Autism Assessment Process for Adults

There are five different stages as part of the autism assessment process for adults.

1. Questionnaires

We will send out a pack of questionnaires by email for you and your informant to complete and return to your clinicians.

2. Developmental History Interview

Clinicians will complete a phone call with your informant. This is somebody you choose who has known you a long time and knows you well. The purpose of this appointment is to gather information on your development, behaviour, and skills since birth.

3. ADOS-2 Appointment

The ADOS-2 is considered a gold-standard diagnostic tool for autism spectrum disorder. It is carried out by specially trained clinicians. We complete the ADOS-2 with two professionals. One clinician will administer the ADOS, whilst the other acts as an observer and records information. The ADOS takes from 45 minutes to about 1 hour to conduct. We allow time for you to tell us information you want to share, and deliver this session at your pace.

We complete the majority of these appointments online. There are many benefits to this, including reduced change of routine, access to your appointment in your own sensory environment, reduced communication demand with an online call, and no travel. We can provide support and strategies to you to access the appointment online if this is something you think might be difficult.

4. Multi Disciplinary Team Meeting

A multi-disciplinary team meeting is when all the clinicians who are involved in your assessment review and discuss all the information from the assessment. The MDT will use the DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder to determine if there is sufficient evidence from the assessment to meet the minimum criteria for ASD or not. Sometimes, at this point, clinicians may request further information from you, to help them reach an outcome.

5. Feedback & Report

After the MDT meeting, the clinicians will have agreed an appropriate outcome based on all the information and evidence from all components of the assessment. The clinician will arrange a phone appointment with you in order to give the outcome, provide a summary of the overall assessment and provide suggestions of appropriate strategies or interventions that may be beneficial. A comprehensive, detailed assessment report will be shared with you within four weeks of your feedback phone call.

After Assessment

We are working closely with local services so that regardless of the outcome of the assessment, we can signpost you to the best available support. This will be shared in your feedback phone call.