Healios assessment for ASC

[Itsrainingatlast]

DS13 has been on the CAMHS waiting list for an ASC assessment for about 20 months. I got a letter from them last week saying if I wanted, they would pass the referral to Healios, who are a private company. I’ve now got an appointment for Monday next week!
It’s online, 3 hrs with me and DS, then I have another 3 hr appointment on my own on Wednesday.
Just wondered if anyone else had their child’s assessment done by Healios and what it was like? So far it feels very efficient and they were really helpful when I spoke to them…CAMHS told me I’d be waiting another 6 months or so on the NHS.
Thank you.

@Itsrainingatlast
How did this work out for you and DS?
Just been offered appointment after over 2 years on waiting list, and wondering whether to accept the services of Healios or whether to wait for the regular NHS ASC team to catch up, in case there are any advantages to waiting?

@EveSix
They were excellent. Very straightforward, professional and friendly. Very thorough, about nine hours of sessions in all. His diagnosis came with a very long report. I’d highly recommend them!

We were also offered Healios for our DD assessment and they were amazing. Could not have asked for better. Very quick for the appointments to come through and the report afterwards was very thorough

@Itsrainingatlast
@Ihavenoideawhatmyusernameis
Thank you both, that is really good to hear.
Did your DC engage well online? My DC has historically found it really hard to do things online, so I'm worried it won't be a good fit for us.

I think in all, we were online for about nine hours (over three sessions), which was really intense, but only about an hour of that was just my DS. At least three hours was just with me, they really wanted his early developmental history, especially around the age of 3-4. And some of it was me and him; they still picked up loads just by observing him online (eg how much he fidgets, lack of eye contact etc). They also get you and your DC to fill out several questionnaires beforehand, plus they asked the school for a report; it’s definitely not just on how your DC interacts.
It was really full on though, my DS definitely didn’t much enjoy it, but they were fine with him losing concentration and wandering off…it’s part of how he is!
Good luck!

It took a few minutes for DD to get into it but once she started she was fine. She’s always found online stuff a bit difficult and I was really worried but the assessor was amazing with her

This is so reassuring ‐you could be describing my DC. We were contacted by phone and offered the Healios assessment pathway, but the coordinator didn't seem to 'get' why online vs in person might be a thing some parents are concerned about, to the point that I thought it might actually be someone in a call centre with no experience of SEN or ND.
Thanks again, we'll definitely consider it further.

We were offered Healios for DD12 but were a bit ambivalent because we thought a lot of nuance in how she presents could be lost in an online assessment. We also spoke with the NHS clinician who initially referred her for an ASD assessment and they agreed that an in-person assessment might be better, even though it meant a much longer wait.

A few months later we were offered Healios for DS11. In that instance, a different NHS clinician said they had used Healios for their own child's assessment and though it was good. She said if our child didn't engage well online with Healios, then we could let her know and we wouldn't lose our place for the in-person assessment. So we felt there was little to lose.

In the end, we're happy with we went with Healios and are considering whether we should go back and request it for DD.

We had a 2-day assessment. The first session was about a 20-30 min intro to the process and gathering some general info, followed by 1 hour with me to outline our concerns and discuss some developmental history. The clinician then had about 1 hour with DS and a then a short follow-up with me.

The second session was only with me and DP with a different clinician over about 2-2.5 hours, talking in depth about DS's history.

We got the report (and a diagnosis) about a week later. After reading the initial report, I requested a few small changes and they were made and the final report delivered to me within 24 hours.

We'll be having a feedback/follow-up call next week to ask any questions, and then DS is having an ADHD assessment with them in the new year.

Overall, a very positive experience.

I should add that Helios also had the school fill out some forms and they also reviewed other reports (OT, initial neurodevelopmental report, etc). So they considered a lot of information alongside their 1-2-1 time with DS.