Assessment Process
We appreciate that everybody has their own unique reasons for wanting to explore whether they may or may not be neurodivergent. Through our breadth of training along with personal and professional experience, we aim to provide a safe and supportive environment in which to explore your lived experience, whether this fits with diagnostic criteria (as it is currently defined by DSM-5 and ICD-11) and what your own unique profile of strengths and needs may be. We begin every assessment wanting to understand the questions people hold about themselves and their goals for the future to be able to tailor-make an assessment that meets your needs. We are accredited in the use of all the gold standard assessments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) along with more recently published tools.
Whilst we can’t explain in-depth the assessment content in advance, we will communicate the agenda for the day and what to expect. As much as possible we will structure the day around any routines you need to adhere to (for example the time of day you eat). We do ask you to elect an informant for us to speak with in regard to your everyday life. Classically this may be a parent who knows your early developmental history or a partner or close friend who sees you in multiple contexts. However, we appreciate that everybody’s life circumstances are different and therefore we would work with you to identify the person you feel would be able to give the most detailed information, alongside the information you share about yourself. Whether your informant attends with you on the day, attends the full assessment or only part of it, or whether they are spoken to on a separate occasion will be worked out with you in advance. It is a matter of personal choice and does not impact on the quality of the information we are able to explore with you.
The assessment consists largely of talking about your experiences in a structured way. There are no tricks, and nothing is designed to catch you. We welcome questions and feedback about the process throughout the assessment. Our clinics have a range of stimming tools available, but you are welcome to bring anything with you that will aid your engagement in the session. Where possible we aim to give an outcome to the assessment on the day. If this is not possible, we will share with you the reasons and mutually agree the next steps needed to complete the assessment and a timescale for this.
As a neuroaffirmative service we are passionate about helping people develop skills in this area so we occasionally have clinicians on placement with us who want to learn more about this approach through observing us. You may be asked if you would be happy to have another clinician observing the person who is conducting your assessment. Declining this would in no way impact on your appointment or the timeliness in which we can see you.
Once the assessment is completed, a short summary letter will be provided within a week of the assessment and a longer report prepared. This will be shared with you in draft format prior to it being finalised.
