NHS Right to Choose:
Children and Young People’s Autism Assessment Service
Psychiatry UK’s Children and Young People’s Autism Service provides NHS-funded autism assessments through Right to Choose for children and young people aged 8 to 18 years.
This page is written for parents and guardians of children aged 8 to 10. It explains how the service works for this age group, how to ask your child’s GP for a referral and what happens next.
Who is this service for ?
Our Children and Young People’s Autism Service is for young people who:
- Are aged 8 to 18 years.*
- Are registered, and remain registered, with a GP in England.
- Are living in England while receiving care through the service.
- Meet the clinical requirements for an autism assessment.
- Can take part in a fully online assessment, with your support and reasonable adjustments where appropriate.
If the young person is aged 11 to 18 years, we have a version of this information written mainly for young people.
[Right to Choose Autism – Ages 11–18]
* Please note: If you are over 17 years and 9 months, you will be referred to our Adult Autism Service.
What is NHS Right to Choose ?
If your child is registered with a GP in England and their GP thinks a specialist autism assessment may be appropriate, NHS Right to Choose may allow you to choose which healthcare provider they are referred to.
This means you may be able to ask for your child to be referred to an independent provider, such as Psychiatry UK, instead of a local NHS service.
Your child’s GP will first decide whether a specialist referral is clinically appropriate.
Right to Choose is available in England only. It is not currently available in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Will we have to pay ?
No.
If your child’s referral to Psychiatry UK is accepted through NHS Right to Choose, their autism assessment will be funded by the NHS.
Psychiatry UK is an independent healthcare provider, but care provided through Right to Choose is NHS-funded and is not private treatment.
How do I ask for a Right to Choose autism referral for my child?
1. Prepare for the GP appointment
You do not need to complete any Psychiatry UK forms before speaking to your child’s GP.
It may help to think about what has led you to consider an autism assessment and how your child’s experiences affect everyday life.
For example, you may want to talk about their experiences with:
- Home and family life.
- School.
- Friendships and social situations.
- Communication.
- Interests and routines.
- Changes to routine.
- Sounds, lights, textures or other sensory experiences.
- Emotions and wellbeing.
- Everyday activities.
Your child’s own experiences are important too. Where appropriate, you can help them share what they think and how things feel for them.
2. Speak to your child’s GP
Talk to the GP about why you think an autism assessment may be helpful for your child.
If the GP agrees that an autism assessment is appropriate, you can ask them to refer your child to Psychiatry UK through Right to Choose.
You cannot self-refer your child to our NHS Right to Choose service. A GP must send the referral to us.
3. Your child’s GP sends the referral
If the GP agrees to refer your child, they will send the referral directly to Psychiatry UK.
Once we receive it, we aim to process the referral within around two weeks.
If any information is missing, we may need to contact the GP before we can accept the referral.
4. How will I know if my child’s referral has been accepted?
Once your child’s referral has been processed and accepted, we’ll contact you by email and/or text message and explain what happens next.
This will include information about setting up and using our MedQare patient portal and anything you need to do before your child’s assessment can be booked.
You do not need to contact us to check the progress of an accepted referral. We will let you know when there is an update or something you need to do.
For a full step-by-step guide to what happens after referral:
What to Expect from Your Child’s Autism Assessment – Ages 8–10
How long will my child have to wait?
There is currently no waiting list for our Children and Young People’s Autism Assessment Service.
Once your child’s referral has been accepted, we’ll explain what information we need before their assessment can go ahead.
Appointment availability can change, so we’ll provide the latest information as your child’s referral progresses.
Is an online service right for my child?
Psychiatry UK is a fully online service.
This means:
- We will communicate with you through our MedQare patient portal.
- Forms and questionnaires will be completed online.
- Your child’s assessment appointments will take place by secure video consultation.
- A parent or guardian will need to take part in parts of the assessment process.
Your child will need to be able to take part in an online assessment, with your support and any adjustments they need.
If your child has a disability, sensory need, learning need, communication need or anything else that may affect their assessment, please tell us.
We can discuss reasonable adjustments – changes or extra support that may make it easier for your child to take part.
Find out more about accessible communications and assessment adjustments
How will my child be involved?
Your child is an important part of their assessment.
We will involve them in a way that suits their age and understanding and give them opportunities to share their own experiences and views.
There is no particular way they need to behave or answer questions. We want to understand your child as they are.
You can find more information about how to help your child prepare in our step-by-step assessment guide.
What to Expect from Your Child’s Autism Assessment – Ages 8–10
How will my child’s information be used?
We will explain what information we need, why we need it and who we may need to share it with.
As part of the assessment, we will ask your child’s school or another professional who knows them well to provide information. We will ask for the appropriate consent before contacting them.
There may be times when we need to share information without consent. This would only happen if we need to help keep your child or someone else safe, or because we have a legal duty to do so.
What happens during the assessment?
Your child’s autism assessment brings together information from you, your child and other people who know them well.
Rather than repeat the full process here, we have created a separate step-by-step guide explaining:
- What you need to do before the assessment.
- Forms and information we need.
- How appointments are booked.
- What happens during the assessment.
- How the outcome is reached.
- What happens afterwards.
Find out more
You may also find these resources helpful:
What to Expect from Your Child’s Autism Assessment
