Today’s blog was written by Phoebe Edwards, Assistant Psychologist at Headspace Guildford.
Autism, sometimes referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder/Condition (ASD/C), is a developmental condition that can affect somebody’s communication, behaviour and social interactions. Here at Headspace Guildford, our team has lots of experience working with children and young people with autism, helping them to embrace their strengths and guiding them through the tricky parts!
When somebody suspects that they, or their child are displaying signs of ASD, they may come to Headspace Guildford to discuss the possibility of having an assessment. Our assessments are based on guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and are therefore ‘gold standard’ and meet all the requirements of a high quality assessment. We are aware that there is sometimes a focus on the difficulties experienced by individuals with autism, however we aim to see you as a person first, and look at both what is hard for you, and where your strengths are. For us, it is less about the label and more about getting an understanding of what works, so we can help in the tricky areas and celebrate what is already working. At Headspace Guildford we consider the many strengths of an autistic person including their creativity and attention to detail as well as their intelligence and logical thinking, amongst many other incredible qualities. An ASD diagnosis just means that somebody sees the world slightly differently; not better or worse, just differently!
An assessment will be carried out by one of our Clinical Psychologists, who are highly trained to look closely at children and young people and formulate around their strengths and the areas of difficulties. We also have expertise in identifying neurodiversity, including autism diagnosis. You’ll notice that our Clinical Psychologists will gather a lot of information by speaking to you, speaking to your parents and using questionnaires. This is just because they use a holistic approach through which they like to gather a whole picture of every part of your life to find out how best to support you!
Here is what to expect if you come to Headspace Guildford for an ASD/C Assessment:
Initial assessment (about 50 mins): After getting in contact with Headspace Guildford for a potential ASD assessment, you and your parents(s) or carer will come for a first meeting with one of our Clinical Psychologists. In this meeting, the clinician will gather some information about yours or your parent’s concerns and the reasons why you would like an assessment for ASD. They will also ask you some questions so that they can get to know you and understand the best way to help you. To help ease any anxiety or uncertainty, you can check the ‘Our Team’ page on the Headspace Guildford website, which has pictures of all of our Clinical Psychologists.
At the initial assessment you will discuss whether you want to continue on the pathway and have a full ASD/C assessment.
Report Forms: You, your parents and your school may get some questionnaires to fill out, just so we can learn a bit more about your school and home life, which can help us to gather a full picture.
ADOS Assessment (about 1-2 hours): You will come along to meet one of the clinicians again where you will do some puzzles, games and have a chat. A parent or carer can come with you if you would like them to. This will be filmed by a video camera, just so that another Clinical Psychologist can watch it, it won’t be shown anywhere else, and we will delete the video as soon as we’ve finished reviewing it.
ADI-R (about 1-2 hours): The clinician will have a meeting with just your parents or carers, to gather a bit more information about your home life and what you were like when you were younger.
Follow up meeting: You and your parents will come back for a final meeting with some members of the Headspace Guildford team. This is when you will find out what was noticed during your assessment and whether the clinical psychologists think you have ASD/C. At this meeting the clinician will highlight some of your skills as well as discussing any challenges that they may have identified. You will have the opportunity to ask any questions and you may be given details of necessary support.
Report: Finally, you will be sent a report which will summarise the whole assessment process, outlining the things that the clinician noticed in a little more detail.
Hopefully this has made the process of an ASD/C assessment more clear and less daunting. If you would like more information about starting the assessment process you can look at other areas of our website, contact us via email at psychologyheadspaceguildford@gmail.com or using the contact form.