FAQs Child and Young Person’s Autism Service

Our NHS Right to Choose autism service is available for children and young people from aged 8 to 17 years 9 months. 

Young people aged 17 years 9 months and over will be referred to our Adult Autism Service.

Find out about Right to Choose Adult Autism assessments

No. 

A GP must send the referral to Psychiatry UK for an NHS Right to Choose assessment. 

Yes. Psychiatry UK is a fully online service. 

Forms and questionnaires are completed online, and assessment appointments take place by secure video call. 

If you or your child have a disability, sensory need, learning need, communication need or anything else that may make taking part more difficult, please tell us. 

We can discuss reasonable adjustments or other support that may help. 

Find out more about accessible communications and assessment adjustments

Once the referral has been processed and accepted, we’ll contact you, or the adult supporting the young person where appropriate. 

We’ll explain what happens next and how to use the MedQare patient portal. 

We’ll also let you know about any forms or other information that need to be completed. 

You do not need to contact us to check the progress of an accepted referral. We’ll let you know when there is an update or something you need to do. 

There is currently no waiting list for our NHS Right to Choose autism assessment service for children and young people. 

Once the referral has been accepted, we’ll explain what information we need before the assessment can go ahead. 

Appointment availability can change, so we’ll give you the latest information as the referral progresses.  

We’ll guide you through the next steps. 

Please: 

• Check the patient portal from time to time. 
• Complete any forms or questionnaires as early as possible. 
• Keep the contact details in the portal up to date. 
• Look out for emails and text messages from Psychiatry UK. 

We need all the information required for the assessment before we can move to the next stage. Completing forms promptly helps prevent unnecessary delays.  

Please keep the details in the patient portal up to date and tell us about any important changes. 

To remain eligible for NHS Right to Choose, the child or young person must remain registered with a GP in England and live in England while receiving care through the service. 

NHS Right to Choose is available in England only. 

If the child or young person moves outside England while receiving care through this pathway, their assessment can no longer be funded through NHS Right to Choose. 

Please let us know if this happens so we can explain what it means and discuss the options available.  

This depends on the child’s or young person’s age and individual circumstances. 

For children aged 8–10, parents or guardians play an important part in the assessment. We’ll ask you for information about your child’s development, experiences and everyday life. 

For young people aged 11–17 years 9 months, the level of parent or guardian involvement may vary. We’ll consider the young person’s age, understanding and individual circumstances and explain who needs to be involved. 

Whatever their age, the child or young person’s views are important. We’ll listen to them, explain what is happening and give them opportunities to ask questions.  

Consent means agreeing to the assessment or to a particular part of the child or young person’s care. 

Who can give consent will depend on the individual child or young person and the decision being made. 

We’ll confirm who has parental responsibility and consider whether the child or young person can make particular decisions about their own care. 

We’ll explain what consent is needed before the assessment goes ahead or before information is shared.  

We’ll ask about parental responsibility and any legal, care or family arrangements that may affect decisions about the child’s care. 

Where more than one person has parental responsibility, we’ll make sure the consent and communication arrangements are appropriate. 

If there is uncertainty or disagreement that affects whether the assessment can go ahead, our clinical team may need to look at the situation first. We’ll explain what happens next.  

Yes. 

Children and young people should be involved in decisions about their care in a way they can understand. 

Even where a parent or guardian needs to give formal consent, we’ll listen to the child’s views, explain what is happening and give them opportunities to ask questions. 

You may be able to make some decisions about your assessment yourself. 

This will depend on your age, what you understand about the decision and your individual situation. 

We’ll talk this through with you and explain which decisions you can make yourself and when a parent or guardian may need to be involved. 

Your views and choices are important throughout your assessment. 

Where it’s appropriate and safe, you may be offered some time to speak to your clinician privately. 

You can also tell us if there’s something you’d prefer to talk about without somebody else in the room. 

Most of what you tell us is private. 

We’ll explain what information may need to be shared, who it may be shared with and why. 

Sometimes we may need to share information without your permission. This could happen if we’re worried that you or somebody else could be at risk of serious harm, or because we have a legal duty to share it. 

Your clinician will explain this to you as clearly as they can.  

Not always. 

It will depend on your age, your individual situation and which part of the assessment is taking place. 

We’ll explain who needs to be involved. Where it’s appropriate and safe, you may also have some time to speak to your clinician privately.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to have a parent, guardian or another trusted adult with you. 

Please tell us if there’s something that would help you feel more comfortable and able to take part. 

Children and young people can have different experiences in different places. 

Information from school or another education setting can help us understand more about: 

• Learning and everyday experiences. 
• Communication. 
• Friendships and social situations. 
• Strengths and needs. 
• Experiences outside the home. 

School information is only one part of the assessment. It does not decide the outcome on its own. 

We’ll explain what information we need and ask for the appropriate consent before contacting a school or another professional. 

We’ll also explain what information may be shared and why. 

Please let us know. 

If there is no teacher who can provide information, we can discuss whether somebody else who knows the child or young person well in a learning or structured activity setting may be able to help.  

