Guidance for parents considering an ASC assessment for their child.

 

There are two main pathways to request a referral for an ASC assessment.

· The first route is through school. This is a lengthy process managed by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). It begins with the completion of two forms outlining your observations. To help manage expectations, one recent referral took two years before CAMHS agreed to assess the student. In that case, CAMHS advised parents to expect a further two-year wait before the assessment would take place.

· As the CAMHS waiting lists for assessment are lengthy, many parents are pursuing an alternative route to achieve an assessment for ASC via ‘Right to Choose’ through their GP. More details can be found here: How to request an autism assessment. We understand a shared care agreement is needed with your GP who will be able to help more with this. Although the GP makes the referral, the assessor contacts school so we can contribute observations to the diagnosis process. Waiting lists through the Right to Choose pathway are still lengthy, although not as lengthy as through the CAMHS pathway.

 

 

If you decide the CAMHS referral pathway through the school is preferable, please contact skennedy@bottishamvc.org.