North East Essex Adult Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Service

We are a team of specialist psychologists with training, knowledge and experience of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We provide diagnostic assessments and signposting for individuals living in North East Essex referred by their GP.

What to expect
We continue to experience unprecedented demand for all our Autism services, which have inevitably created lengthy waiting lists for assessment. Due to multiple factors the time you will need to wait for an assessment can change frequently so we are unable to offer precise timescales. We are also trying to prioritise clinical time for assessments and treatment, and therefore are unable to respond to individual queries around wait times or placement on the waiting list.

We will be in touch when your referral is accepted, asking you to complete and return 3 questionnaires, which will be sent to you via email if provided in your referral. This is important information gathering as part of the assessment process.

After returning your questionnaires, you will be contacted for an initial assessment. This is a screening where we will gather some information about your difficulties to establish suitability for a full diagnostic assessment. This appointment is usually up to 2 hours, and will typically take place via Microsoft Teams, but Face to Face appointments are available upon request.

We will ask to speak with an informant at both the initial assessment stage, and as part of the diagnostic assessment. An informant is someone who has known you well since you were young (usually a parent or sibling). This is because Autism is considered a developmental condition, so we need to explore which of your difficulties and experiences have been present since childhood and how these may have changed over time.

After your Initial Assessment, we will review your case within our team. Depending on the outcome of your Initial Assessment, you will then either be placed on the waiting list for a diagnostic assessment, or signposted to other services that may be more appropriate. If we do not feel a diagnostic assessment is required or appropriate, you will be discharged from our service following a discussion with you.

If you are put forward for a diagnostic assessment, we will be in touch when you reach the top of this waiting list to book you in. Your diagnostic assessment will usually take place across two appointments, with a Clinical Psychologist. These will typically take place via Microsoft Teams, but Face to Face appointments are available upon request.

We are currently commissioned to conduct diagnostic assessments only. This means we are not able to offer any therapy or support post-diagnosis.

We can, however, signpost to useful services and resources, such as self-help information and local support, to help with psychological, lifestyle, behavioural, educational and occupational needs.

Referrals can be made through your GP, we do not accept self-referrals.

To access this service, you must be registered to a GP within the North East Essex boundary. We can accept referrals for those who live within the boundary, and are not registered to any GP (including homeless people, people within the travelling community and refugees), but we would encourage these individuals to register with a local GP to access additional support.

You must be 18 years of age, but we may accept your referral if you are 17, but will be 18 by the time you are seen for an initial assessment.

We do not accept referrals for those who are open to, or in need of, specialist mental health services (secondary care services).

It is essential to ensure that what is offered is equitable and fair to all service users and therefore we are declining requests to prioritise or expedite referrals.

Referral criteria

• We require a completed referral form and service specific screening tool to be completed.
  This must include:
• Examples of difficulties with social communication or interactions, and restricted or repetitive behaviours or interests
• Evidence or examples that this was present in childhood
• Evidence of impairment in functioning e.g. which aspects of the patient’s life are impacted by the symptoms they perceive to be Autism.
  If this is not included, the referral will be rejected.