Private asd assessment for dd13 in the southeast - Lorna Wing? Or elsewhere

[NautaOcts]

Hi there we’re seeking an asd assessment for dd13 who I suspect might have high functioning autism. I really want somewhere/someone who specialises in girls with autism or has experience of that as my understanding is that it’s still a fairly emerging area and girls can present very differently from boys.

Has anyone got any recommendations in the hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex or london area? I have approached Lorna Wing but not sure what to think so far. It’s £2950 for the assessment which is in person, I submitted the referral in July and they have taken 2 months to review it and say it’s an appropriate referral and we can be added to the waiting list which is another 9-10 months.
They’ve also sent me a questionnaire for school which feels really inappropriate for a secondary child and I feel quite embarrassed giving it to her form tutor eg some questions are about whether she can ‘share’ and what she likes to ‘play with’. Would it be that hard to have a different questionnaire for primary and secondary?

Would welcome any recommendations and experiences. Happy to stick with Lorna Wing if it is the best option but feel bit anxious about the cost and the wait.

Lorna Wing is regarded hugely positively within the NHS and by schools in general, which is helpful as sadly private diagnoses often are not (despite clinicians having the exact same qualifications). Getting a diagnosis is just the start, to be honest.

If you would like a SLT assessment, which can give you a fairly solid steer on whether you are on the right path with this, then someone called Helen Pearson has been amazing with my daughter.

www.kids-communication.co.uk

She can't diagnose, but she will be able to pretty much tell you if she believes assessment is important for your child. And she's in the Sussex area.

It would also be worth asking your GP to refer your daughter to Lorna Wing, if you have evidence (a report from HP would be some such, but if you have any school contributions that could also work). Some NHS referrals are accepted and an older girl, who has clearly presented subtly enough to be missed, may be one of them.

Thank you that’s very encouraging and helpful.

My dd was recently diagnosed at Lorna Wing. They were excellent and did comment that her ability to mask was high, combined with good support from school and parents, which is how she got to 16 before we sought assessment. The report was thorough and came with reemded next steps to help her.