Belfast Autism Assessment and Intervention Services

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1 Belfast Autism Assessment and Intervention Services

2 Autism referral Your child or young person can be referred to our Service from a variety of sources, including GP or Health Visitor, or from an Educational Psychologist. An appointment for your child s assessment will usually be made approximately 13 weeks after a referral is received by our Service. Why has my child been referred? Your child has been referred to our service because of concerns about possible Autism. He/she may be having difficulty in some areas of his/her development; including speech and communication, play and imagination and social skills. Our Service Autism assessment for children and young people who may be displaying characteristics of Autism Intervention Services for children and young people with a diagnosis of Autism. Contact Details Referrals for an Autism Assessment are made to The Bradbury Centre, 1st floor, 1-17 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7AA Tel: Referrals for Intervention are made to The Arches Centre, Westminster Avenue North, Belfast BT4 1NS Tel: What happens during the assessment process? With your assistance, a comprehensive history of your child s development will be completed. We will ask you about any difficulties your child is experiencing, as well as your family circumstances. This assessment may take up to two hours. During the assessment, it may be helpful to bring snacks and/or toys for your child. It is important that two adults attend for assessment with your child. 3

3 Some of the people you may meet at our service will include: Clinical Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Paediatricians, all of whom are highly trained in the area of Autism. We will seek further information about your child from school, your GP or other agencies What happens next? Following completion of the Autism assessment, you will be invited to attend a feedback session to discuss the outcome. You will be provided with an opportunity to discuss and agree the content of any reports made regarding your child. We will also discuss the outcome of the assessment with a young person as appropriate. There are 3 possible outcomes that may happen following the assessment of your child: - 1. Your child does not have Autism. If required, your child may be referred onwards to other services. 2. A diagnosis of Autism has been made. With your consent, your child will be referred to relevant intervention and support services. 3. A decision regarding a diagnosis of Autism cannot be reached at this time. We may however want to monitor your child s development and will arrange a review appointment for a specified time in the future. Follow up support Once a diagnosis of Autism has been confirmed, an appointment will be made for one of the Autism Intervention Team to meet with you. S/he will explain our service and, together with you, identify the intervention needs of your child and family. You will receive information about local support groups, networks, voluntary organisations, and upcoming events. A variety of training workshops are provided in Belfast. These will help you to increase your knowledge of your child s condition and develop strategies which you can use at home. Following a period of Intervention, which will include training workshops and/or 1-1 support, we will review the needs of your child/young person in conjunction with you. Our services are flexible, and will adapt to you and your child/young person s changing needs. There may be times when you need us more, or times when not at all. When you need to get back in touch with us, please use the contact details given overleaf. Your new caring role If your child has been given a diagnosis of Autism, you will be provided with relevant information for your new caring role, including a Carer s Assessment leaflet. 4 5

4 Useful publications In 2009, The Department of Health set up the Regional ASD Network (RASDN), with an aim to improve outcomes for individuals who have Autism, and their families. A pathway of children s Autism services was designed, and this is outlined in the leaflet, Six Steps of Autism Care. The publication, Autism A Guide for Families was developed at the same time. This toolkit resource was written by experienced parents/carers/service users, and explains the range of statutory supports which are available, helping you to navigate the system more quickly. You may obtain both publications from the Belfast Autism Service. You may also wish to download them from the Health & Social Care Board website: asdnetwork 6

5 Contact Details Referrals for an Autism Assessment are made to The Bradbury Centre, 1st floor, 1-17 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7AA Tel: Referrals for Intervention are made to The Arches Centre, Westminster Avenue North, Belfast BT4 1NS Tel: BT12-797