Assessment FAQs

No. Many people contact us because they know something feels difficult, but they are not sure whether autism, ADHD, cognitive assessment, neuropsychology, therapy or another route would be most helpful.

We can talk this through with you and help identify the most appropriate next step. In some cases, a Screening Assessment may be a helpful starting point.

A Screening Assessment helps clarify whether a full diagnostic assessment may be appropriate. It can be useful when you are unsure whether autism, ADHD, both, or another area of need should be explored.

A screening assessment is not diagnostic. A full diagnostic assessment is more detailed and uses structured interviews, standardised tools, observations, questionnaires and multidisciplinary discussion to reach a clinical conclusion.

Yes. Where both autism and ADHD are suspected, a combined assessment may be appropriate.

This can provide a more joined-up understanding of strengths, needs and overlapping features, rather than assessing each area separately. We will advise whether a single or combined pathway appears most suitable.

Yes. We offer autism, ADHD and cognitive assessments for children, young people and adults.

Some assessment elements differ depending on age. For children and young people, we may gather information from parents, carers and school. For adults, we may ask for information from someone who knows you well, where appropriate.

Some parts of the assessment can be completed online, such as parent, carer or informant interviews.

Other parts need to be completed in person, such as direct assessment, ADOS-2, QbCheck and cognitive testing. We will explain what is required for your assessment pathway.

For child and young person assessments, school information is often helpful. This may include questionnaires, teacher interview or school observation where appropriate.

School input helps us understand how your child manages across different settings, not just at home or in clinic.

For neurodevelopmental diagnostic assessments, we usually aim to complete the process from registration to feedback within around six weeks.

Timescales can vary depending on school availability, holidays, complexity, additional information required and clinician availability.

If the assessment does not lead to a diagnosis, you will still receive feedback and recommendations.

The aim of assessment is not only to answer “is this autism?” or “is this ADHD?” but to provide a clearer understanding of strengths, difficulties and what support may be helpful.

Yes. Full assessments include a written report explaining the assessment findings, clinical conclusions and recommendations.

For children and young people, a child-friendly summary report may also be available where appropriate.

Yes. We can discuss post-assessment or post-diagnostic support where appropriate.

This may include feedback, therapy, parent/carer support, school recommendations, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, or signposting to other services. For ADHD, we can also discuss possible medication assessment pathways where relevant.

Yes. We offer psychological assessment and expert witness services for some family and civil matters.

Medico-legal work requires clear written instructions, relevant records and agreement of the scope before the assessment begins.

We offer paediatric neuropsychology-informed assessment and consultation where there are questions about how neurological, medical or developmental factors may be affecting a child or young person’s learning, memory, attention, behaviour or emotional wellbeing.

This is currently offered by Dr Lakshman “Lucky” Ganatra and suitability will depend on the referral question and clinical scope.