In consultation with you, ConnectBlue takes a personalised approach to autism and ADHD, offering bespoke assessments that are person centred, flexible and tailored to the individual.
As part of our approach to autism and ADHD, we may visit you at home or school, or meet with you online or in clinic, depending on what works best.
We cover most of Kent and South London for home visits and also have access to clinic rooms in Sevenoaks. Please contact us for more details.
We use the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO). This is a detailed semi-structured interview designed to elicit a picture of the whole person from early years to present day functioning. This clinical assessment tool can be used to provide a profile of the development, behaviour and skills relevant to assessing Autism Spectrum Disorders. Information is gathered from informants and then evaluated within the context of a clinical assessment undertaken with the individual themselves (including additional clinical assessment tools) to ascertain if the diagnostic criteria is met.
Completing the full DISCO can take 2 hours or more. The approach taken is relaxed and informal, giving you the opportunity to tell your story from start to finish and to really explain any strengths and difficulties so far. We go at your pace, encouraging full explanation and as much detail as you wish to give. Clients often comment on how they finally feel listened to and how good it has been to ‘tell their story’.
We tailor our observations depending on your need and what we agree will be most useful for you or your child. This may be carried out by a psychologist or speech and language therapist or another professional, but the aim is always to develop our understanding of the individual and their strengths and areas of difficulty.
This can include the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) as well as additional observations and/or assessments. For example, we may complete speech and language assessments to examine understanding and use of language, or a cognitive assessment.
We may also gather information from, or speak with, other people in your life (teachers, managers, friends) if we agreed that this will be helpful in gaining a broader understanding of your needs or those of your child.
After the assessment we will feedback our conclusions to you and discuss any recommendations that we have considered. During feedback we will talk through our assessment findings and recommendations, answering any questions and discussing ways forward. This part of the assessment is about understanding your child and how to help them, creating more understanding for those working with them, and if/when appropriate, to aid understanding of themselves.
You will then receive a full assessment report outlining all the information we gathered, the direct assessment, the diagnostic conclusion and recommendations. The report will discuss the profile of behaviours: for ASD this may include specific profiles that we have discussed for example, Asperger’s Syndrome, Pathological Demand Avoidance, Women and Girls etc. For ADHD this will include if the presentation is predominately inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive or combined.
Undertaking an assessment does not guarantee a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Even if a diagnosis is not given, you will still receive a comprehensive report including a profile of strengths, needs, and full recommendations. We will help you to develop a fuller understanding of your child and what might help support them.
We will offer you a follow up consultation with one of our team to discuss any questions you may have following on from the assessment. You may for example wish to discuss more about Autism or ADHD, find out about local support groups or discuss some of the recommendations that were made.
If you’re considering an autism and ADHD assessment for yourself or your child, we’re here to help. Speak to our team for a free, no-obligation conversation by phone or email, and we’ll help you understand your options.