Autism Spectrum Assessment privately - clinic recco for London

[MakAttack]

Hi all!
I am not going to go into a lot of detail, but after years and years or banging our heads on the wall with NHS we decided to have my 12 yo son tested privately. We just can’t cope any more and are really worried for him and his wellbeing too. It would be great if someone could recommend good clinics to get tested in London (even better West or Ealing), wouldn’t want to throw money out of the window:) We think it might be Asperger as my son doesn’t have any learning difficulties, so if you know someone who specialises in that - even better! Thank you!!!

No advice on clinics but just wanted to mention that it will be hard/impossible to find someone who specialises in Aspergers as medically that condition no longer exists and has been removed from the DSM, it has been merged into autism (high/low functioning, classic, Aspergers, etc are now all diagnosed as just autism).

Thank you for letting me know. I didn’t know this. I’ve had feedback from a few clinics and gosh they are crazy expensive. I can’t find money to repair windows it’s been years, not sure where people can find this kind of cash upfront:(

Yes, it can be expensive - the assessment itself (like the ADOS) will be about £1000 privately but that does not include any other consultations or investigations.

I can recommend Daphne Keen in London. She was very thorough, but not as expensive as the other specialists we'd considered. She also works as an NHS doctor (although says she is now 'largely retired'), so nobody argued with our son's diagnosis. Her website is here - www.daphnekeen.co.uk/

Not sure that link worked. Just google 'daphne keen asd' to find her.

You may find some diagnostic services that will operate remotely via Skype, which could help with costs and be a positive given current circumstances.

I happen to have looked at Sarah Hendrickx because she is an excellent public speaker, but I haven't used her to provide a diagnosis, so really just provides a reference point - and maybe an idea that you could look further afield in the UK if they offer a remote service.

www.asperger-training.com/autism-diagnosis-assessment/

To have it clinically supervised (so you could use it to access services etc) is more expensive, but looks like they would still in principle do it remotely.