Welcome to the Lancashire and South Cumbria diagnostic service
About your assessment
The news that another provider will handle your assessment may come as a surprise, and it’s normal to have questions. The purpose of this page is to provide you with information about the assessment so you understand your care journey and therefore know what to expect.
What's happened so far?
Until recently, autism assessments in Lancashire and South Cumbria were provided by two different providers. Clinical Partners, a leading provider of autism and mental health services, has now been commissioned by NHS Lancashire and Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) to take over autism diagnostic services for the region.
What does this mean for me?
Your referral for an autism assessment has been transferred to us from your previous provider. Our role is to help individuals and their families who have been referred to navigate the process by providing a single access point in which to provide people with helpful support and clear recommendations at every step of their assessment.
What happens next?
We’ll contact you over the next few months to check that you still want to go ahead with an assessment and that your personal details are still correct. At this stage, we may ask you to complete a clinical questionnaire or provide further information to help the clinicians conducting your assessment.
Our autism assessments
Our team will be on hand to help you through the assessment process and provide you with a detailed assessment guide when you are nearing the time of your assessment.
This is an overview of the process, which we will guide you and your family through.
How we work
Safe, effective and quality care for all
We ensure that people referred for an autism assessment receive safe and effective care from the appropriate clinical professionals.
Handpicked experts who care
Our senior clinicians combine years of clinical experience with genuine humanity and compassion.
Clear help and guidance
We offer a single point of access to provide helpful support and clear recommendations at every step.
What else should I know?
For now, there’s nothing you need to do. If we haven’t called you, we’ll be in touch soon to check that you still want to go ahead with an assessment and confirm your personal details. However, here are some FAQs to answer some questions you may have.
Frequently asked questions
We are a nationwide team of psychiatrists, psychologists, neurodevelopmental specialists, family therapists, mental health advocates and much more. Together, we are helping people of all ages and backgrounds access the care and support they need.
Founded in 2011, we have grown quickly to become one of the most trusted and well-respected providers of autism and ADHD assessments in the UK.
Our values reflect those of a business started by people with real experiences with mental health. This means our primary goal is to help anyone experiencing mental and emotional difficulties lead healthier and happier lives. We are also independently owned, which helps us to never lose sight of the things most important to us, like putting the mental health and wellbeing of you and your loved ones before anything else.
We believe that quality, effective care starts with robust clinical excellence. Our services and treatments are all evidence-based models that follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations.
Through our many partnerships with the NHS, we’re able to deliver great care to people, families and communities across the UK, putting thousands within reach of quality clinical support. We’re proud of our work so far but know there’s so much more to be done, and never stop looking to develop new ways to reach those who need it most.
No. Your orginal referral has been passed to us from your old provider. We’ll be in touch soon to discuss your next steps.
No. Your orginal referral has been passed to us from your old provider. We’ll be in touch soon to discuss your next steps.
All new referrals must be completed by either your GP, mental health, learning disability, or specialist autism services using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ-10) test.
The AQ-10 is a screening tool recommended for use with adults with possible autism who do not have a moderate or severe learning disability. If someone scores six or more on the AQ-10, a referral will be made to us for a comprehensive diagnostic assessment.
Each autistic person has a combination of characteristics specific to them and our team use approved diagnostic tools which are considered gold standard by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Our team of autism experts will analyse your responses to specially designed questionnaires. They will ask you to nominate a person we can speak with about your symptoms and history. Our clinical experts will meet with you to carry out an Autism assessment called an Autism Diagnostic Observational Schedule which is considered “gold-standard” for diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in adults.
Your assessment will be carried out by a clinical team experienced in assessing and diagnosing autism in adults. Your team will be extensively trained in the relevant diagnostic tools, and will be there to support, update and help you feel comfortable throughout the assessment.