Free NHS ADHD & Autism Assessments for Children via Right to Choose
Your child can access a free, NHS-funded ADHD or autism assessment with our accredited multidisciplinary clinical team, regardless of where in England you live. If your child is aged 6 to 18 and your GP agrees a referral is clinically appropriate, you can ask to be referred to Private Therapy Clinic through NHS Right to Choose.
What is NHS Right to Choose?
NHS Right to Choose is a legal right available to patients registered with a GP in England. It allows you to choose your NHS-funded provider for certain mental health and neurodevelopmental services rather than waiting for your local NHS service. If your GP agrees that a referral is clinically appropriate, you can ask to be referred to any NHS-contracted provider, including Private Therapy Clinic.
For children and young people seeking an ADHD or autism assessment, Right to Choose often means significantly shorter waiting times than the standard NHS pathway, while keeping the assessment fully NHS-funded.
Who Can Access This Service
Right to Choose is available to children and young people aged 6 to 18 anywhere in England. Your child must meet all four criteria below.
- ✓Age 6 to 18. Your child is aged between 6 and 18.
- ✓Registered with a GP in England. Your child is registered with any NHS GP anywhere in England.
- ✓Clinically appropriate referral. Your GP agrees that a referral for assessment is clinically appropriate.
- ✓GP referral required. Referrals must come from your child's GP. Self-referrals are not accepted.
What We Assess
Four NHS-funded services delivered by our multidisciplinary clinical team under our accredited Right to Choose contract.
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.
How the assessment works: Each pathway includes questionnaires, parent/carer interview (online), school information, an in-person child appointment at one of our UK clinics, MDT review, and a written report with feedback. Detailed stage-by-stage breakdowns are available on our service pages.
How to Access This Service
Eight steps from first contact to written diagnostic report. Most parents start by registering their interest with our team directly.
Download The GP Referral Letter
Download our pre-written referral letter using the button below. The letter explains who we are, what the assessment involves, and how Right to Choose works - your GP doesn't need any prior knowledge of the service.
Book An Appointment With Your GP
Book a standard appointment with your child's GP. Bring the referral letter, and explain you'd like to be referred to Private Therapy Clinic under NHS Right to Choose for an ADHD or autism assessment.
Your GP Submits The Referral
If your GP agrees the referral is clinically appropriate, they submit it to us by secure email or via the NHS e-Referral Service. No shared care agreement is needed at this stage.
We Receive The Referral
Our team confirms receipt and makes initial contact with you within 48 hours to talk through what happens next.
Questionnaires And Information Gathering
We send standardised questionnaires to you and to your child's school. The assessment cannot proceed until all required documentation is returned.
Assessment Appointment
Carried out by our qualified clinical team. The in-person element takes place at one of our UK clinics - we'll arrange the location most convenient for you. The parent or carer interview is online. Where clinically appropriate, more of the assessment may be facilitated online.
Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Review
The MDT lead and clinical team review all assessment elements together before agreeing the outcome. This collaborative review is what makes the diagnosis robust.
Outcome & Written Report
You receive a feedback call with the clinician who conducted the parent interview, followed by a full written diagnostic report you can share with your child's school and other professionals.
How Long Does It Take?
Indicative timings from referral to written report, assuming all questionnaires are returned promptly.
| Stage | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Initial contact after referral received | Within 48 hrs |
| Assessment appointment offered | ~ 2 weeks |
| MDT review and feedback call | ~ 4 weeks |
| Final written diagnostic report | ~ 6 weeks |
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for the assessment itself. Your child can be referred regardless of where in England your GP is registered.
Autism assessments: no shared care needed, anywhere. Essex GPs : no shared care needed for anything - assessment or medication.
If ADHD is diagnosed and you want to explore medication, shared care will be needed for ongoing prescribing (unless your GP is in Essex). Worth raising with your GP early if meds are likely - it avoids delays later.
Right to Choose for Adults
Right to Choose through Private Therapy Clinic is for children and young people aged 6 to 18 only. We do not currently offer Right to Choose ADHD or autism assessments for adults.
If you are an adult looking for an ADHD or autism assessment, please see our private ADHD assessment service or read our blog on private ADHD assessment in the UK, which covers the different routes available.
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