Free NHS ADHD & Autism Assessments for Children in Essex
Your child can receive a free, NHS-funded ADHD or autism assessment delivered by our multidisciplinary clinical team. If your child is aged 6-18 and their GP is in Essex, their GP can refer them directly to us.
Who Can Access This Service
Your child must meet all three of the following criteria.
- ✓ Age 6-18
Your child is aged between 6 and 18 - ✓ GP in Essex
Your child's GP practice is in the Essex ICB area - ✓ Lives in Essex
Your child lives in the Essex area - GP referral required
Referrals must come from your child's GP. Self-referrals are not accepted
If your child's GP is not in the Essex area, this particular pathway is not available.
What We Assess
Carried out by our multidisciplinary clinical team. The in-person appointment is at our Essex clinic; the parent interview takes place online.
All assessments are:
- Carried out by an appropriately qualified multidisciplinary clinical team
- Designed to be person-centred, with reasonable adjustments where needed
- Using the ADOS-2 (gold standard) for every autism assessment
The ADHD assessment follows NICE guideline NG87 and involves several stages. Here is what to expect.
After we receive your GP's referral, we send you standardised questionnaires to complete. We also send a questionnaire to your child's school for their class teacher or SENCO to complete. These cover your child's behaviour, attention, emotional regulation, and daily functioning across different settings. We screen this information before the appointment to ensure the assessment is a good fit for your child. The assessment cannot proceed until all questionnaires are returned.
The parent or carer interview takes place online. This is the DIVA-5 interview for ADHD, covering your child's developmental history from birth. The interview covers early milestones, behaviour at home and school, academic progress, friendships, sleep, appetite, and any previous concerns raised by teachers or other professionals. The interview typically takes 60 minutes.
Your child attends a face-to-face appointment at our Essex clinic. This is a semi-structured clinical session that observes attention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and how your child responds to tasks and instructions. For younger children, this may include structured play-based activities. For older children and teenagers, it involves a semi-structured clinical interview adapted to their age.
Your appointments will usually have taken place with different clinicians who make up a multidisciplinary team, headed by an appropriately qualified clinician. The MDT lead reviews all the assessment elements together with the team. This includes the referral information, parent and school questionnaires, the DIVA-5 parent interview, and the in-person assessment results. The team agrees on the outcome together before it goes forward. This is what makes the assessment robust.
Once the MDT has agreed the outcome, the clinician who carried out your parent interview will share it with you in a feedback call. You then receive a written diagnostic report within 6 weeks of the assessment. The report includes the findings, the clinical reasoning, and recommendations. A copy is sent to your child's GP. You can share the report with your child's school and other professionals.
If ADHD is diagnosed: medication pathway
If ADHD is diagnosed, the first step is psychoeducation. This is a series of sessions that help you and your child understand the condition and the available treatment options. Psychoeducation is a mandatory part of the NHS pathway and must be completed before medication can be considered. This is a NICE requirement, not a delay.
If medication is clinically appropriate, we handle initiation and titration with regular monitoring (weight, blood pressure, side effects, symptom response) until your child is stable. Once stable, we arrange a shared care agreement with your child's GP for ongoing prescribing and annual reviews.
The autism assessment follows NICE guideline CG128 and uses the ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) for every assessment. Here is what to expect.
After we receive your GP's referral, we send you questionnaires covering your child's communication, social interaction, sensory responses, and behavioural patterns. We also send a questionnaire to your child's school for the class teacher or SENCO to complete. We screen this information before the appointment to ensure the assessment is a good fit for your child. The assessment cannot proceed until all questionnaires are returned.
The parent or carer interview takes place online. This is the ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised), covering your child's development from birth. It explores early communication, social development, play behaviour, sensory sensitivities, routines, friendships, and how your child manages change. The interview typically takes 90 minutes.
The ADOS-2 is a structured, face-to-face observation carried out with your child at our Essex clinic. It is widely regarded as the gold standard for autism assessment. The ADOS-2 is tailored to your child's age and language level and involves a series of activities designed to observe communication, social interaction, imaginative play, and repetitive behaviours. It typically takes 40–60 minutes.
Your appointments will usually have taken place with different clinicians who make up a multidisciplinary team, headed by an appropriately qualified clinician. The MDT lead reviews all the assessment elements together with the team. This includes the referral information, parent and school questionnaires, the ADI-R parent interview, and the ADOS-2 results. The team agrees on the outcome together before it goes forward. This is what makes the assessment robust.
Once the MDT has agreed the outcome, the clinician who carried out your parent interview will share it with you in a feedback call. If autism is diagnosed, they will explain what this means for your child and what support is available. You then receive a comprehensive written report within 6 weeks of the assessment. The report includes the ADOS-2 results, the findings, the clinical reasoning, and specific recommendations for support at home and school. This can include guidance on reasonable adjustments, Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) applications, and signposting to local services. A copy is sent to your child's GP.
There is no medication component to an autism diagnosis. The report focuses on understanding your child's needs and providing practical recommendations for support.
