Guidance for Adults for Assessment & Diagnosis through the NHS

Here is information on what to do to get assessed:

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/all-about-diagnosis/diagnosis-information-for-adults/how-do-i-get-a-diagnosis.aspx (NAS also have a helpline)

Here is a shortened version of the AQ50 (a validated test by Simon Baron-Cohen et al used in ASC assessments) which GP's should use as a screening tool prior to referral:

Link to AQ10 (autism quotient screening questionnaire): http://docs.autismresearchcentre.com/tests/AQ10.pdf (complete and take to GP).

Please note, your GP cannot fob you off with comments such as "there is no support for adults" or "we have no facility to assess locally" etc. You are entitled to an out-of-area assessment if there is no local clinic.

Your right to a second opinion on the NHS.

NHS choices regarding treatment, hospital, clinician etc. Here is NHS Choose & Book.

NHS statement on referrals entitlement here and here.

Check (and leave) reviews of your clinic or hospital before you choose. You may also read and leave reviews here by selecting your place of treatment from the menu.

Here is a quote from the Department of Health:

"Patients currently have the right to choose the organisation that provides their treatment when they are referred for their first outpatient appointment with a service led by consultants, and to information to support that choice. Any choice beyond this is at the discretion of the individual primary care trust (PCT).

You may be aware that the Government has made a number of commitments relating to extending the choice of treatment and provider in the vast majority of NHS-funded services. Views on implementing these commitments were collected in the subsequent public consultation Greater choice and control. The formal responses to the consultation are being published on the Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk and can be found by typing ‘Greater choice and control’ in the search bar.

The NHS Standard Contract states that providers must accept referrals for any patient who chooses that provider and whom it is within their clinical competence to treat.

I would suggest that patients contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) at their local PCT, which can be found through the NHS Choices website at www.nhs.uk. PALS will be able to contact and investigate this issue with the chosen provider."

NHS statement on referrals entitlement: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1094.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=153

and

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/doctors/Pages/gp-referrals.aspx

NHS NICE guidelines here: http://www.nice.org.uk/CG142

Autism Strategy here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/151844/dh_122910.pdf.pdf

If you need to complain to the NHS about their failures, here:

http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rightsandpledges/complaints/Pages/NHScomplaints.aspx

Anyone facing trouble getting their GP to listen, contact your local councillor here:

http://www.writetothem.com/

If you do not get sufficient help from them, go to your MP here:

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

There is also the Lords but they have no duty to reply to members of the public:

http://www.writetothem.com/lords

(Mods: please could this be made into a sticky?)

Parents

noidea over 9 years ago

Has anyone has experience of being diagnosed through Psicon?
I have decided to try to get a diagnosis, but the following has left me dubious about the 'pathway' available locally.
I recently accompanied a close family member to their AS assessment. They were referred by the GP on the NHS to this 'company' called Psicon. You can google them, their details are also available through the NAS search tool.
I'm assuming this is an example of some kind of semi-privatisation, as the company certainly isn't part of a proper NHS department in a hospital. I'd be interested to know what oversight there is on their performance.
On the plus side, the wait for an appointment was quite short, it took place locally and my family member essentially got the 'result' they were expecting, diagnosed with 'moderate' Aspergers (I wonder is 'moderate' a reconised clinical term?).
On the down side, the assessment seemed quite ropey to me. Lots of irrelevant, superficial 'facts' were taken by a trainee, e.g. 'where have you lived/how many times have you moved', 'list your relatives', 'do you live in a flat/house' etc. In fairness some of the questions were a bit more relevant, but none followed up on, explained or put into context, just listed down.
We were then sent straight on to the 'main' guy, ostensibly a clinical psychologist, who apparently specialises in court reports. He talked round the subject of AS in a meandering manner. Throughout the whole time it was very difficult to tell if he was actually asking a question or not, and if so what the question was, he was so vague. It felt like listening to a guy holding forth in a pub.
He did say some things about the disconnect between ability & acheivement which made sense, though he forgot to put any of that in the report. He also kept suggesting that the family friend's teenage daughter (who was with us), should get a diagnosis which was weird as he knew nothing about her. No clinical diagnostic tools were used.
The report that eventually arrived 2 months later was, again, meadering, repetetive, disorganised and largely consisting of cut-and-paste type general statements about AS, completely unrelated to the individual whom the report was supposed to be about. A lot of statements like 'for those on the spectrum, this can sometimes be the case, or it can be that, or something else entirely'.
Pound for pound it was good value I suppose, as it was very, very long. (The combination of fairly irrelevant 'bio' answers taken by the underling and lots of repetetive generalisations helped).
It just wasn't particularly about my family member's AS and how it affects them, and even the odd things from the discussion that had seemed relevant & useful seemed to have been forgotten. And to me, the lack of any diagnostic test results was a problem.
Has anyone else had this experience?

Reply

noidea over 9 years ago

Has anyone has experience of being diagnosed through Psicon?
I have decided to try to get a diagnosis, but the following has left me dubious about the 'pathway' available locally.
I recently accompanied a close family member to their AS assessment. They were referred by the GP on the NHS to this 'company' called Psicon. You can google them, their details are also available through the NAS search tool.
I'm assuming this is an example of some kind of semi-privatisation, as the company certainly isn't part of a proper NHS department in a hospital. I'd be interested to know what oversight there is on their performance.
On the plus side, the wait for an appointment was quite short, it took place locally and my family member essentially got the 'result' they were expecting, diagnosed with 'moderate' Aspergers (I wonder is 'moderate' a reconised clinical term?).
On the down side, the assessment seemed quite ropey to me. Lots of irrelevant, superficial 'facts' were taken by a trainee, e.g. 'where have you lived/how many times have you moved', 'list your relatives', 'do you live in a flat/house' etc. In fairness some of the questions were a bit more relevant, but none followed up on, explained or put into context, just listed down.
We were then sent straight on to the 'main' guy, ostensibly a clinical psychologist, who apparently specialises in court reports. He talked round the subject of AS in a meandering manner. Throughout the whole time it was very difficult to tell if he was actually asking a question or not, and if so what the question was, he was so vague. It felt like listening to a guy holding forth in a pub.
He did say some things about the disconnect between ability & acheivement which made sense, though he forgot to put any of that in the report. He also kept suggesting that the family friend's teenage daughter (who was with us), should get a diagnosis which was weird as he knew nothing about her. No clinical diagnostic tools were used.
The report that eventually arrived 2 months later was, again, meadering, repetetive, disorganised and largely consisting of cut-and-paste type general statements about AS, completely unrelated to the individual whom the report was supposed to be about. A lot of statements like 'for those on the spectrum, this can sometimes be the case, or it can be that, or something else entirely'.
Pound for pound it was good value I suppose, as it was very, very long. (The combination of fairly irrelevant 'bio' answers taken by the underling and lots of repetetive generalisations helped).
It just wasn't particularly about my family member's AS and how it affects them, and even the odd things from the discussion that had seemed relevant & useful seemed to have been forgotten. And to me, the lack of any diagnostic test results was a problem.
Has anyone else had this experience?

Children

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