Preparing for your child’s assessment

Summary:  Once we have your pre-assessment forms, we’ll get your child booked in for an appointment. For an ADHD assessment, this involves a 60-minute video call via Microsoft Teams. For an autism or dual ADHD-autism assessment, this involves a parent or carer interview, before an observational session with your child.

Your assessment appointment

Once you’ve completed the pre-assessment forms, we’ll phone or email you to invite you and your child to an online appointment.

For lots of families, the idea of an "assessment" can feel daunting. If that's how you're feeling, please don’t worry. There are no right or wrong answers – this isn’t a test. It’s simply how we get the information we need to reach an accurate diagnosis.

What to expect on the day

For an ADHD assessment, the appointment is a single call lasting around 60 minutes– no need to travel anywhere. The clinician will talk through what's on the pre-assessment forms, and ask about your child's experiences, development, and medical history. They’ll use the information you share to work out whether the criteria for an ADHD diagnosis have been met.
For an autism assessment, or a dual ADHD-autism assessment, there are two parts:
A parent/carer developmental interview. This is a structured conversation covering your child's early development, communication, play, social interaction, routines, and sensory needs. This usually takes around 90 minutes for an autism assessment, or 120 minutes for a dual assessment.
A separate child observation session. This usually takes about an hour, with a clinician spending time getting to know your child – usually via video call, though a face-to-face appointment can be offered if needed. We'll use simple activities and games to gently explore how they interact and communicate, so it's worth having a few of their favourite toys or objects to hand (a doll or teddy, some Lego, or something they enjoy showing off). We'll talk you through exactly what's needed beforehand, so there's no guesswork.

Once both parts are complete, the two clinicians involved meet to discuss everything together, before we call you with the outcome.

If you're worried that your child may find it difficult to engage with an online session, just let us know – we can tweak things to suit, with shorter segments, extra breaks, or other ways of gathering the information that we need. Our clinicians are experienced in supporting children who find screens, structured tasks, or unfamiliar situations difficult, and we'll always look for an approach that feels manageable.

Getting your space ready

A little preparation before your assessment can make a real difference to how everything goes. Here are a few pointers:

You'll want a quiet, private space for the assessment – somewhere free from interruptions, so your child can focus and the assessor can see them clearly. It's worth arranging pet-sitting or childcare for other children in the house, if you need to.
If your child is having an autism assessment, please have them sit at a table to complete the tasks. Or if that’s not possible, a tray or a hard, flat surface on the floor works well as an alternative. We'll let you know exactly what items to have ready at the developmental interview. It's important your child doesn't see these items beforehand, as this helps the assessor get an accurate picture.

What the clinician will ask about

During the appointment, the clinician will take time to get to know your child, and understand what life's like for them at home, at school, and everywhere in between. This might include:

Everyday life – what a typical day looks like, what your child enjoys and finds hard, and any patterns in their attention, energy, communication, and routines
Early years and development – what they were like as a baby or toddler, how things were at nursery or in the early years of school, and how they've developed
Family background – sometimes ADHD or autism can run in families, so we’ll ask whether anyone else in your family has similar traits or diagnoses
Physical health – things like sleep, eating, medical conditions, and anything else that might affect how your child feels or behaves
Feelings and wellbeing – how your child's been feeling, including mood, worries, stress, or anything else affecting how they think or act
School, friendships and activities – how things are going at school or college, what they enjoy doing, and how they get on with friends, teachers, and the people around them

We know that's a lot of ground to cover – but every bit of detail helps our clinicians build the fullest, most accurate picture they can.

Who should attend appointments

We invite children and young people to take an active part at appointments. As well as being asked questions, there'll be a few demonstration tasks to complete, so it's important your child agrees to take part on the day. If they'd rather not, we won't be able to go ahead with the assessment; if they're willing but finding it hard, we'll work with you to find adjustments that might help.
We'd encourage any parent or carer with parental responsibility to attend – both households are welcome if parents live separately, and we're equally experienced supporting looked-after children, following the agreed care plan with their social worker or foster carer.
During the observation, please hold back from answering for your child or prompting them, unless the assessor asks you to. That way, your child can show how they manage independently.

What assessment tools we use

We use a combination of questionnaires looking at behaviour, emotions, attention, communication, and daily life. The same set is used for both ADHD and autism assessments:

AQ-10 – a short screening tool that looks at autistic traits
Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) – helps us understand your child's emotional wellbeing, behaviour, and how they're getting on at home and school
SNAP-IV (home and school versions) – looks at attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) – gives an overview of emotional and behavioural strengths and challenges
Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) – helps identify social communication differences linked to autism
WEISS Functional Impairment Rating Scale – helps us understand how any traits affect daily life, such as schoolwork, friendships, routines, or family life

These tools are used widely across the NHS and private services. They help us gather information in a structured way, but they don't diagnose on their own – they simply add to the overall picture.

The experience and expertise of our clinicians

Every one of our ADHD and autism assessors has real experience working with children, young people, and families – whether in clinical or educational settings. We're careful about who joins our team, so you can trust they have the skills these assessments need.

Our clinicians don't work in isolation – they're part of a wider team, with regular supervision, peer support, and ongoing training, so the assessment your child gets reflects current, high-quality practice.

Reasonable adjustments

If you need us to make reasonable adjustments ahead of your child’s assessment, please contact us by emailing appointmentscyp@careadhd.co.uk

We want every child and young person to be able to take part in a way that works for them. Before appointments, we'll talk with you about any adjustments that might help – like changing how we communicate, giving information in a different format, making the appointment longer or shorter, adding in breaks, or thinking about sensory needs. The goal is simple: making sure your child feels comfortable and able to engage in a way that suits them.

FAQs

Do children need to attend appointments for treatment or medication?

Yes – if medication or another treatment is recommended, the prescriber will usually need to see your child directly, just to check everything's safe and working well. We'll fit this around what feels right for them. Younger children are normally seen with a parent or carer throughout, while older teenagers might prefer to attend part, or all, of the appointment on their own.

My child refuses to be on screen – can I speak for them instead?

We know screens, or any new situation, can feel like a big ask for some children. Our clinicians do need to speak with your child directly and see how they interact, so we can't do this step on your behalf – but there's usually a lot we can do to make it easier, based on your child's age and abilities. Get in touch with our team at appointmentscyp@careadhd.co.uk and we'll talk through what adjustments might help.

Can I change the appointment date?

Yes – we understand life happens and try our best to be flexible. If you need to change your appointment, please email us at appointmentscyp@careadhd.co.uk as soon as possible so we can offer a more suitable time.

What happens if we miss my child's appointment?"

NHS patients – If you and your child can't make your appointment, please submit an NHS Patients Contact Form as soon as possible so we can find another slot. If you miss your appointment without letting us know, you'll need to rejoin the waiting list. This could delay your assessment by 6–12 months, so we'd really encourage you to get in touch ahead of time.
Private patients – We know plans can change – if you need to cancel, just give us at least two working days' notice where you can. Missed appointments with less notice than that mean a £150 fee, which we've kept as low as we possibly can. Please rebook here. You can find the full details in our Terms and Conditions.