The same set of pre-assessment forms is used for both age groups: 

• Parental Responsibility Form. 
• Developmental History Form. 
• Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Self 11-17). 
• Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Parent or Guardian). 
• Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Teacher). 
• School Information Form – Autism. 
• RCADS Child Questionnaire 
• RCADS Parent Questionnaire 

Different people complete different forms. This may include a parent or guardian, the child or young person, and someone from their school or education setting. 

The forms will be available in the patient portal. Please complete them as fully as you can. 

What happens during an autism assessment? 

The assessment brings together different types of information about the child or young person. 

This includes: 

• Information collected before the appointments. 
• Conversations with clinicians. 
• Information from the child or young person and their parent or guardian. 
• Information from school or other professionals, where available. 
• A Structured Observation appointment. 

The clinical team looks at all of this information together before reaching an assessment outcome. 

There’s no single test, questionnaire or observation that decides whether somebody is autistic.  

For a full step-by-step explanation, see: 

What to Expect from Your Child’s Autism Assessment – Ages 8–10

What to Expect from Your Autism Assessment – Ages 11–17

The Structured Observation appointment gives the assessor a chance to spend some time interacting with and observing the child or young person through a series of structured activities. 

This helps the assessment team understand more about areas such as communication and interaction. 

The Structured Observation appointment is only one part of the assessment. It’s considered alongside all the other information gathered. 

MDT stands for multidisciplinary team. 

After the initial assessment and Structured Observation appointment, the clinicians involved review the information together. 

Looking at the different parts of the assessment together helps the team reach a careful and informed outcome. 

Yes. 

The autism assessment involves three appointments: 

1. An Initial assessment. 

1. A Structured Observation appointment. 

1. An Outcome appointment. 

These take place on the same day. 

The Initial assessment and Structured Observation appointment may happen in either order. We’ll explain the plan when the appointments are booked. 

They don’t need to study, practise answers or behave in a particular way. 

It may help them to know that: 

• There are no right or wrong answers. 
• They can say if they do not understand something. 
• They can ask for a question to be explained differently. 
• They can take time to think before answering. 
• They can tell the clinician if something feels difficult. 
• They can ask for a break if they need one. 

There’s no special way they need to act or answer. We want to understand them as they are.  

Please tell the clinician. 

Online appointments, meeting unfamiliar people, answering questions or changes to routine can sometimes feel difficult. 

The clinician can talk with you and the child or young person about what may help. Where possible, they can make adjustments, offer breaks or give more time to understand and process what is happening.  

Yes. 

If you or your child have a disability, sensory need, learning need, communication need or anything else that may affect the assessment, please tell us as early as you can. 

We can talk with you about what may help. 

Adjustments might include: 

• More time to understand or answer questions. 
• Questions being explained in a different way. 
• Written prompts. 
• Breaks during the appointment. 
• Communication support. 
• Changes to support sensory needs. 
• Other practical changes based on individual needs. 

Find out more about accessible communications and assessment adjustments  

Please tell us before the assessment. 

We can talk about what’s difficult and whether reasonable adjustments or other support could help. 

Because Psychiatry UK is an online service, we also need to make sure that an online assessment is safe and suitable for the child or young person’s individual needs.  

The Outcome appointment takes place later on the same day, after the Initial assessment, Structured Observation appointment and clinical team discussion. 

The clinician will explain the assessment outcome, what it means and any recommended next steps. 

There are three possible outcomes: 

• Autism diagnosed. 
• Autism not diagnosed. 
• Inconclusive outcome. 

Sometimes the team may not have enough information to reach a clear conclusion. If this happens, the clinician will explain why and talk through what happens next.  

Yes. 

After the assessment, you’ll receive a written report explaining: 

• The information considered. 
• The assessment findings. 
• The outcome. 
• Any recommended next steps. 

You’ll also receive information and resources that may be helpful after the assessment. 

The clinician will explain what the diagnosis means for the individual child or young person and discuss any recommendations. 

You’ll receive information and resources to help you think about support that may be useful at home, in education and in everyday life. 

If autism is diagnosed, a Post-Diagnosis Review with the CYP Autism Assessment Practitioner will also be offered around six weeks after the assessment. 

Not receiving an autism diagnosis does not mean that the child or young person’s experiences or needs are not important. 

The clinician will explain the assessment findings and discuss any recommendations or next steps that may still be helpful. 

A Post-Diagnosis Review is not offered where autism is not diagnosed.  

Sometimes there’s not enough information for the clinical team to reach a clear conclusion. 

If this happens, the clinician will explain why the outcome is inconclusive and discuss any recommended next steps. 

You’ll have an opportunity to ask questions about what this means. 

A Post-Diagnosis Review is not offered following an inconclusive outcome. 

If the child or young person is diagnosed as autistic, we will offer a Post-Diagnosis Review with the CYP Autism Assessment Practitioner around six weeks after the assessment. 

This gives you time to read the assessment report, think about the diagnosis and note down any questions. 

The appointment can be used to talk about: 

• Anything in the report you would like explained. 
• The diagnosis. 
• Recommended next steps. 
• Support that may be helpful. 
• Questions that have come up since the assessment. 

The Post-Diagnosis Review is only offered where autism has been diagnosed. 

We’ll provide information and resources based on the child or young person’s assessment outcome and individual needs. 

This may include information to help with support at home, in education and in everyday life. 

You can also find practical guidance and further resources in our Information Hub.