What to expect from a telephone autism assessment

[crimblecrumbleofcourse]

I have been pretty sure my oldest boy (nearly 9) is autistic since he was very young. His previous primary school didn't support my concerns (and actively sabotaged a referral to CAMHs - I did a subject access request and saw what the teacher had written on her form which she had refused to let me see).

The new primary school of the last 18 months (due to house move) have been amazing. They identified issues very quickly without me giving them the heads up (I wanted a fresh pair of eyes on the situation).

So with their support we now have a CAMHs appointment shortly. Previously had a triage to get on the pathway. This next appointment should have been face to face but for obvious reasons is now over the phone.

School have provided a comprehensive report and I have kept detailed records of events and behaviours.

What can I expect from this appointment? How can they assess behaviours/social interactions etc accurately over the phone? Anyone who has been down the ASC pathway, how many assessments does it take to get a diagnosis?

Thank you MNetters :-)

I'm a Speech Therapist. Our autism assessments are taking place face to face. I can imagine the parent interview bit could be done by phone but the child bit would be tricky. Where we are, you can receive a diagnosis after one diagnistic appointment if it's clear cut. These are long appointments with two professionals. I can't imagine they will do that in this case though. Is there a plan for face to face later on?

Thanks @BendingSpoons
It's not been clear what the pathway in this area looks like.
During the telephone triage the CAMHs lady said she had no hesitation referring him in and the very experienced school SENCO said she would be stunned if didn't get a diagnosis of autism. I guess it's taken 5 years to get this far so I don't want us to fall at this hurdle due to CV19 restrictions!

Hopeful little bump for any other experiences

Hi- I work for CAMHS but not a neurodevelopmental team. I would imagine the phone appointment will be for an interview with you about Your child’s developmental history and probably some Autism-specific symptom questionnaires. They would also need a face to face Structured observation Session with your child to complete the assessment though. I can’t see how it could be done without direct observation. Good luck!

I went privately and had the parents interview by phone - when X was 2, did they do Y etc. It wasn't a problem to explain behaviours etc by phone.

Of course I would still want an in person assessment for the child but there is a lot of bsckground info needed too.

Thank you both. My son is 'subtle' and can mask very well so on one hand I feel a telephone consultation means the mental health nurse isn't thrown by his ability to fit in at times but also without schools support I feel like 'that mum'. Barn door behaviours are possibly easier for diagnosis but not so straight forward for the child and family involved.

It sounds like a long road. I would hope you will have a much more positive experience explaining the subtle masking behaviours to a trained professional than to his previous school. Especially now you seem to have his current school on board. IME the children who present in a subtler way often don't get diagnosed before 7/8ish, as that is when language and social situations become more subtle. I hope it goes well for you.