How an assessment works here
Here’s exactly what happens, from booking to report. No surprises.
A few minutes · online · no referral
Book online
Choose the assessment, pick a date, answer a short form about your child (about five minutes) and pay a 50% deposit. If everything is clear, we confirm your booking and send your questionnaires within one working day. If anything suggests another service would suit your child better, our consultant looks at it first, and if we can’t help, we refund your deposit in full.
At home · before the appointment
Questionnaires
You complete a consent form, a developmental history and rating scales online, and forward the school questionnaires to your child’s teacher. Which questionnaires depends on the assessment. The FAQ has the full list. The balance is due 48 hours before the appointment; we email you a secure payment link a week before.
From two hours · in clinic
The appointment
Dr Bond meets you and your child, together or separately, whichever you prefer. For ADHD, she also checks height, weight, blood pressure and heart rate. Autism assessments include a one-hour interview with you (the ADI-R) and a one-hour session with your child (the ADOS-2). It’s paced for your child, with nothing to pass or fail.
Within 10 working days
Report and feedback
Once all questionnaires, including the school’s, are back, you receive a detailed written report within 10 working days, with recommendations for home and school. A copy goes to your GP, and we go through the findings with you at a feedback session.
After the assessment
Every family has a feedback session, included in the fee, to go through the findings and what happens next. After that, it depends on the assessment:
- ADHD: support options such as ADHD coaching and, where medication is recommended, our medication clinic, run by our specialist nurse and Dr Bond.
- Autism: a full report, referral to your local Children’s Disability Network Team (CDNT) where appropriate, and help with supports such as Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA).
- Cognitive (part of the full assessment): a report you can share with your child’s school.
- If your child’s needs turn out to be more complex, we complete the assessment, give a clear opinion and refer your child on to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) with the full report.
Common questions
How long is the appointment?
ADHD assessment: two hours. Autism assessment: a two-hour clinical assessment, plus a one-hour interview with you (the ADI-R) and a one-hour session with your child (the ADOS-2). Dual assessment: two hours. Full assessment: two hours, plus a cognitive assessment (WISC-V) of about two hours. Dr Bond speaks with your child, with you, or with both, whichever you and your child prefer.
What forms are involved?
It depends on the assessment. Every family completes a consent form and a developmental history; the full list is in our FAQ.
Do the school forms have to be back before the appointment?
No. The appointment can go ahead without them, but a diagnosis can’t be confirmed or the report issued until we have them.
What if my child’s needs are more complex?
We complete the assessment, give a clear diagnostic opinion, and refer your child on to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) with the full report.