Should You Get A PRIVATE Autism Assessment?

So there is a lot of misinformation out there about getting a private Autism Assessment. Things like “schools don’t accept private assessments” or “They’re not the same standards as the NHS” and we’re here to clear a lot of this up. In this article, we’re going to discuss why most people should consider getting a Private Autism Assessment.

If you’re already thinking of going private for an Autism Assessment but want more information, then why not book a free clinical appointment with a qualified Autism specialist at CareGen here.

Saves a lot of TIME!

The biggest reason that a lot of families go private for an Autism Assessment is due to the horrendous waiting times for an Autism Assessment within the NHS. In some areas, this can be up to 4 years for an assessment. To put this into perspective, a child could be referred for an Autism assessment when in Reception and not be seen until they are in Year 4. For many families, this is just way too much time wasted, especially when some schools struggle to implement any strategies without a formal diagnosis.

This is where Private Autism Assessments come in. The waiting times are far less, and you can usually be seen within weeks. For many families and individuals, this means that they can access support quicker and with little disruption to their daily lives.

“The standards aren’t the same as the NHS”

You’re right the standards aren’t the same between NHS and Private Autism Assessments! This is because in most cases, Private Assessments will offer a lot more than an NHS service can, due to the time freedoms these companies have, in comparison to NHS services. This often means that you have more access to clinicians within private services and they often spend more time on cases than if they were working in the NHS. In fact, many professionals that work in private Autism Assessment services, also work within NHS Autism services.

In addition, because there is the added element of you paying for the service. Most private clinicians use this as a driving factor to provide the best possible service. Therefore, if you mix this belief with more time to really get to know you or your loved one, then you can expect a higher standard of care in comparison to other services.

“School don’t accept Private Diagnosis”.

 Sadly, this is true in some schools, however this should be challenged immediately! In my many years of working in NHS Autism services, there were times when we would get phone calls from families in this exact situation. Our response was always, for them to tell school that if we accept private assessments then they should to. If the school was still insistent on getting an NHS assessment, we would then send the school a letter saying that we accept the private diagnosis, and that they should treat the diagnosis the same as an NHS diagnosis.

This is a common misconception that Autism Assessments need to be from the NHS otherwise school won’t accept this. However, in most cases, schools are happy to accept any diagnosis if it is from a qualified Autism clinician. In addition, many NHS services are now outsourcing their Autism Assessments to private companies so this issue should become less common in years to come.

Thank you for reading this article by CareGen. If you are considering going private for you/your loved ones Autism Assessment then why not book a FREE clinical appointment with an Autism Specialist at CareGen today by clicking here