If there are concerns about both ADHD and autism, your child can be assessed for both conditions in a single process.
The dual assessment combines elements of both the ADHD and autism pathways described above. Your child will undergo the same thorough process for each condition. This includes the parent interview (DIVA-5 for ADHD and ADI-R for autism), the in-person appointment, ADOS-2 for the autism component, and parent and school questionnaires. All assessment elements are reviewed together by the multidisciplinary team before an outcome is agreed.
The key advantage is that both conditions are assessed under a single referral, by the same clinical team, without needing to repeat the background information-gathering process. This reduces the overall time to diagnosis and avoids your child going through separate assessment processes.
The outcome may be a diagnosis of ADHD only, autism only, both, or neither. Each outcome is explained clearly, and the written report covers the findings for both conditions.
If ADHD is diagnosed as part of a dual assessment, the same medication pathway applies: psychoeducation first, then medication initiation and titration if clinically appropriate.
If your child already has an ADHD diagnosis from another provider and needs help with starting or adjusting medication, your GP can refer them to us through this pathway.
Your GP submits a referral including a copy of your child's original ADHD diagnostic report. This confirms the diagnosis was made by an appropriately qualified clinician. No new diagnostic assessment is needed.
Our multidisciplinary team reviews the diagnostic report and your child's medical history to confirm medication is clinically appropriate and to identify any contraindications or considerations (such as cardiac history, other medications, or co-occurring conditions). The medication decision is made by an appropriately qualified clinician (the MDT lead).
Before medication starts, psychoeducation sessions are provided. This is a NICE requirement. These sessions help you and your child understand ADHD, how medication works, potential side effects, and non-medication strategies.
Medication is started at a low dose and gradually adjusted. During titration, we monitor your child regularly. Some children need more or less frequent monitoring. We track weight, blood pressure, heart rate, side effects, sleep, appetite, and symptom response. Close monitoring continues until the right dose is found and your child is stable.
Once your child is stable on medication, we work with your child's GP to set up a shared care agreement. The GP takes over routine prescribing and monitoring, with annual reviews. We provide the GP with a clear handover including the medication plan, monitoring schedule, and guidance on when to refer back.
If the assessment does not result in a diagnosis, you will receive a clear explanation of the findings and the reasons behind the outcome. A written report is still provided, along with guidance on other avenues of support that may be helpful.
How to Access This Service
Eight steps from download to diagnosis. Every step is spelled out below.
Download the referral form
Download our referral form using the button below. The form has a section for you to complete as the parent or carer, and a section for your child's GP.
Complete your section
Fill in the parent/carer section of the form. This covers basic information about your child and the concerns that prompted you to seek an assessment.
Book an appointment with your child's GP
Take the completed form to your child's GP. The GP will review it, complete their section, and submit the referral to us.
We receive the referral
Once we receive the referral from your GP, our team will make initial contact within 48 hours.
Questionnaires and information gathering
We will send you questionnaires to complete, and we also send a questionnaire to your child's school. The assessment cannot proceed until all required documentation is returned, and the 2-week assessment window depends on prompt returns from both parents and schools.
Assessment appointment
Your child's assessment will be carried out face-to-face by a qualified clinician at our Essex clinic. Assessments are usually face-to-face. If your child requires an online assessment we can also facilitate this where clinically appropriate.
Multidisciplinary team (MDT) review
Your appointments will usually have taken place with different clinicians who make up a multidisciplinary team, headed by an appropriately qualified clinician (the MDT lead). The MDT lead and the team review all the assessment elements together. This includes the referral information, parent and school questionnaires, the parent interview, and the in-person assessment results. The team agrees on the outcome together before it goes forward. This is what makes the assessment robust.
Outcome and written report
Once the MDT has agreed the outcome, the clinician who carried out your parent interview will share it with you in a feedback call. You will receive a written diagnostic report within 6 weeks of the assessment, which can be shared with your child's GP, school, and other professionals.
How Long Does It Take
These are our standard timeframes. We work hard to be as fast as possible.
| Stage | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Initial contact after referral received | Within 48 hours |
| Assessment appointment offered | Within 2 weeks of referral |
| MDT review and diagnosis communicated | Within 4 weeks of assessment |
| Written report | Within 6 weeks of assessment |
Please note: These timeframes assume all required information is returned within the expected window. Delays in returning parent or school questionnaires may extend the assessment, diagnosis, or report timeline.
Registered & Accredited With
Frequently Asked Questions
Both pathways are NHS-funded and lead to the same assessment with the same clinical team. The difference is how you access them.
The Essex pathway is for children aged 6-18 whose GP is in Essex. It runs through our Patient Choice Accredited Framework contract with Essex ICB.
Right to Choose is available to patients with a GP anywhere in England. We can offer it because our accredited contract with Essex ICB qualifies us as a Right to Choose provider nationally. If your child's GP is outside Essex, see our Right to Choose page for how it works.
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