Preparing for a child autism assessment

We want to make the assessment process as smooth as possible for you and your child. Below we have a short video, or more information, which details what to expect and how you can prepare for their assessment.

What to expect at an assessment

The assessment will involve you seeing at least two clinicians and may be online, face-to-face or a combination of both. Click here to see an animation to help your child prepare for their assessment with us. Click below to find out about what to expect from the assessments.

Watch our assessment video

A video to help your child understand the assessment

This short animation is designed to help children understand what to expect during the assessment

Learn about the assessment process

Kate talks you through what to expect from your child's assessment

One to one appointment

Your young person will then come and see us in clinic for a one-to-one session. Depending on which route you have taken to come to us, this will be an ADOS or an activity session. They both assess the same areas, it is just that the activities are slightly different. If this assessment is for autism only, it can be in person or online. Not everyone can have an online appointment, this will be discussed at time of booking.

In this session, your child will be doing some activities appropriate for them, and your clinician will be asking questions about a variety of topics.

Learn about the one to one assessment

Heather talks you through what to expect in your child's one to one assessment

What happens next

Once you and your child have had the developmental history and one to one session, the team at Evolve will come together to have a meeting to discuss all the information they have gathered. The clinicians will be thinking together about how they best understand your child's unique profile of strengths, challenges and experiences.

If there is enough information, they will decide on whether a diagnosis can be made. If there is not enough information, then someone will be in touch with you to ask for permission to gather more.

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Receiving the outcome

Once a decision has been made, you will receive an appointment for a feedback meeting which is usually held online. This will be with your assessment coordinator, and they will share with you whether there is a diagnosis or not for your child. If you don’t get a diagnosis, it may be that the challenges your child have been having in their life are caused by something different, the assessment coordinator will explain this to you and may suggest other sources of support that may be helpful to you and your child. At this appointment you can of course ask questions about the outcome. This appointment is usually up to thirty minutes long.

After the feedback appointment, you will receive a report within six weeks of your feedback meeting.

The current wait time for the NHS Right to Choose child assessment is 12-16 months. This is subject to change.

Frequently asked questions

Take a look at some of our frequently asked questions below. Here, you can get answers and insights from our team of expert clinicians.

It can be difficult to explain what autism is to a child, particularly if they are young. We would advise you do discuss with your child why they are coming to us before they start the assessment. In our experience being open with your child helps them manage the assessment. Depending on their age we are also likely to ask them about their view of possibly having autism.
We often explain to children that everybody’s brain works differently. Sometimes this can mean that doing tasks such as getting dressed or doing schoolwork can be difficult for them. Use some examples of what they find more difficult to help explain this. Also discuss your child’s strengths with them to acknowledge all the skills they do have. For primary aged children please see this video which you can show your child to help explain the assessment and why they are coming to us.
For older children and young people this video here will show them what to expect from the one to one session.
We do not usually have parents in the one to one assessment. Our clinicians are skilled at making the sessions interesting and fun. We understand children will be nervous before coming, please see our location videos to familiarise yourself with the clinic you are coming to. We also have a video about what to expect from the one to one assessment. Our clinicians are skilled in putting young people at ease so that they can really be themselves.
For younger children, to help explain why they are coming to clinic please click here to see this animation.
Sometimes children may need their parent for the first few minutes to settle and after that we encourage parents to leave for the session. Parents are required to remain on site throughout the assessment therefore the clinician can always bring your child to you if it is felt appropriate.
Once you have had your feedback meeting the report will be with you via email within 6 weeks. If you have come through Right To Choose this will also be sent to your GP unless you have opted out. We do not send reports to schools or other professionals involved unless agreed with you separately. For privately funded assessments the report is only sent to you.