- I am looking for an autism assessment
- Making a referral
- Consent
- I am on the waiting list
- Links to local services
- Feedback
- Preparing for assessment and information about our service
- Key Staff
- Harrogate
- Hambleton & Richmondshire
- I have already had an assessment
- Do you want to be involved?
- Explaining Autism to Children
I am looking for an autism assessment
The Autism Assessment Service is based in Harrogate and Hambleton and Richmondshire, and provides an autism assessment pathway for children and young people aged 0-19.
The autism assessment is designed to capture a full developmental profile, including identifying strengths and challenges. We aim to gather information from a range of sources – the young person, their parent(s)/ carer(s), school or other setting and any other professionals involved.
Making a referral
In submitting a referral form, you are agreeing that the child/young person being referred has a GP within the Harrogate or Hambleton & Richmondshire area. The information you provide on these forms will be shared with the Early Help Team. If we think it is appropriate, we may also take the referral to the Multi-Agency Team Meeting to consider whether onward referrals to other services may also be helpful. This will involve sharing the referral information with Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Social Care, Compass Phoenix and other providers of care. For further information about information sharing, please refer to the privacy notice on our website: www.hdft.nhs.uk/privacy-notices
Children/ Young people referred in June can expect to wait approximately 38 months. This is an estimate and will vary depending on the complexity of assessments, frequency of missed appointments and number of assessments commissioned in future.
| Month of referral | Approximate waiting time in months |
| June 2024 | 38 |
Check our service is the right one for you
We will communicate with you via secure email. When we first send you an email, we will ask you to setup a secure email account. If you would prefer to setup an account now, download the leaflet below that has instruction on how to do this.
Download the Accessing Encrypted Email Guide
If you are also considering an ADHD assessment, you can find the referral form in our Resources section of our website under ‘Other Neurodivergence’. The NeuroPack form can be filled out and sent to CAMHS as this is a separate service.
Consent
You can download our Pre-Assessment Leaflet to prepare for your assessment and the Information about your appointment to see what your appointment will involve.
I am on the waiting list
Courses to support parenting children and young people with additional needs:
Solihull link – inourplace | Solihull Approach | Online courses
Unlocking Autism – Training & Events | NYES Info and search for ‘unlocking autism’
Links to local services
· Ohana Parent Support Group
Parent support group based in Ripon for families coping with the unique challenge that is involved in raising a child with special educational needs or a disability.
- ‘Pathways Ripon’ support group on Facebook – a safe space for parents and carers of neurodivergent/special needs children to support each other.
- Neurodiverse Community Catterick
NeuroDiverse Community Catterick is a service founded to offer neurodivergent support. We receive referrals from both GPs and social prescribers. Our members are from different backgrounds except for one – being neurodiverse.
- SEN Hub Harrogate – Parental Support group on Facebook and Instagram
- Harrogate & District NAS Branch
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/branches/nas-harrogate-and-district-branch
The branch offers support to families in Harrogate, Richmondshire and Craven who have an autistic member.
- POSCH (Parents & Carers of Special Children) supporting families of children with additional and special needs.
We are a small charity supporting parents and families of children with additional and special needs who live in the Hambleton, Richmondshire and surrounding areas.
- Daisy Chain Project
https://www.daisychainproject.co.uk/autism-central/
A programme co-designed to provide high-quality and accessible autism information, education and coaching for families, and carers, and co-delivered by autistic people, families and carers.
- Time Together
A local charity supporting disabled and autistic people to live life well.
- Autism Angels
https://www.autismangels.co.uk/
At Autism Angels we strive to balance the needs of the child with those of their siblings and you as their parents. Our aim is that we can provide you with a place where you feel welcomed, accepted and find the support and guidance that you need.
- SENDIASS North Yorkshire
https://sendiassnorthyorkshire.co.uk/
SENDIASS North Yorkshire is a service for parents and carers of young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) as well as young people themselves. It is impartial, which means it is not biased and gives confidential information, advice and support that is arm’s length to the Local Authority.
- Kids Inclusive Social Saturday
https://hadca.org.uk/directory/organisation/5242
Every Saturday during term time. Activities for children of all abilities 5 – 18 years. Specialist staff can support children with disabilities and health care issues.
- North Yorkshire Sport
- Welcome to North Yorkshire Sport – North Yorkshire Sport
Free activities for children and young people.
- Geek Retreat Harrogate
https://geek-retreat.uk/stores/geek-retreat-harrogate/
We are on a mission to share our love for all things geeky – from games and superhero movies to anime and sci-fi. Geek Retreat is the friendliest place to meet, eat, trade and game.
