Autism Assessment
Gold Standard Multidisciplinary Assessment
Do you want a comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment of autism for your child, without the wait?
Together with my Speech and Language Therapy colleagues at Let's Verbalise, we provide high quality, multidisciplinary assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The assessment will take place at their dedicated premises on Sharrow Lane in Sheffield.
Whether or not your child receives a diagnosis, we can provide post-assessment support from Speech and Language Therapists, Psychologists and Occupational Therapists, with access to a fully equipped sensory room. Consultation with your child's school is also possible to ensure that the entire network understand you child's individual presentation and needs.
Please follow this link to their website or head to the Contact Us section for more details.
What does an Autism Assessment involve?
All of the clinicians you will meet during this process are HCPC registered and have over 10 years of experience working with children who are on the Autism Spectrum across home, school and clinic settings. My experience has been in the NHS and I will be following the same process, using the same tools, so you can be assured that the diagnosis will be accepted by NHS services, and can inform the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process.
The assessment process is as follows:
- A screening call with a clinician to discuss your concerns and consider whether to progress to a full ASD assessment
- Meeting with your child to observe their behaviour and interactions, using an assessment tool called the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-II)
- Meeting with parents/carers to discuss the child's developmental history and current presentation (Autism Diagnostic Interview ADI-R informed)
- A school observation and conversation with relevant education and other professionals involved in your child's care
- A multidisciplinary meeting between clinicians to discuss the findings of the assessment and arrive at a diagnostic decision (following DSM-5 criteria)
- Provision of a high quality report for you to read and digest, giving you opportunity to note down any questions to discuss at...
- A feedback session (which can be remote if preferred) to discuss the findings and recommendations in the report
The meeting with child and parent happens on the same day (usually a Thursday). We aim for the school conversation and observation to take place within the following two weeks, however school holidays may affect this.
We would aim to have your child's autism assessment completed and the report sent to you within a month. The feedback appointment follows this, at your convenience.
The total cost of this assessment and feedback process is £2,200.
Post- assessment support is additional and will be discussed on a case by case basis.
Every child is unique
Whether they are on the Autism Spectrum or not, every child is unique. If your child does not meet the diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder, we will think with you about their individual skills and qualities and how these fit with the world around them.
This is called 'psychological formulation' and involves collaborating with the child and family to paint a picture of what is happening in the child's world and thinking together about 'why?'.
Psychological formulation can be key to understanding your concerns about your child's distress and behaviour, alongside their strengths and skills, and is the first step towards making positive changes for you all.
Schools Work
What do you need?
Format and ethos of the work
Format and ethos of the work
There is a lot of flexibility to what we can offer in a school context, based on the needs of the setting:
- Staff training
- Consultation for groups of staff
- Classroom observations
- Attendance at multiagency meetings
- Individual work providing assessment and intervention for pupils about whom there are concerns
- Collaborative formulation about these
There is a lot of flexibility to what we can offer in a school context, based on the needs of the setting:
- Staff training
- Consultation for groups of staff
- Classroom observations
- Attendance at multiagency meetings
- Individual work providing assessment and intervention for pupils about whom there are concerns
- Collaborative formulation about these pupils and their relationships, leading to generation of ideas about how to improve school life and engagement in learning for these children
Please note that parental consent is required for any work relating to a specific pupil.
I am unable to offer neurodevelopmental assessments and diagnoses within this context, but I am able to provide neurodevelopmental screening and advice about onward referrals.
If cognitive assessment would be useful for your pupils, please contact me to discuss the possibilities.
Format and ethos of the work
Format and ethos of the work
Format and ethos of the work
Meeting the diverse and complex needs of children and adolescents requires opportunity to stop and think together about how the child is presenting, what this is telling us about their lived experience of relationships and how we can support them to feel safe enough to engage in learning.
Within a school day I would offer 4 slots of an ho
Meeting the diverse and complex needs of children and adolescents requires opportunity to stop and think together about how the child is presenting, what this is telling us about their lived experience of relationships and how we can support them to feel safe enough to engage in learning.
Within a school day I would offer 4 slots of an hour each. The educational setting would direct how I spent this time, either with pupils or staff. I would need access to a private and calm room in which to meet with staff or pupils and a designated staff member to help me find my way around the school and find the relevant staff / pupils for each slot.
My approach is compatible with the Zones of Regulation model which many schools are familiar with.
If you feel you need something other than the suggestions to the left, or you would like to know more detail about these interventions, please contact me to discuss your needs.
Previous Successes
Format and ethos of the work
Previous Successes
I have received positive feedback for training delivered on topics such as; attachment in the classroom, how to meet the needs of children who have experienced trauma, working with self-harm in a school context and the impact of neglect on children and young people.
Recently, through 1:1 and group work with young people at an SEMH school,
I have received positive feedback for training delivered on topics such as; attachment in the classroom, how to meet the needs of children who have experienced trauma, working with self-harm in a school context and the impact of neglect on children and young people.
Recently, through 1:1 and group work with young people at an SEMH school, I have collaborated with teaching and pastoral staff to develop individualised formulations of each child's presentation in the school setting.
Formulations were attachment underpinned, considering relationships with family, staff, peers and how the resultant Internal Working Model was impacting the child's relationship with learning. Neurodiversity and sensory factors were integrated in to a full understanding of triggers and emotional regulation capacity. From these formulations I developed bespoke plans for how to meet their needs and increase wellbeing in the school environment, and consequently improve engagement with learning.