Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be complex and difficult to diagnose. Parents are often the first people to notice that 'something isn't right' in their child's development. The main feature of Autism is significant difficulty with social/emotional relationships. Often children with ASD will show poor eye contact, won't use as many gestures in their communication, tend to prefer to be alone, are poor at 'social chat' and prefer to tell you about facts, can come across as controlling with others, and show unusual levels of preoccupation with their own topic of interest. Children with ASD will often have sensory sensitivities and may become distressed in response to certain noises or not be able to tolerate certain tastes or texture. Click here to read a fact sheet about Autism.

Autism assessments with us usually includes:

- 2 hour ADOS testing session with your child (your child on.y needs to be with us for approximately 60 minutes of this, the other time is spent scoring and revising the information)

- 2 hour parent interview gathering information regarding your child's behaviours and history. 

- Gathering information from other professionals involved with your child and from their school when applicable.  If needed, we may observe your child at school (unobtrusively) or in another setting where they interact with other children.  

- A report will be completed and sent to parents and a feedback session will be arranged.

Autism in girls: Over the last few years there has been growing awareness that girls with Autism present differently to boys, although the reasons for this are not yet clear. Girls with autism usually have more socially acceptable special interests, such as art, music, fashion, reading or celebrities. This can be more subtle to diagnose compared to diagnosing boys who May have more ‘obviously different’ special interests such as washing machines or vacuum cleaners. 

Girls are often very good at masking social difficulties and learn to imitate social behaviour by watching their peers. Parents may report that their daughter ‘falls apart’ after school due to the effort involved in this masking, but at school everything seems fine. 

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has become a controversial topic over recent years, with reports of over diagnosis and over medication. A careful assessment with specialised tools can clarify if your child is experiencing  'genuine' ADHD, or if something else is causing their behaviour. Children with ADHD find sustaining concentration almost physically painful. They simply cannot do it and find it exhausting, much like we would find running a marathon extremely difficult and exhausting. They often 'switch off' simply to recover. The good news is that children with ADHD can learn well and go on to have happy, productive lives. However they do require understanding and structured support both at school and at home.

What do assessments involve?

- 1 hour initial session with parents

- approximately 3 hours assessment time with the child (in 1-2 hour sessions). 

- There will also be questionnaires for parents and teachers to complete

- Once the assessment is complete a report will be sent out to parents and a feedback session arranged.