Autism North East Avis 

Due to the five year wait for a NHS assessment, I sought out a private assessment for my daughter who was 7 at the time. This was after years of struggling and wondering how to help my daughter in several areas.

I chose autism north east, as it followed Nice guidelines and it has face to face assessments for my daughter.

I made the referral and had to wait for an appointment. All prices were provided to me beforehand so I knew how much I would be paying and for any extras that may be needed.

We were given our first appointment where we met Dr Hayley Atkinson, here she took detailed information from myself and my husband about ourselves, our family and my daughter. From this information given it can then be decided if an assessment is needed or not.

From there we were given multiple appointments in succession within the same week. All appointments were detailed and thorough. As we had to travel some of these were done on the same day to save travelling back and forth.

My daughter worried for her first session, but the staff were knowledgeable and friendly and made her feel at ease. They even allowed her to play some games she wanted at the end.

Hayley also visited my daughters School and observed her and spoke to staff.

All appointments were done within a two week period and we were promptly given the decision once the multi panel team had met.

The report was extensive and thorough with all information needed to support my daughter.

We were invoiced weekly for any appointments and this was clearly set out and itemised with easy to follow instructions for payment.

The staff were so friendly, professional and knowledgeable and mad the whole experience easy. I could not recommend them more. The staff were compassionate at all times and offered advice when needed.

Our final appointment we shared information with the School so that we were able to get the support needed. This has now helped us understand out daughter and her needs to help her thrive.

I used this service due to intolerable NHS waiting times to be assessed for ASD. The service I received was outstanding. Such thorough individual assessments, compassionate and understanding clinicians. Each assessment was explained and a detailed report given to me at the end of my assessments. NHS do not provide post diagnostic support, but Austism NE do .
Highly recommend

My son was unable to be diagnosed by the NHS. He became unwell and after having to do my own research I came across Autism North East. It has been an absolute saviour and my son was able to be diagnosed in 2-3 months. The staff are excellent and Dr Cottrell is incredible. I can thoroughly recommend them.

I never thought I’d need to know and understand services for Autism, but here I am navigating the complex and often hard to reach world of support for families and individuals affected by the condition.

After a long battle of being repeatedly dismissed - I finally got the answers I’d been looking for. In spite of having little to no knowledge about ASD (and not thinking I ever would), Autism North East have provided an outstanding example of how to thoroughly, accurately and efficiently assess and diagnose a person whose voice has not been heard.

As an NHS worker of 10 years - I know first hand how under resourced and overworked
the service can be. Many families are facing 4+ years of waiting before they’ll get the chance to tell their story to the right person.

We are so fortunate to have been able to seek an assessment through a privately run service with a waiting time of just 2-3 months. I can honestly say it’s invaluable.

Thank you to Ellie & the rest of the team for making the process so easy, and offering a choice for people like us.