assessment process.
Q. Will I get a diagnosis?
Answer: Under-going an assessment does not mean that you will necessarily receive a diagnosis. However you will receive a comprehensive report detailing your child’s / your difficulties with recommendations and or signposting for other support.
Q. Do you assess for Pathological demand avoidance (PDA)
Answer: PDA is currently best understood as a ‘profile’ or cluster of traits on the autistic spectrum. As such we would identify a PDA profile as part of our assessment and would include it in our formulation and add relevant recommendations.
Q. Will the local authority accept the private diagnosis?
Answer: This can vary between local authorities, we follow NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) guidelines in our assessment process but some local authorities may wish for their local NHS team to review the assessment. We would advise that you check on local arrangements prior to the assessment.
Q. Cancellations and lateness
Answer: You need to notify us prior to 48 hours before your appointment if you wish to cancel or re-arrange an appointment. If you cancel with less than 48 hours’ notice or do not attend an appointment we will charge an additional £60.
We will make all attempts not to change or re-arrange your appointments however if we do have to cancel your appointment it will be re-arranged as soon as possible.
If you are more than 30 minutes late for your appointment it will be cancelled and we will charge £60.
Q. My child’s results are indicative of ADHD, what next?
Answer: Our assessment can be shared with your local NHS team. We are unable to provide medication for ADHD currently but can share behavioural strategies with your child’s school.
Q. My child has been diagnosed with ASD, what next?
Answer: We will provide local and national information on relevant post diagnostic support. We are looking to set up virtual post diagnostic support groups in the future.
Q. Will a diagnosis make a difference?
Answer: Yes, a diagnosis can help ensure that your child receives the appropriate support for their condition.
Q. Anything else I need to know?
Answer: We are not obliged to accept you as a client and in extremely rare circumstances can at any time cease to work with you if we judge that it is no longer appropriate for us to do so. If this occurs we will refund any monies received immediately.
