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Child Autism Assessment

Full Child Autism Assessment (6 - 18Yrs)

Best Practice

All children having an Autism Assessment should have a combined ADOS-2 Assessment and an ADI-R informant led interview. The first step in the process is to book the combined assessment and the ADOS-2 is the first assessment.

When a child autism assessment is booked for any child aged 6 and over, the pre-screening phase starts.

Pre-Screening:

There are some forms to complete for pre-screening, and some are sent to school, where appropriate, others are informant led, and some are self-reported. These valuable pre-screening results help to build a picture of the presentation of possible autism spectrum disorder and offer valuable pointers to explore any differential diagnosis.

Child ADOS-2 Assessment from 6 years and over:

This assessment is semi structured and last for approximately 1.5 hours online. For children this involves up to 12 tasks that involve talking, back and forth conversations, discovery conversations and some tasks of reviewing a book, a picture and making up a story with toys.

Children do very well in this test when it is made interesting for them and for fluently verbal children, being on camera is less daunting than appearing in person. Every effort is made to make the assessment fun and engaging and it has a relaxed and unhurried approach.

Child ADI-R Assessment from 6 years plus:

The ADI-R informant led interview is a structured interview lasting 3 hours. It has an informant that knows the subject well and information is gathered from birth to present. The ADI-R has 93 questions, and some questions have multiple probed questions. The best way to prepare for the interview is to gather information about the subject from birth to 4 to 5 years, if you were not present in their life at that time and know them better now.

The ADI-R is a highly accurate and has a research reliability standard, it is delivered by a highly skilled clinician and is algorithm based to give a high validity score of thresholds. The ADI-R Assessment is a highly respected tool and is the gold standard of autism assessment worldwide.

After the Testing Phase.

After testing the results are discussed at a multidisciplinary meeting with other healthcare professional, psychologists and speech and language. Once agreed, a report is prepared, and the patient and informant attend a diagnostic follow meeting.

Diagnostic Follow Up Meeting.

The diagnostic follow-up meeting is a 30-minute online meeting to discuss the findings of the testing phase and to deliver a diagnosis. Time is spent to explore the areas of any deficit or difficulties and suggestions onward referrals may be made at this point.

Understanding the diagnosis is paramount to obtaining the right onward care. Individual programmes for social interaction, communication and restricted and repetitive behaviours may be suggested. We always offer lifestyle advice, self-help and discovery advice and onward mental health and well-being advice.

The Patient Journey

From initial appointment to completion and delivery of a diagnosis can take up to 6 weeks as there is a great deal of information to gather, collate and test. There are three appointments to attend, and a multidisciplinary meeting takes place. A lifelong diagnosis of autism takes time, skill and precision to achieve. Your well0being is always our priority.

Related Services

Service Update

Fiona Project is closed and not currently providing ADHD assessment or prescribing services.

Following the resignation of our Clinical Director, and a review of our clinical governance arrangements, we have concluded that the service is unable to continue operating safely under its existing model.

The service is experiencing significant operational difficulties common to remote ADHD service models, particularly in relation to the provision of long-term prescribing without consistent shared care support from NHS Primary Care and access to face-to-face clinical monitoring. The service was not designed to provide long-term ADHD management in the absence of these arrangements.

In addition, without a Clinical Director in post, it would not be clinically appropriate or responsible to continue providing ADHD prescribing. At this time, we are unable to appoint a replacement Clinical Director, and the service will therefore remain closed.

All patients who were previously under our care have been contacted directly and supported through a managed transition of care, including guidance on referral to NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB)-commissioned services or alternative providers where appropriate.

This decision has been taken in the interests of patient safety, regulatory compliance, and good clinical. Further updates will be published on this page should the status of the service change.

Fiona Project Management Team.