Willow & Connect Autism Assessments
Collaborative Assessments Centred Around the Whole Child
At Willow & Connect Autism Assessments, we believe that an autism assessment should be about far more than reaching a diagnostic conclusion.
It should be an opportunity to understand a child or young person more fully: how they experience and interact with the world around them, how they communicate, what supports their regulation and sense of safety, what they find challenging, where their strengths lie and what the people around them can do to help them thrive.
Our multidisciplinary autism diagnostic pathway brings together professionals from Willow Tree Therapy, Connect Specialist Therapy and Wellcare Health, combining expertise across Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Clinical Psychology.
Our assessment pathway is designed in accordance with NICE guidance for the recognition, referral and diagnosis of autism in children and young people, while maintaining the individualised, neuroaffirming and child-centred approach that underpins all of our work.
We don’t want families to leave our service with simply a “yes” or “no”.
We want them to leave with a greater understanding of their child.
A Different Kind of Autism Assessment
For many children and young people, their presentation cannot be understood through one assessment, one professional or one clinical appointment.
Communication, sensory processing, emotional wellbeing, regulation, anxiety, attachment experiences, trauma, masking, language development and the demands of different environments can all influence how a child presents.
This is why our assessment is multidisciplinary and holistic.
Rather than asking only:
“Does this child meet the diagnostic criteria for autism?”
we also want to understand:
Who is this child?
How do they experience their world?
How do they communicate and connect with other people?
What are their strengths?
What is important to them?
What environments help them feel safe and able to participate?
What might be contributing to the difficulties they are experiencing?
And what support would make a meaningful difference to their everyday life?
Diagnosis may form one part of that understanding. It should never be the whole story.
Our Specialist Knowledge Makes a Difference
One of the strengths of the Willow & Connect pathway is the breadth of specialist knowledge within our multidisciplinary team.
Alongside specialist knowledge and experience of autism and neurodevelopment, our clinicians bring additional expertise in areas which can significantly influence how a child or young person presents.
Our Multidisciplinary Team
Our assessments bring together the complementary expertise of professionals from:
Willow Tree Therapy
Speech and Language Therapy
Connect Specialist Therapy
Paediatric Occupational Therapy
Wellcare Health
Clinical Psychology
Working collaboratively allows us to consider the child or young person from different professional perspectives rather than viewing their presentation through one clinical lens.
The multidisciplinary team considers all of the information gathered throughout the assessment before reaching a clinical conclusion.
This is particularly important when a child’s presentation is complex or when there may be overlapping differences or experiences influencing their communication, regulation, participation and behaviour.
A Neuroaffirming Approach
Our assessment process is intentionally neurodiversity-affirming.
We recognise autism as a neurodevelopmental difference and understand that every autistic person has their own individual profile of strengths, needs, preferences and experiences.
Our role is not to look for what is “wrong” with a child or to assess how successfully they can appear neurotypical.
Instead, we seek to understand their authentic experience.
We recognise that some children and young people may communicate, interact, play, regulate or express themselves differently. We also recognise that some young people may have spent considerable time masking or adapting themselves in response to expectations around them.
Our clinicians therefore consider the context behind what we observe, rather than interpreting behaviour in isolation.
Throughout the assessment we aim to promote dignity, autonomy and emotional safety. Children and young people are given time, space and opportunities to communicate in ways that work for them.
The Assessment Journey
We want families to understand what is happening at every stage of the process.
1
Free Initial Consultation
Your journey can begin with a free 30 minute consultation with a member of our team.
This gives you an opportunity to discuss your concerns, ask questions and tell us a little about your child or young person.
We can explain our assessment pathway and help you consider whether proceeding to an autism diagnostic assessment may be appropriate.
There is no obligation to continue following this conversation.
2
Screening & Information Gathering
If you choose to proceed, the next stage involves gathering detailed information about your child or young person.
