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Countdown to diagnosis

Sunflower

Hi everyone, 

I've been undergoing autism assessment by a team of Clinical Psychologists for the last few weeks.  I hear the outcome later today.

I am a woman in my late 50s and the component parts of my ASD assessment are as follows:

  • Initial assessment with psychologist (1.5 hrs)
  • Full developmental history meeting with psychologist (1.5 hrs)
  • AQ / EQ questionnaires (completed at home and handed back to psychologist) 
  • Developmental history (written autobiographical information supplied by me)
  • Developmental history questionnaires (completed by parents/siblings & emailed to psychologist)  
  • Narrative account of issues and challenges (emailed by husband)
  • ADOS-2  with two different psychologists (1 hr) followed by analysis of results (1 hr)
  • Multi-disciplinary Formulation Meeting (professionals only) 
  • Feedback meeting - psychologist + me (1 hr) 
  • Post assessment follow-up sessions - optional (3 x 1 hr)

I first emailed the service provider requesting information on 10 August. 

The Formulation Meeting will be held sometime next week (mid November). This is where everyone in the team gets together to consider all the evidence and reach conclusions about likely causes of difficulties, and potentially helpful recommendations. 

I will get feedback from a psychologist at a meeting next Friday 16 November. 

Although I am paying for this assessment privately, the provider re-invests any profit into providing services for autistic people.

I looked up 'formulation' and it seems this is a psycho-social group decision-making process, combining narrative accounts with evidence derived from the application of ASD diagnostic criteria. This approach aims to reduce the risk of individual bias by promoting creative thinking and collaborative problem solving.  

Needless to say I am looking forward to finding out what diagnostic decision has been reached. It will be fascinating to see if the professionals agree with the conclusions I reached by reading, reflecting, and talking to people in this community!

There are varied formats for assessment so it would be interesting to know what other people's experiences have been. 

Parents

  • Thank you so much for sharing, I am hoping to embark on the same journey soon. Would you mind telling me the cost involved?

  • in reply to cymraes

    Hi there the total cost for my assessment will be £1250. This includes initial assessment, analysis of questionnaires, full developmental history meeting, ADOS-2 assessment, multi-disciplinary formulation meeting, feedback meeting, initial recommendations (follow-up email), letter confirming diagnosis, and full report.

    I have been invited to join an education and support group in the New Year which will involve an additional charge. 

    The assessment I had complied with NHS guidelines and is 'gold standard' - the kind of comprehensive assessment often not possible on the NHS due to funding constraints.

    You can get a diagnosis more cheaply, but you may not get as much insight into the nature of your difficulties or potential solutions. 

    I like the fact that the clinicians assessing me have set up a not-for-profit company because they are so keen to provide a service. 

    Hope this helps. 

Reply
  • in reply to cymraes

    Hi there the total cost for my assessment will be £1250. This includes initial assessment, analysis of questionnaires, full developmental history meeting, ADOS-2 assessment, multi-disciplinary formulation meeting, feedback meeting, initial recommendations (follow-up email), letter confirming diagnosis, and full report.

    I have been invited to join an education and support group in the New Year which will involve an additional charge. 

    The assessment I had complied with NHS guidelines and is 'gold standard' - the kind of comprehensive assessment often not possible on the NHS due to funding constraints.

    You can get a diagnosis more cheaply, but you may not get as much insight into the nature of your difficulties or potential solutions. 

    I like the fact that the clinicians assessing me have set up a not-for-profit company because they are so keen to provide a service. 

    Hope this helps. 

Children
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