How our autism assessments work, and what it costs.

A woman and a young girl sitting on a rug in a comfortable space, playing with colourful blocks at a small wooden table, with plants and a window in the background.

We believe that when it comes to understanding a child’s needs, depth is paramount. Our assessment pathway is designed to be robust, neuro-affirmative, and fully compliant with NICE guidelines, giving you complete confidence in the outcome.

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Process.

  • This is the first step in our process. You will meet with a senior clinician for an hour to discuss your child's developmental history, current challenges, and strengths. This session helps determine if a full autism assessment is the right path for your family, and where it is - how best to cater the process to your child’s needs.

  • If we agree to proceed, our full diagnosis uses information from at least 3 assessments:

    1. Developmental history: We take an in-depth interview with parents or carers about your child's developmental history. If appropriate we will also speak to your child.

    2. Structured observation: This is a chance for your child and a trained clinician to interact in a relaxed clinical environment. We use the ADOS-2, the most well-researched structured observation tool used to assist with identifying if a person is autistic. The ADOS-2 is an in-person, play-based or conversational assessment with your child. Our clinicians are all trained to make these assessments as comfortable as possible and can adapt if a child needs support to engage.

    3. School input: If your school is willing, we will ask them to fill in a brief snapshot and report of your child at school. If your school is not able to provide this, we will ask you to send in school reports. We are very aware that many autistic children present differently at school and home and that challenges may not always present at school. If you are worried about differences between your report and school’s report, please discuss this with us. We are here to help, not make things harder.

    Depending on what comes up during our conversations and observations, we may discuss some additional questionnaires about your child’s mental health, behaviours, masking or communication.  

  • Our clinicians meet to review all the gathered information. This collaborative approach ensures a highly reliable and objective diagnostic decision.

  • We do not just hand you a report. We meet with you to explain the findings in detail. Whether the outcome is an autism diagnosis or not, we provide a comprehensive profile of your child's neurodivergence and a clear set of strategies to support them.

Fees.

Our initial consultation costs £150.

If you decide to go ahead with a full assessment we’ll follow up with an invoice for an additional £2,000.

We’re opening for bookings from November 2026. To receive a notification that bookings are open, drop us an email: info@welhamautismcentre.co.uk