The Joint Assessment Clinic assesses children for autism. Your child will be seen by specially trained healthcare workers - usually a community paediatrician and a specialist speech and language therapist. The appointment can last up to an hour, with shorter appointments for younger children. You can stay with your child during the assessment, however for older, more confident children, we may ask parents to wait outside.
Assessment is play based, and appropriate to your child's language and developmental level. Most children enjoy this assessment. Some children find new environments and experiences challenging and may struggle. We recommend bringing items your child enjoys and finds comforting if you think these would help.
After the appointment information is considered from the assessment, your previous appointments, school or nursery reports, and speech and language therapy reports. These are collected into a detailed report. You will be told whether your child has a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. We will arrange a follow up video consultation or phone call to discuss the report before it is sent to you. This usually happens around 6 weeks after the appointment.