Adult autism assessments

We’ve broken down our autism assessment process into steps to make it easier to understand. Here's what you can expect from your journey.

1. Enrolment

First, you need to be referred to our service by your GP. Once this has happened, you will be sent some digital forms to complete before the assessment can take place.

Ahead of your autism assessment, a form will also be sent to you to give to your nominated 'informant'. An informant is a person appointed by you who knows you very well. Your informant should be able to describe any potential signs of autism that you displayed in your early years, or that you display currently, and how this impacts your functioning.  

These digital forms are designed to provide your clinician with contextual information about any challenges you may be facing, enabling them to spend more time discussing what is important to you during your actual assessment.  

Once you have submitted these completed forms to us, you will be added to our wait list for an assessment. Please note that we cannot add you to our wait list until all pre-assessment forms have been received.

2. Assessment

Autism Assessment & Informant Interview (60-120180 mins) - these are two separate interviews. The diagnostic outcome follows in a separate meeting.

3. Report

Within 4-6 weeks of your assessment, you will receive a detailed written report complete with recommendations, resources and information about the next steps.

4. Post-diagnostic care

After completing your online assessment, you will receive your diagnosis and will be invited to consider your post-diagnostic support options.

ProblemShared can deliver post-diagnostic care to our clients who are diagnosed as autistic if these services are supported by their NHS service, university, or insurance provider.

To be eligible for our service you must have access to an internet connection in a private place.

You must also have access to a laptop or computer with a working webcam, and be willing to have your camera on for the duration of your assessment sessions.

Please note that a tablet which is at least 10” in size and can be propped up and used hands-free can also be used to access the service, but handheld devices such as mobile phones cannot. This is because our clinicians need to see enough of your face and torso throughout the assessment in order to make an accurate diagnosis. Unfortunately, a mobile phone screen does not facilitate this effectively. Furthermore, notifications pinging through on a mobile phone can be distracting and interrupt the assessment.

If you require accessibility support, please reach out to a member of our team explaining the nature of your requirements. We endeavour to make our service as inclusive as possible, and will do everything in our power to ensure you feel confident and comfortable throughout your journey.

The whole assessment process can vary in duration from client to client, but typically it lasts between 2 and 4 months, from your enrolment into our service all the way through to receiving your diagnostic report.

Before your autism assessment can take place, there are several digital forms that you need to complete. The forms should be filled out by the individual seeking a diagnosis and other people relevant to the assessment process. These people include an appointed individual known as an 'informant', who can provide further information to clinicians that will contribute to an assessment outcome.

There are many helpful resources to guide you through the process, including support articles and videos that explain how to complete your digital forms, who to choose as your informant, and how to navigate your assessment sessions with confidence.

As part of our pre-assessment process, we look at any pre-existing conditions a client might have and ensure that these would not impact our ability to assess for autism in an online environment.  

If at any point during the assessment the clinician feels that there may be other explanations for behaviours reported or observed, this would be taken to a multi-disciplinary meeting, and a plan would be formulated about the required next steps before a diagnosis would be given.

Your clinician will aim to give you the outcome of your assessment either at the end of your assessment, or later the same day.  

In some more complex cases, this is not possible. If this applies to you, your clinician will explain the reasoning to you, and a further follow-up call will be made to give you the outcome at another time.  

Within 4-6 weeks of your assessment, you will receive your full diagnostic report, which will clearly show the reasons for our decision about a diagnosis or non-diagnosis. You will also be given some recommendations for support.  

If 6 weeks have passed and you have not received your report, please contact help@problemshared.net.

After completing your online assessment, you will receive your diagnosis and will be invited to consider your post-diagnostic support options.

For clients who receive an autism diagnosis, we offer psychoeducation group sessions as our post-diagnostic support. Our psychoeducation group sessions are a safe space where you can learn about your diagnosis and what it means for you, in the company of experienced practitioners and other newly diagnosed individuals embarking on a similar journey.

ProblemShared aims to provide the tools to those who are newly diagnosed with autism to understand their own identity and navigate life following a diagnosis.

Our psychoeducation groups are part of your post-diagnostic support, and are an opportunity to process your emotional response to your diagnosis in a safe, structured environment.

There are 4 weekly 90-minute sessions which allow the opportunity for reflection, discussion and collaboration.

The sessions are grouped by age (parents of children aged 7-12 years, parents of adolescents aged 13-17 years, adults aged 18+), with 8-10 people per group. They cover various topics and are supplemented with other materials, such as webinars, reading materials and signposting to trusted sources of further information.

Yes. There are many helpful articles and videos available in the Resources section of your client dashboard, and on the ProblemShared website, to support you ahead of your assessment.

You will receive an email with the details of your assessment sessions, including the date and time of each one, and the necessary links to meet your clinician online. You will also be able to see the details of each upcoming assessment session on your ProblemShared client dashboard.