Help ND assessment and diagnosis for children aged 0-4 years
This page provides information for autism assessment and diagnosis for preschool children in Leeds.
Where to start?
If you’re worried about your child’s development different professionals can support you to get help. The best person to ask will depend on whether your child goes to an education setting (nursery/preschool) or not.
Ask the Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator (SENDCo) at nursery to refer your child to the Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) Service. You may also ask the SENCO to contact the Health Visitor (HV) to share your concerns on your behalf. The SLT and/or HV will then refer your child to the Audiology Service and the Paediatrician for further assessment if needed.
Speak to your Health Visitor (HV) or GP. You can phone for a HV appointment on 0113 843 5683. See more information about the Health Visiting service (0-19 Public Health Integrated Nursing Service (PHINS)) and how to contact them here.
The Health Visitor or GP can then, with your permission, refer your child to the Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) Service, Audiology and the Paediatrician for further assessment if needed.
What might happen next?
Initially your child may be referred to any of the following, as appropriate:
The Paediatrician will discuss your child’s development and medical history. They will also observe your child. They will then discuss the next steps with you and the time frame for any review.
- They may decide to monitor your child over time.
- They may make a referral for a Complex Communication and Autism Assessment (CCAA).
- They may refer for some medical investigations.
- If there is no Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) referral they will refer to SLT.
- They may refer your child to see Audiology, if your child has not yet been referred.
- You may be asked to sign a Health to Education Notification (HEN) form allowing other Educational services (SENIT/Portage) to support your child and allowing transfer of information about your child between services.
- The Paediatrician will consider if further support can be offered from the CCAA team HV to support with understanding your child’s differences and how to support them.
You and your child will attend your local health centre clinic for an initial play-based assessment. The SLT will talk to you about your child’s development and concerns and will assessor child through play.
If the SLT identifies differences in social communication, interaction and behaviours that could indicate autism then the SLT will make an onward referral to a Paediatrician (if not already referred). The Paediatrician will then decide if an autism assessment is required and refer as needed.
The SLT will discuss and briefly demonstrate any support strategies that are appropriate for you and your child. These will then be summarised in a report along with a plan for next steps.
Your child may be placed on the waiting list for:
- Early Communication Group: This group is for children who are on the waiting list for CCAA and due to start school soon. The group consists of 4 sessions and is run by SLTs. An SLT and SLT assistant will support parents with support strategies to use at home and in a setting.
- Parent training for:
- Intensive Interaction, an approach for supporting development of early communication.
- Visual support: strategies and visual resources that may support your child to understand and communicate.
You will be sent a letter that will tell you how to book on to these courses.
You will then receive a phone call to review how things have gone and how you have got on with the strategies talked about in the SLT appointment. After this you will be discharged from the SLT service.
3 months after being discharged you can refer your child back the SLT Service for further support. Mainstream Clinic SLT support would happen alongside CCAA if you are referred for this.
Complex Communication and Autism assessment (CCA Assessment)
Waiting times for Complex Communication and Autism Assessments for pre-school children are long. We have developed a Needs Led service that will cater to each child’s unique needs. This support includes a series of workshops designed to empower you with strategies and insights to support your child’s development. Read more on this service leaflet . The workshops will be offered online or in person. Your child will also be invited to attend an Early Communication Group which is organised by the Speech and Language Therapy service.
The ICAN service must prioritise who we can provide an assessment to as we do not have enough resources to provide an assessment to everyone who has been referred in a timely way. Not all children will be able to receive an assessment from our assessment team. We will contact you as soon as we are able to offer you an assessment or further support.
Your right to choose your assessment provider
You have the legal right to choose a specific assessment provider if receiving treatment from the NHS would result in you waiting longer than 18 weeks. This is part of the NHS Choices Framework. Go to our assessment and diagnosis page for more information.
If you wish to be referred to another provider you should:
Decide which other NHS contracted provider you want to assess your child (your GP will have a list of providers who you can access).
- Make an appointment to see your child’s GP and ask them to make a referral to your chosen provider.
- Fill in this questionnaire before your appointment and take it to your GP appointment. This will help make the appointment easier.
- If the other provider you have chosen is commissioned by the NHS, your GP may be able to refer you directly to them.
- If they are not commissioned by the NHS, your GP will not be able to refer you but will give you information about the other choices available that they are aware of.
- Other assessment providers will offer a diagnostic assessment but will not be able to provide ongoing support. After the assessment they will refer your child back into the Leeds NHS system if this is required.
If your child is currently on the Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Complex Communication and Autism Assessment (CCAA) waiting list and your child is then referred and accepted to be seen by a different service provider for their assessment, we ask that you kindly let us know this. We can then take them off the NHS waiting list to avoid duplication and wasted appointments.