ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder

What is autism?

Autistic people may act in a different way to other people.

Autistic people may:

• find it hard to communicate and interact with other people
• find it hard to understand how other people think or feel
• find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable
• get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events
• take longer to understand information
• do or think the same things over and over

Autism is not an illness

Being autistic does not mean you have an illness or disease. It means your brain works differently from other people. It's something you're born with. Signs of autism might be noticed when you're very young, or not until you're older. If you're autistic, you're autistic your whole life. Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a "cure". But some people need support to help them with certain things.

Autistic people can live a full life

Being autistic does not have to stop you from having a good life. Like everyone, autistic people have things they're good at as well as things they struggle with. Being autistic does not mean you can never make friends, have relationships or get a job. But you might need extra help with these things.

Autism is different for everyone

Autism is a spectrum. This means everybody with autism is different. Some autistic people need little or no support. Others may need help from a parent or carer every day.

Some people use other names for autism

There are other names for autism used by some people, such as:

• autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the medical name for autism.
• Asperger's (or Asperger syndrome) is used by some people to describe autistic people with average or above average intelligence.

It's not clear what causes autism

Nobody knows what causes autism, or if it has a cause. It can affect people in the same family. So it may sometimes be passed on to a child by their parents.

Autism is:

• not caused by bad parenting.
• not caused by vaccines, such as the MMR vaccine.
• not linked to diet.
• not an infection you can spread to other people.

Autistic people can have any level of intelligence

Some autistic people have average or above-average intelligence. Some autistic people have a learning disability. This means they may find it hard to look after themselves and need help with daily life.

Autistic people may have other conditions

Autistic people often have other conditions, such as:

• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
• dyslexia.
• anxiety.
• depression.
• epilepsy.

Right to choose

If you reside in England and are covered by the NHS, you are now legally entitled to select your mental healthcare provider and team.

This crucial right empowers you to opt for alternative providers if you find the waiting time for your ADHD assessment too lengthy. Providers must offer services within the NHS in England.

The Right to Choose in Mental Health is a relatively new option, introduced in 2018, and not all patients, GPs, or clinicians may be familiar with it and its functioning. We have provided an explanation specifically designed for those undergoing the ADHD Assessment process. See below.

(Additionally, we offer a downloadable support letter for individuals whose GP initially declined their request.

Further information can be accessed through the NHS link on NHS choices: https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/your-choices-in-the-nhs/)

Adult Pathway

Patients have the Right to Choose when the following conditions are met:

• the NHS practice is in England (different rules apply for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• the General Practitioner has agreed to make a clinically appropriate outpatient referral

(Of note: The decision to make a referral is the GPs responsibility and separate from the Right to Choose. Right to Choose is a patient’s right to decide where that referral is to).

The above is designed to be wide-ranging in its application to patient choice. However. there are certain restrictions on a patient’s Right to Choose that you should be aware of. Patients cannot use Right to Choose if they are:

• already receiving mental health care following an elective referral for the same condition.
• referred to a service that is commissioned by a local authority, for example, a drug and alcohol service (unless commissioned under a Section 75 agreement). If a person has self-referred to a service, this is fine.
• accessing urgent or emergency (crisis) care.
• accessing services delivered through a primary care contract.
• in highly secure psychiatric services.
• detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.
• detained in a secure setting. This includes people in or on temporary release from prisons, courts, secure children’s homes, certain secure training centres, immigration removal centres or young offender institutions.
• serving as a member of the armed forces (family members in England have the same rights as other residents of England).

There are restrictions on who the patient can direct their care to. Patients cannot refer to just any provider. The provider must:

• have a commissioning contract with any Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) or NHS England for the required service.
• have the service and team led by a consultant or a mental healthcare professional.

Common GP queries include:

• does an IFR (Individual Funding Request) need to be in place? It does not.
• does the CCG need to be asked for permission? It does not.

Right to Choose Providers – Autism Assessments

We are aware of the following Right to Choose providers.

If you are aware of any more then please let us know. 

Accepting new referrals:

ADHD 360 provide both Right to Choose and Private ADHD Assessments.

They started providing their Right to Choose service in mid-2021.

April 2024 Update: They are open for Right to Choose bookings. We are being told the wait is the following:

• Private adult assessments: 7 days
• Private child assessments: 3 weeks
• NHS: 2 weeks (contracted activity)
• Right to Choose (RTC): 11-14 weeks

ProblemShared is “a practitioner-led, CQC-regulated online mind health provider, working with a community of expert practitioners to broaden access to the highest quality care for people across the UK.   

We work in partnership with institutions such as the NHS, insurance companies and universities to deliver NICE-informed therapy, neurodevelopmental assessments and post-diagnostic care for adults,

children and young people. 

Our post-diagnostic support includes ADHD medication, where appropriate. We are also very proud to be the first Right to Choose provider in the UK to offer psychoeducation workshops. Our psychoeducation workshops are a space for clients and their families to learn more about themselves and their diagnoses“. 

April 2024 Update: Their wait time is estimated to be 6 months.

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Psychiatry-uk.com may be the largest provider of right-to-choose ADHD assessments in the UK. Their assessments are predominately done by video call,

which has become commonplace since the start of the pandemic. 

April 2024 Update: The current wait list for diagnosis for new adult patients is estimated to be over 18 months. If you opt for medication, then there is a secondary queue that is estimated to be over 6 months although this is subject to change due to the ongoing medication shortages.

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Dr J and Colleagues provide both Right to Choose and Private ADHD and Autism Assessments. They are a small provider and tell us that means they can work through the funding provision from the NHS particularly quickly.

April 2024 Update: We are currently accepting Right to Choose bookings for both ADHD and ASD assessments and treatments, with an estimated waiting time of 8 to 12 weeks for either service.

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Clinical Partners provide both Right to Choose and Private ADHD and Autism Assessments.

It is important to note that Clinical Partners provide an ADHD Assessment Service but they do not offer a medication titration service.

This is, therefore a great fit for individuals who want an ADHD Assessment but know that medication isn’t something they want to pursue.

To those thinking about the option for an Assessment with Clinical Partners and titration/medication elsewhere, you need to be aware that we are not aware of any NHS Right to Choose providers, or private providers, who offer a titration-only service. We only know of providers who require undertaking their Assessment before offering titration as an option.

April 2024 Update: For patients who submitted new referrals after January 1st, 2024, the current waiting period remains approximately 30 weeks, roughly equivalent to seven months. Patients whose referrals were received before this date can expect to hear from us shortly with further information.

 For children and young people’s ADHD assessments, we are not currently accepting new referrals. We ask that anyone with an existing referral contact us directly at rtc@clinical-partners.co.uk or 0203 761 7029 for more information. 

For up-to-date waiting time information, please contact 020 3761 7029, or email rtc@clinical–partners.co.uk

We do not currently offer medication titration.

However, this is something we’re looking at introducing in the future.

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Evolve Psychology has two clinics based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire and Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They offer Right To Choose assessments for ADHD and Autism (or both as a combined neurodevelopmental assessment) for children/ young people up to the age of 19 who are in education. They do not have a Right to choose service for adults (although they do have a private adult service for ADHD and Autism Services). They can accept referrals England-wide. They prefer face-to-face assessments but might be able to offer online assessments depending on individual circumstances if the team feel it would be appropriate.

April 2024 Update: They are at 24-month waiting times. Due to high demand, they are only able to take referrals for 0-19-year-olds but do take private and Insurance referrals for adults.