Any child aged from 15 months can undergo an autism assessment and from six years old for an ADHD assessment provided they pass through our initial consultation process and we believe there are indications that would deem an assessment suitable at that time.

MindScape London follows the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS guidelines on autism and ADHD assessments and each Practitioner is qualified within their own field of expertise. Our Practitioners follow the ICD-11 and DSM-V criteria as set out by the NHS diagnostic criteria and are therefore able to provide a diagnosis.

To help you make an informed decision, we use a pre-assessment screening tool to identify symptoms you or your child might be experiencing. Note that this is not a diagnosis but instead provides an indication of which traits are currently present which can help us to offer our recommendations and for you to make an informed decision.

If you decide to change from a single assessment to a combined assessment (both ASC and ADHD) during the process, then the additional assessment can be added in at any stage. The fee would be the same as if you had selected a combined assessment from the outset.

There is no reason for the assessment not to be recognised. All our assessments follow NHS NICE guidelines, use “gold standard” approaches and are carried out by fully accredited practitioners.

However, some school/GP/NHS districts have their own regulations about how and when they will take over from a private assessment so we always recommed checking with them directly whether there is anything specific they need before having a private assessment.

Please then let us know if there is anything specific required, and we can let you know whether that is something we can provide.

To ensure compliance with our Privacy Policy and GDPR requirements, we will be asking you to complete a consent form. We will also ask you for the contact details of all assessment participants. The team will request a summary care record of your medical records as part of our standard data collection process to inform the diagnostic process. For more information on Summary Care Record (SCR), please visit the following: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/summary-care-records-s

To book an assessment, follow our instructions through our website to make a reservation. A member of our team will be in touch with you to help you through the initial stages of the assessment process. Should you have any questions you’d like to ask beforehand our team will be on hand to support.

Although not essential, clients are recommended to provide us with any supporting information that they think will be helpful to their assessment. This can include official previous or current medical reports from multi-disciplinary teams and previous/current school reports. Evidence of traits and behaviours during a client’s developmental period aids the assessment.

The diagnostic assessment typically includes a comprehensive parent interview, formal observation, and assessment of adaptive functioning. It may also include discussion around medical history, developmental milestones, sensory challenges, medical illnesses, family history of developmental disorders, cognitive functioning, and language skills.

To get an autism diagnosis, you need to see one of our qualified assessing professional practitioners. They will advise you of their diagnosis after the multi-disciplinary team has discussed the outcomes. They will then provide a written report after the assessment.

The diagnostic report may be up to 15 pages long summarising the information we have collected from you. The report will contain a summary of the diagnostic assessment/s and the outcome of the data collected. The report will also contain the final diagnostic decision from the multi-disciplinary team with recommendations for aftercare support.

It is important to us to keep improving the quality of our service. As such, we will be sending a short survey for you to complete. We would appreciate your participation. We love receiving positive feedback, but also welcome any constructive criticism that helps us to improve.

MindScape London does not prescribe medication as a part of our assessment services. However, we can recommend services local to you that can provide medication support to our clients. Our team of practitioners will discuss with you to explore if medication is an appropriate course of treatment and will direct you to the appropriate service if needed.

This is depending on the assessment required but at present we are generally working to a 3-4 week lead time.

Our practitioners have a lot of experience in the assessment of women with suspected neurodevelopmental conditions and how autism and ADHD can present in an atypical way. We use the gold standard diagnostic tools which allow us to get information about the presence of neurodevelopmental symptoms from early developmental periods as well as any current difficulties, but importantly we undertake a very detailed clinical interview as part of the adult assessment. This allows us to explore current and past behaviour and experiences in detail.

Autism and ADHD are both neurodevelopmental conditions, characterised by the emergence of specific traits or symptoms in early childhood. However, it’s important to acknowledge that for some individuals, these traits may go unnoticed or be underestimated for various reasons, leading to delayed assessment until adulthood.

When evaluating autism and ADHD in adulthood, having access to information about the individual’s childhood presentation can be incredibly valuable. This information is ideally provided by someone who was well-acquainted with the individual during their developmental years. Typically, tibis is a parent or caregiver, but it could also be an older sibling, another relative, or a close family friend. Additionally, school reports can offer valuable insights.

We understand that, in certain situations, an adult seeking assessment may be unable or unwilling to provide a childhood informant to contribute to the assessment process. In such cases, we are still able to conduct a comprehensive and accurate assessment.

Many adults and children with undiagnosed neurodevelopmental conditions develop the ability to mask and have coping strategies to get through day to day life. Practitioners at MindScape London are specialists in the field, and they are experienced in understanding the complexities of masking.

It is important that you are able to share information about how you mask and any strategies you have put in place to help you cope with the symptoms and traits that you relate to. It can be helpful to bring some notes about this to the assessment.

No, it is unethical to guarantee a diagnosis for any neurodevelopmental or psychiatry assessment as it is impossible to predict the outcome of an assessment before it has taken place. On some occasions, a diagnosis may not be reached where there is a complex history or other factors at play. Regardless, we will support you with a comprehensive report highlighting your strengths and difficulties, and recommend support tailored to your needs.

We are unable to refund any assessment fees due to a diagnosis not being reached. This is because the service we provide is a rigorous assessment following UK best practice models, and does not ensure a specific diagnosis or outcome in every case.

Autism is a lifelong developmental condition for which there is no cure. Over one in 100 people have the condition.