This may include screening questionnaires and information from parents/carers, education and other professionals involved with the child.
We are interested not only in areas of difficulty but also the child’s strengths, interests, relationships, communication, sensory experiences, emotional wellbeing and everyday participation.
Screening tools contribute information to the wider assessment. They are not used alone to diagnose or exclude autism.
3
Developmental History & Parent/Carer Interview
A detailed developmental history forms an important part of the assessment.
A clinician will spend time with you exploring your child’s development and experiences from their early years through to the present day.
We may discuss areas including early development, communication, play, relationships, sensory experiences, routines, interests, emotional regulation, education, health, independence and family experiences.
This conversation allows us to build a much richer picture of your child across their lifetime rather than relying upon what we see during a single appointment.
4
School or Educational Information
Where appropriate and with consent, we gather information from the child’s school, nursery, college or other educational setting.
Children can present very differently across environments.
Understanding what happens at home, within education and in the community helps us identify patterns as well as differences between settings.
5
School / Educational Observation
Where clinically indicated, our pathway can include an observation within the child’s educational environment.
This allows our clinicians to understand the young person within a familiar, everyday context and consider areas such as communication, interaction, sensory processing, regulation, participation and the demands of their environment.
Observations are interpreted alongside all other assessment information rather than being considered in isolation.
6
Autism-Specific Assessment – ADOS
The assessment pathway may include the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), completed by appropriately trained clinicians.
The ADOS provides a structured opportunity to observe aspects of communication, interaction and behaviour relevant to an autism assessment.
Importantly, an ADOS score alone does not determine whether a child is autistic.
It is one source of clinical information within a much broader multidisciplinary assessment.
We also recognise that anxiety, masking, communication differences, selective mutism, sensory needs and unfamiliar environments may influence how a child presents during an assessment.
Our clinicians take this wider context into consideration.
7
Multidisciplinary Clinical Review
Once the different elements of the assessment have been completed, the multidisciplinary team brings the information together.
Rather than relying on one test or one clinician’s opinion, we consider the evidence collectively.
This includes developmental history, family perspectives, the young person’s own perspective wherever possible, educational information, observations, autism-specific assessment, communication profile, sensory and functional information and relevant health or developmental information.
The team considers whether the overall profile meets recognised diagnostic criteria for autism while also considering other possible or co-occurring needs.
8
Feedback & Understanding the Outcome
Families are offered an appointment to discuss the outcome of the assessment.
Whether or not an autism diagnosis is reached, we explain the clinical reasoning behind the team’s conclusions and provide an opportunity to ask questions.
Where a child or young person is identified as autistic, we want this conversation to be affirming, respectful and meaningful.
A diagnosis should not change who a child is.
It can provide a framework for understanding who they have always been.
9
Your Child’s Individual Profile & Recommendations
Our work does not stop at diagnosis.
The information gathered through assessment helps us identify the child’s individual profile of strengths and needs and consider what may support them going forward.
Recommendations can therefore be meaningful and specific to the individual rather than a generic list of “autism strategies”.
Our aim is for the assessment to help parents, carers, the young person and the professionals around them understand:
More Than a Diagnosis
Families often begin an autism assessment looking for an answer.
We believe they deserve more than that.
Our aim is for every family to leave Willow & Connect with a richer understanding of their child or young person — their strengths, their differences, their communication, their sensory and emotional experiences and the support that may help them participate and thrive.
For the child or young person themselves, we want assessment to contribute to something equally important:
Understanding themselves without feeling that they need to become somebody else.
That is why our approach is collaborative.
That is why it is multidisciplinary.
And that is why our assessments are centred around the whole child.
Thinking About an Autism Assessment?
If you are wondering whether an autism assessment may be appropriate for your child or young person, you can arrange a free initial consultation with our team.
There is no obligation to proceed.
It is simply an opportunity to talk through your concerns, learn more about the Willow & Connect assessment pathway and decide what feels right for your family.