The NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) provide recommendations based on the most up to date evidence, and set quality standards on clinical guidelines for practitioners and services operating within the UK. When an organisation follows these guidelines these are deemed to be the ‘gold standard’ as they use the most up to date evidence to create their quality standards for clinicians and services within the UK.

This is the opportunity for your Child/Young Person and family to discuss early childhood, family background, and any current worries or difficulties. When arranging this appointment, we will determine with you whether it is appropriate to have a separate appointment away from your Child/Young Person as some topics may not be appropriate to discuss with them present (e.g. previous trauma, safeguarding issues). Prior to this appointment, we will request that you fill in our Welcome Pack questionnaire. Following this appointment, the clinician will discuss with you whether a full autism assessment is indicated or if there are other local agencies which may be better suited to meet your needs. This is the opportunity for you to make an informed-decision about the next-steps and a full understanding of the assessment process potential outcomes. You will then receive a summary report of the screening appointment and recommendations made.

After your assessment has finished, you will be offered a feedback appointment where the outcome and individualised recommendations are explained. You will then receive a full comprehensive report ​of all the information gathered as part of the assessment. This will be then shared with you, your GP, and any other organisation you choose (e.g., school).

At Wellcare Health we pride ourselves on providing gold-standard autism assessments that follow NICE guidelines. See the FAQ above to see how we do this. Within the SEN and Disability Code of Practice (2015) it states “A diagnostic report written by registered, specialist trained, and experienced professionals, further to a comprehensive Autism Diagnostic Assessment process of a Gold Standard that meets or exceeds the guidelines set by NICE, will provide a diagnostic report that is diagnostically reliable, lawfully credible and clinically crucial as an NHS diagnostic report”. NHS England states, “you are still entitled to free NHS care if you choose to pay for additional private care, meaning that support services are also legitimately accessible.” This means that because Wellcare Health offer autism assessments that follow NICE guidelines, other organisations (such as education settings, the NHS, or local authorities) are legally bound to recognise a diagnosis given.

The main information gathering process will then begin; this will include a parental interview, a young person’s interview (where appropriate), a school/college observation (where necessary), a school/college questionnaire being completed (where necessary), and a face-to-face activity-based assessment with your child/young person. The listed appointments are examples of information gathered but please note, each assessment can differ along with appointments required. You will be kept informed throughout the whole process by your assigned lead clinician and what to expect. This information is then discussed at a multi-disciplinary team meeting where a decision is agreed on the outcome of the assessment. Following this you shall be offered a feedback appointment where the outcome and individualised recommendations are explained.

By choosing Wellcare Health you can be assured in knowing assessments are fully valid and credible. You will receive an assessment from a health care provider that has a dedicated team that understands autism and the different ways it presents. Your quality of care will be led by compassionate, highly skilled, and knowledge clinicians that take pride in their roles. Because We Care. The below outlines how we ensure we follow NICE Guidelines and offer Gold-standard autism assessments: • All autism assessments use gold-standard tools, such as the ADOS-2. • All autism assessments include information gathering from multiple settings with your consent; for example this could be school, groups/clubs, home, and the observations made by clinicians at Wellcare Health. • All autism assessments are reviewed by more than one clinician (within our multi-disciplinary team meetings). • All autism assessments are conducted by highly experienced clinicians that have great expertise in this field. All clinicians are registered with their regulatory bodies which set the standards for their profession which they must adhere to. • All clinicians’ training and skills ensure that alternative explanations and differential diagnoses are always considered.

Unfortunately, no. Currently we only offer Autism assessments and training packages to organisations. This is something we are working on! Head over to our Pipeline page to find out about our latest updates as we are working in the background to bring a full range of post-diagnostic support options.

While many people search for an "autism test," a formal diagnosis requires more than a single checklist. At Wellcare Health, we use gold-standard clinical tools (including the ADOS-2) to provide a comprehensive assessment that is accepted by schools and local authorities.