Autism Assessment Process

Please note that the process may vary slightly depending on the individual needs of children and young people.

Stage 1: After you have contacted us and provided your details, a member of the ASC assessment team will contact you by phone.  We will think with you about your reasons for pursuing an ASC assessment, gather some basic information from you, explain our assessment process, and answer any questions you might have.  This conversation usually lasts around 30 minutes.

Stage 2: If you decide to go ahead with an assessment we will send some forms via email for you, your child (if appropriate), and your child’s teacher to complete and return to us.  We will also book in a provisional date for your child’s assessment.  

Stage 3: A member of the ASC team will meet with parents/carers to collect a detailed developmental history for your child, focusing particularly on characteristics of ASC.  We will also review the questionnaires you returned to us and ask any additional questions we might have.   Another member of the ASC team will meet with your child to complete an ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition) assessment.  This is a semi-structured play- and conversation-based assessment designed to elicit behaviours associated with ASC.  This generally takes around 1 hour.  

Stage 4:   A full report summarising the information gathered from all sources during the assessment will then follow.

Diagnostic Criteria

3 CCAA uses the DSM-5 criteria when diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder.  The diagnostic criteria are available to view via Autism Speaks. The DSM-5 has chosen, based on the most current research evidence, to use an overarching diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder to replace previous diagnoses of autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, or the catch-all diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.  The DSM-5 states that most individuals who would previously have received any of the above diagnoses would now receive a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.


© 3 Counties Counselling & Autism Assessment 2020