What happens during a child autism assessment?

Parents sometimes imagine an autism assessment as a test that their child will either “pass” or “fail”. In reality, a good autism assessment is very different. There is no single test that can tell us whether a child is autistic. Instead, clinicians bring together information about the child's development, current experiences, strengths, difficulties and behaviour across different settings.

Talking to parents

An important part of the assessment is understanding your child's developmental history.

We will ask about early development, communication, play, friendships and relationships, interests, routines, sensory experiences and how your child manages everyday life. Parents sometimes worry that they will not remember everything. That's completely normal. You are not being tested either. The purpose is to build as detailed a picture as possible of how your child has developed over time.

Information from school

With your consent, information will usually be gathered from your child's school or educational setting. This helps us understand how your child presents outside the home.

Sometimes home and school describe a child quite differently. This does not mean that somebody must be wrong. Differences between settings can themselves provide useful clinical information, particularly when a child masks or uses considerable effort to cope at school.

Meeting your child

Your child will also meet a clinician for an assessment focusing on areas such as social communication, interaction, imagination and patterns of behaviour. Depending on their age and individual needs, this may feel more like play, conversation or completing activities together than a medical appointment. Structured tools such as the ADOS-2 will form one part of an assessment, but no individual tool should determine a diagnosis by itself.

Bringing everything together

Once the different parts of the assessment have been completed, clinicians bring the information together. We consider whether your child's developmental history and current presentation are consistent with diagnostic criteria for autism. We also think carefully about other explanations or co-occurring differences, such as ADHD, anxiety, language or learning differences. This is an important part of a clinically robust assessment.

Feedback and report

Families should receive feedback explaining the outcome and why the clinical team reached its conclusion. You will also receive a written report describing the assessment findings, your child's individual profile and recommendations.

For us, the purpose of an assessment is not simply to provide a yes-or-no answer. Whether or not a diagnosis is made, we want the process to help families understand their child more clearly.

The Autism Assessment Centre provides private child autism assessments from our centre near Ashford, Kent. If you would like to understand more about the process before deciding whether to proceed, you are welcome to arrange a free 15-minute consultation.