Autism Assessment for Children and Young People in Warrington
Seeing the world through their eyes.
Comprehensive, NICE-compliant autism assessments. We look beyond the behaviour to understand your child’s unique strengths and sensory needs.
Validation First
Beyond diagnosis, insight, understanding and support
As a parent, you know your child best. You may have noticed they experience the world differently; perhaps they find noisy environments overwhelming, struggle with unwritten social rules, or have intense passions that bring them joy but set them apart.
Our goal is to give you a robust, positive framework to help your child thrive at home and in school.
Why Our Assessment Process is Different
A comprehensive, multidisciplinary autism assessment
Our face-to-face autism assessments use a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together expertise in Clinical Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy. Our team considers developmental history, communication, social interaction and sensory processing to build a rounded understanding of your child’s strengths, differences and support needs.
Our diagnostic reports are generally accepted by NHS services and can provide valuable evidence when seeking reasonable adjustments and support, including as part of EHCP and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) applications.
Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT)
Every assessment involves a Clinical Psychologist working alongside a specialist Speech and Language Therapist or Occupational Therapist. Together, they bring their expertise to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment.
Sensory Understanding
Your child’s sensory experiences are explored using the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM-2), reviewed by a suitably trained clinician, such as a Speech and Language Therapist or Occupational Therapist. This helps us understand their sensory differences and everyday needs.
Reasonable Adjustments
Our reports include personalised recommendations and can be used to evidence need and to gain reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act, in both schools and universities.
School Collaboration
We gather information from you and, where appropriate, your child’s school or education setting. This helps us understand their strengths and needs across different environments, rather than relying only on what we see during the assessment.
The Assessment Pathway
Beyond personal validation, a formal diagnosis unlocks legal protections and tangible support.
Initial Information & Screening
We review your initial booking forms to confirm that this is the most appropriate pathway for you. This helps ensure we can provide the right service and expertise to meet your needs. If we feel your needs may be better supported elsewhere, we will contact you to discuss this and, where possible, signpost you to more suitable services.
Developmental History Questionnaire
Before the appointment, we gather information about your child’s development, communication, strengths, needs and everyday experiences through our Developmental History Questionnaire. We also gather sensory information and, where appropriate, information from your child’s school or education setting.
Our clinical team reviews this information before the assessment. If we need to understand anything in more detail, a clinician may contact you before the appointment.
In person assessment session (ADOS-2)
Your child will attend a face-to-face appointment at our Warrington clinic, led by a Clinical Psychologist and accompanied by a Speech and Language Therapist or Occupational Therapist.
The appointment includes the ADOS-2, which uses conversation and age-appropriate activities to help our clinicians understand more about your child’s social communication, interaction and individual presentation. It isn’t a test and there are no right or wrong answers.
Multidisciplinary Review
Our multidisciplinary approach draws on expertise in Clinical Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy. We consider all the information gathered throughout the assessment, including developmental history, sensory processing and ADOS-2 observations, to build a rounded understanding of your child and reach a diagnostic decision. If further information is needed, we will explain this and agree the next steps with you.
Outcome, Report & Recommendations
Where the clinical evidence is clear, we may be able to discuss the outcome with you on the day. Sometimes the team may need further time or information before reaching a decision, and we will explain what happens next. You will receive a comprehensive diagnostic report, normally within 4–6 weeks, bringing together the assessment findings and personalised recommendations to help support your child at home, in education and in everyday life.
What do we actually assess?
The Whole Child.
Using DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, our assessments focus on the following key areas:
Social Communication
How your child understands and uses language. We consider tone of voice, turn taking, ability to adjust language in different contexts, interpreting implied meanings, humour or sarcasm.
Social Interaction
How your child relates to peers, understands unwritten rules, and manages friendships.
Flexibility of Thought
Your child’s ability to adapt to change and handle the unexpected. Do they display repetitive behaviours or restrictive interests?
Sensory Processing
How your child processes sensory information (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, movement, and body position), including how they notice, respond to, and filter input.
Emotional Regulation
How your child is able to recognise, manage, and express their emotions, including their responses to stress, frustration, and feeling overwhelmed.
Areas we serve
Our specialist clinic is in Warrington, within easy reach of much of the North West. If you are travelling to us, we have dedicated pages covering travel and local information for autism assessments in Liverpool and autism assessments in Manchester. You may also want to read about autism assessments for adults, or about booking autism and ADHD assessments together.
Questions Parents Ask Us
Our comprehensive autism assessments cost £1,900. This includes a face-to-face assessment at our Warrington clinic, a detailed developmental history, sensory assessment and a full multidisciplinary team (MDT) review involving experienced clinicians, including a Clinical Psychologist.
The fee also includes diagnostic feedback, a formal diagnosis where appropriate, and a comprehensive report with personalised recommendations for support.
While some providers offer lower-cost assessments, our approach ensures a thorough, evidence-based and neuro-affirmative assessment that considers the whole person, not just a diagnostic checklist.
We make it as low-stress as possible, most children and adults report that they find the assessment process enjoyable. Our Warrington centre is sensory-friendly, and the ADOS-2 is delivered via a relaxed, non directive and low pressure approach.
We recognise that some children may mask or adapt their communication and behaviour, particularly in unfamiliar settings. Our clinicians are experienced in recognising masking and consider much more than what is observed during the appointment. Developmental history, sensory experiences and information from home and school, where available, all help us build a fuller understanding of your child.
Our clinicians have extensive professional and lived experience in neurodivergence. They are able to integrate various sources of information and apply clinical formulations to best understand a child or young person’s presentation. After your child’s assessment you will receive a detailed report explaining both their strengths and needs. Even if your child doesn’t meet the DSM-5 criteria for autism, we will always guide you on next steps.
Our assessments are completed in line with NICE guidance using recognised standardised assessment tools. The report can be shared with NHS professionals, schools, universities, employers and other organisations where evidence of need may be required. It may support applications for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and requests for reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act.
We gather information from parents and carers and, where appropriate and available, from schools or other education settings. This helps us produce a rounded report that reflects your child’s strengths, needs and experiences across different environments.
Yes. Information from school forms an important part of the assessment process, as it helps us understand how your child presents across different environments. We gather structured information from both parents and school staff, alongside our own observations and assessment findings, to build a comprehensive picture of your child’s strengths, needs and experiences.
We understand that some parents worry that school may not see the same difficulties they observe at home, particularly where a child is masking or working hard to manage their challenges in the classroom. This is something our clinicians are very familiar with. We do not rely on information from one source alone. Instead, we consider information from parents, school, direct assessment and clinical observations together when reaching our conclusions.