Feedback
We welcome feedback and the anonymised results are shared regularly with the commissioners of our service. We also use the findings to improve our practice.
Autism Team Feedback – Awaiting an Assessment
Survey Link (for Patients): https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/AutismServices-WaitingList
Preparing for assessment and information about our service
We invite you to share new information with us as your child nears the top of our waiting list. Here are a range of questionnaires that you, your child and others who know them well can complete and return in advance of the assessment.
- Supplementary Information Form: If you have any extra information that you would like us to know while you are on our waiting list, or if you feel anything has changed, please full out this form.
- Professional’s Questionnaire: Please ask someone from school who knows the young person best to fill out this form with school information
- All-About-Me-Questionnaire-v2: This form can be filled out by any child or young person and this helps us learn more about them before the assessment.
- Adaptive Morphing Questionnaire: This questionnaire can be filled out by the young person to help us figure out how they feel in different social situations.
- Camouflaging Questionnaire: This questionnaire can be filled out by older teens to give us more information on what strategies they use to fit in, act more like a non-autistic person, compensate in social situations and more
- Young Person additional information to share: This detailed form allows young people tell us about how they prefer to communicate and how we can tailor an assessment to their needs, as well as help us learn more about them before the assessment.
You can download our Pre-Assessment Leaflet and the Parent Interview – What to expect to prepare for your assessment and the Information about your appointment to see what your appointment will involve.
You can let us know your/your child’s preferences during the assessment:
Assessment Preferences Questionnaire
Key Staff
Dr Beth Billington: Team Lead and Clinical Psychologist
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Helen Cairns: Speech and Language Therapist
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Laura Edwards: Speech and Language Therapist
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Sophie Finch: Speech and Language Therapist
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Hayley Hartley: Assistant Psychologist
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Dr Ewan McNeill: Clinical Psychologist
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Rachel Molyneux: Case Coordinator
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Dr Siobhan Dunleavy: Clinical Psychologist
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Susan Saunders: Occupational Therapist
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Sharon White: Speech and Language Therapist
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Sarah Barrett: Admin Co-ordinator |
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Rachel Geary: Speech and Language Therapist |
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| Lauren Norton: Administration Assistant | 
Joseph Merrick: Assistant Psychologist |
Vicky McDonald: Deputy Admin Team Lead |
Heather Kenny: Occupational Therapist |
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Harrogate
Autism Assessment appointments in Harrogate are usually at the Child Development Centre.
This is the address:
Child Development Centre
Wing F, 207
Harrogate District Hospital
Lancaster Park Road
Harrogate
HG2 7SX
Hambleton & Richmondshire
Autism Assessment appointments in Hambleton & Richmondshire are usually at the Friarage Hospital Children’s Outpatients Department
The Friarage
Northallerton
North Yorkshire
DL6 1JG
The Friarage switchboard: 01609 779911
Children’s Autism Assessments Service Pathway
This powerpoint presentation explains recent service changes. You can listen to audio narration by watching the slide show, and the script is in the notes section.
I have already had an assessment
Follow-up packs:
Download this Follow-Up Pack with resources and information if you received a diagnosis.
Download this Non diagnosis Follow-Up Pack with resources and information if you did not receive a diagnosis.
Courses to develop understanding of autism and child development.
Solihull link – https://inourplace.co.uk/
Unlocking Autism – Training & Events | NYES Info and search for ‘unlocking autism’
For more resources on a range of topics related to autism and neurodiversity please see our Autism Resources Page.
Feedback
We welcome feedback and the anonymised results are shared regularly with the commissioners of our service. We also use the findings to improve our practice.
Autism Team Feedback – Assessment Started/Completed
Survey Link (for Patients): https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2PRSR28
Do you want to be involved?
As a service we are always striving to be as up to date and relevant as possible and you could help us achieve this. We are constantly evolving through updating our information and revising the assessment process and your feedback as a service user would be invaluable. If this is something you would be interested in doing please complete this form and email it back to [email protected]
Explaining Autism to Children
Below are some resources to help understand what autism is.
For more useful resources visit our Children’s Autism Resources page
Neuro Bears
YouTube video aimed at young autistic people at pre-school or primary school age to educate and increase understanding of their autistic experience.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_490q6LaHIY
Amazing Things Happen
YouTube Video that introduces autism and aims to raise awareness for non-autistic young people. Great resource to share with parents and teachers.
amazingthingshappen.tv/?projects=amazing-things-happen
Immie’s Signs to Spot Autism
YouTube video where Immie discusses her diagnosis, experience in education, ‘masking’ and spotting undiagnosed autism.
www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=hqioYJGbpNs
For more resources on a range of topics related to autism and neurodiversity, please click here