Our Adult Assessment Services

Cornwall Autism offer 2 adult autism assessment options for individuals to choose from; a face to face or hybrid assessment – both of which can be tailored to fit your your needs and have their own benefits which we detail below.

    Hybrid Assessment: Face-to-Face and Online

    This is the best of both worlds!  This assessment option involves us gathering a developmental history from your nominated family member, via video call which can take around 2-3 hours, we will then have a face-to-face appointment with you during which the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule 2 (ADOS 2) will be administered, lasting around an hour to an hour and a half. This assessment takes place in our clinic room at the Health and Wellbeing Innovation Centre, Truro; we will of course make these sessions as Covid-safe as possible, see our Covid-19 page for more information.

    Once the assessments have been completed full clinical discussions about your presentation will take place using the DSM5 criteria to determine whether the threshold for a diagnosis of ASD has been met. Once an outcome has been reached we will write a full clinical report which will include recommendations and signposting. See below for more detail on our Hybrid private adult autism assessment.

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      EASY SELF-REFERRAL FOR OUR HYBRID ASSESSMENT

      • Simply contact us via email to refer yourself for a private ASD assessment from Cornwall Autism.

      FREE INITIAL INFORMATION GATHERING AND SCREENING

      • Once we have received your email we will start to gather information from you to determine if an assessment from Cornwall Autism is appropriate. We will also seek to get more information by giving you a form for a professional or family member who knows you well to complete. This will enable us to develop a clear picture of you in different contexts. We also have the option to administer the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), a standardised ASD questionnaire which again will guide us as to whether proceeding with a private autism assessment is appropriate for you.
      • If at this point we do not think an assessment from Cornwall Autism is right for you, for instance if there is not enough evidence of ASD we will signpost you to appropriate support, including local NHS and council services. 
      • If we all agree that a private ASD assessment could be helpful we will discuss with you which assessment option would be best suited to your needs. We will then arrange a date and time that is convenient for you for the next stage of our assessment.

      THE HYBRID ASSESSMENT

      • We will arrange a time to meet with your nominated family member either online via a secure video platform or on the phone, whatever is their preference, to gather information on your presentation and to get a detailed developmental history.  This assessment can take up to 2 hours.  We will also arrange a date to meet with you at our clinic room in Truro at the Health and Wellbeing Innovation Centre so we can administer the ADOS assessment. This can take around an hour to an hour and a half
      • Once both assessments have taken place we at Cornwall Autism will then hold a diagnostic meeting where our observations, and the information we have gathered about you are discussed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM5) to determine whether the threshold for a diagnosis of ASD as been met and will follow this by writing a detailed report.
      • Once an outcome has been reached we will contact you (via phone) to discuss our findings and any recommendations we may have. We will then send out our report to you.
      • Finally, we offer you a feedback meeting, this takes place online with one of our experienced clinicians and is an opportunity for you to ask us any questions about the assessment, report, recommendations and next steps.
      How much for a hybrid adult ASD assessment?
    • Face-to-Face Assessment:

    If a hybrid assessment is not a viable option for you Cornwall Autism are also able to provide a fully face-to-face option.  This will involve us meeting with you and your nominated family member at our clinic room at the Health and Wellbeing Innovation Centre, Truro, over 2 sessions; a family member interview and your assessment using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule 2 (ADOS 2).  See our Covid-19 page for more information on how we will keep you safe during this assessment.

    As with our hybrid offer once the assessment has taken place full clinical discussion about your presentation will take place using the DSM5 to determine whether the threshold for a diagnosis of ASD has been met. Once an outcome has been reached we will write a full clinical report which will include recommendations and signposting. See below for more detail on our face-to-face private adult autism assessment.

    • New Module Without Title

      EASY SELF-REFERRAL FOR OUR FACE TO FACE ASSESSMENT

      • Simply contact us via email to refer yourself for a private ASD assessment from Cornwall Autism.

      FREE INITIAL INFORMATION GATHERING AND SCREENING

      • Once we have received your email we will start to gather information from you to determine if an assessment from Cornwall Autism is appropriate. We will also seek to get more information by giving you a form for a professional or family member who knows you well to complete. This will enable us to develop a clear picture of you in different contexts. We also have the option to administer the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), a standardised ASD questionnaire which again will guide us as to whether proceeding with a private autism assessment is appropriate for you.
      • If at this point we do not think an assessment from Cornwall Autism is right for you, for instance if there is not enough evidence of ASD we will signpost you to appropriate support, including local NHS and council services. 
      • If we all agree that a private ASD assessment could be helpful we will discuss with you which assessment option would be best suited to your needs. We will then arrange a date and time that is convenient for you for the next stage of our assessment.

      THE FACE-TO-FACE ASSESSMENT

      • We will arrange a time to meet with you in our clinic rooms in either Truro or Plymouth depending on your location. We will spend a few minutes initially with you all together to introduce ourselves and ask you all some general questions. We will then separate so that one clinician can talk to your elected family member in order to gather detailed history. The other clinician will spend time with you to carry out an ADOS assessment.
      • Once both sessions have taken place we at Cornwall Autism will then hold multidisciplinary diagnostic discussions during which our observations, and the information we have gathered are considered using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM5) to determine whether the criteria for a diagnosis of ASD has been met and will follow this by writing a detailed report.
      • Once an outcome has been reached we will contact you (via phone or video link) to discuss our findings and any recommendations we may have. We will then send out our report to you.
      • Finally, we offer you a feedback meeting, this takes place online with one of our experienced clinicians and is an opportunity for you to ask us any questions about the assessment, report, recommendations and next steps.
    Please do get in touch if you have any questions or would like to arrange a private Autism assessment here in Cornwall.
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