Providing Autism Assessment and Diagnosis in Lincolnshire
Providing Autism Assessment and Diagnosis in Lincolnshire
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Please reach us at info@priestleypsychologicalservices.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
This is a helpful time for you to tell me more about yourself, or your child, and for us to discuss whether a full assessment is indicated. It also gives you a chance to ask questions and for us to discuss the assessment process in more detail. There is no pressure at all to agree anything at this stage.
I work with individuals of all ages, from children to older adults.
We only use gold standard psychometric assessments which are also used and recognised by the NHS. We also follow NICE guidelines of the assessment of children and adults, which means that every assessment is discussed within the multi-disciplinary team (MDT), which includes a Psychiatrist, Speech and Language therapist, and a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist, before the outcome is agreed. There is no reason why an assessment completed by Priestley Psychological Services should not be accepted by health and social care providers. All members of the MDT are registered health care professionals with extensive current or previous experience of working in the NHS. Moreover, when using the outcome of your assessment to support an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), the SEN and Disability Code of Practice (2015) clearly states that there is no reason for a Local Authority to reject a professional diagnostic report simply because it was privately obtained.
Each report provides a comprehensive account of the reason why the client was accepted for an assessment, clinical interviews with the client and/or the client’s parents or carers, a detailed description of the outcome of the ADOS-II and the ADI-R, tabulated results and interpretation of these results, a conclusion section and an extensive recommendations and advice section. Most reports are between 15-18 pages long and can be sent to your GP if you wish.
I typically visit you at your home to complete your assessment. I typically arrive at 9:00am (dependent on location) and begin with the clinical interview phase of the assessment. This means that we discuss your current and past experiences with a focus on any possible social and communication difficulties. We then complete the ADOS-II, before moving to a second clinical interview with parents/carers (where possible), before moving on to completing the ADI-R. Most assessments take around 5 hours, with a break for lunch in the middle.
It is important to remember that a good quality autism assessment should include the administration of at least two gold standard measures, a detailed clinical interview and should consider the possibility of a differential diagnosis. Additionally, the ADOS-II, ideally, should be completed face-to-face to gain the most accurate measure of a person’s social and communication difficulties. To my mind, it is not possible to complete a quality autism assessment in 90 minutes via a video call.
It is possible that you may not receive a diagnosis of autism or ASC at the end of your assessment. However, all reports clearly explain why this was the case and an alternative psychological understanding/formulation to explain the most likely reasons for you experiences and/or difficulties. Moreover, all assessments include recommendations based on the findings, no matter the outcome. Such recommendations can still be used to advise those supporting you, or your child (e.g., at school or in the workplace).
That’s up to you. After you have received your report, I will ask you if you would also like me to send a signed copy to your GP. This can be helpful with regard to further assessments, your diagnosis being on record and additional support in the future.
Yes, the assessment reports we provide are detailed, include your diagnosis (where appropriate) and an extensive list of recommendations, which can be used to support an EHCP application / the EHCP process.
That’s fine. You are not required to pay anything until two weeks before your assessment date. This means that you simply need to let me know before this time, and your appointment will be cancelled.