Choosing an autism assessment provider

Hi there everyone

I recently posted a thread for the first time on the forum, as my husband and I have a strong hunch that our 25 year old son may be undiagnosed autistic, given recent employment problems he has faced.

We are now at the point that, although not identifying as autistic and not persuaded that his 'quirks' indicate he could be on the spectrum , he has said he would be willing to engage with an assessment process to see if he is. I have been in touch with our regional autism service, who have told me that there is a 2 year wait for NHS referral, and so it looks like it will need to be a private provider.

Can anyone who has used such a service (especially for adults) share any tips on how they recommend we choose a provider? The clinic we are considering at the moment is the Clinical Partnership, which has branches nationwide. Does anyone have any experience with this organisation , and would you recommend them? Any other nationwide services that have a good reputation?

Our criteria at the moment are : that the organisation has experience with adults as well as children; that the clinicians seem well qualified with accredited bodies, that the assessment seeks input from us as his family for background rather than just relying on an interview with him (as his self awareness is not always very high); that there is a feedback meeting and a written report following the assessment, that he would be seen by more than one clinician, and there is no too long a waiting list . Are we missing anything?

Many thanks

Lisa