How to get an Autism Assessment QUICKLY!

As you may know, national waiting times within the NHS for Autism Assessments are averaging 2-4 years. For context, this means that a child can be referred when they are 5 years old and may not be seen until they are 9 years old. However, what if we told you there was a way that you can jump the que? Many families aren’t aware of the different options to be seen quicker, and we’re here to tell you about a few of them.

Need to speak to an Autism Specialist? Why not book a FREE Clinical Appointment by clicking here and booking a time and date that suits you?

Priority list

This is probably the best kept secret of all time. Did you know that every Autism service has a priority criterion and if you meet one of these criteria’s, then you’re automatically bumped up the list. Examples of this could be if there is an active child protection case involving your child or if they are a looked after child. In some areas, one criterion could be if your child is about to transition into primary or secondary school, as to provide support for this difficult time. The best part is, each service is different so some may have several criteria that you or your child meets, which means you are seen faster.

Nevertheless, services won’t just offer you this information unless you ask for it. This is why we always advise individuals and parents to at least ask for a copy of your local Autism services priority criteria. It gives you the opportunity to have a look at this and decipher whether you meet any of them. If you do, then this could save you so much time and headache of not waiting years for an Autism assessment.

Accessible Private Assessments

Now I know what you might be thinking! “I can’t afford to go private” or “who has that kind of money just lying around?”. However, what if we told you that there are many ways to access private services without having to break the bank? Since CareGen was founded, we aimed to make Autism assessments as easily accessible as possible for the ordinary family. This is why we are still one of the cheapest private Autism assessment services in the UK, however this still isn’t enough! So that is why we are now offering pay monthly finance for all our services. This allows families to access our services, whilst chunking payments into affordable monthly payments. By doing this, many families are now jumping the que and getting access to autism assessments far quicker than they would have if they had waited for the NHS assessment. If you would like to know how much our services would cost per month then click here!

One misconception that a lot of families have is that they will somehow miss out on future NHS services if they opt to go private. This is false as many NHS Autism services offload their waiting lists onto private Autism assessment services. This means that many of the Autism assessments that are carried out within the NHS are from private services that have been commissioned to support with the massive waiting times. Therefore, there is an understanding that if the private assessments follow NICE guidelines, they will be accepted by the NHS and therefore give you access to the NHS post-diagnosis.

Need to speak to an Autism Specialist? Why not book a FREE Clinical Appointment by clicking here and booking a time and date that suits you?