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Autism assessments
HCT are currently offering a hybrid service of virtual and face-to-face appointments depending on the needs of your child. The majority of our ASD assessments are face-to-face with some being undertaken as virtual video based assessments with the Multidisciplinary team. This means you and your child or young person can be seen at home via video link. A clinician will contact you in advance of an appointment to discuss the process and how the assessment will be carried out on the day. This way of working is in line with national and international expert guidance, and ensures our families and staff are kept safe. In addition, this model of working is helping the team ensure that children, young people and their families can receive support based on their individual needs. Virtual assessments have already helped us to reduce the time it is currently taking to review and assess each individual.
When your child or young person is nearing the top of the waiting list, we would be grateful if you and/or the school setting where appropriate could complete and return all the forms which we will send. The forms will typically be sent by email.
If your child’s needs have changed and you no longer require an assessment appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can offer the appointment to another family. You can contact the ASD Administration team by emailing hct.autism@nhs.net. If your child is under the care of the East and North Hertfordshire Paediatricians, based at Lister Hospital, QEII Hospital, Danestrete Health Centre and Hertford County Hospital, please email autism.enh-tr@nhs.net.
Whilst you are waiting for an assessment appointment, we suggest you review the information available from the Hertfordshire County Council Local Offer. The Local Offer includes a range of materials, bookable courses and workshops which can provide invaluable guidance on supporting your child or young person, both before and after their assessment. The Local Offer website is www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/localoffer.
There are an increased number of workshops for parents, carers and families awaiting ASD assessment. You can find the dates and details for the workshops by accessing the Local Offer website link above.
As part of the Local Offer, we are please to announce the creation of the Neurodiversity Support Hub.
The Neurodiversity Support Hub is an advice service offering support, signposting and guidance about a whole range of things relating to ADHD and Autism. The phones are answered by a team of parents and carers of neurodivergent children and young people and your child doesn't need a diagnosis for you to use this service.
You can call them on 01727 833963 (Open Monday to Friday 9am - 1pm, closed bank holidays) or email: supporthub@add-vance.org
Making a referral for ASD assessment
Please see "Making a Referral" section below. Updated referral forms and guidance are now live.
Click here for more information about ASD.
- Address: Lister Hospital, Coreys Mill Lane, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 4AB, Stevenage, SG1 4AB
- How the service is provided
- Making a referral
- Useful information
- Contact the service
- Patient experience
How the service is provided
Autism assessments are delivered by a multi-disciplinary team comprised of community paediatricians, psychologists, speech and language therapists, other specialist clinicians and assistant psychologists.
We can offer a flexible approach to the assessment depending on the needs of your child. A clinician will contact you in advance to discuss the process. Most assessments are carried out face-to-face in a clinic setting. The assessment team is committed to ensuring that children, young people and their families can receive support based on their individual needs. If there are any reasonable adjustments we can make for you or your family, please let our clinicians know when they contact you.
West Hertfordshire
Your child will be seen at one of the following locations if you live in West Hertfordshire. This area includes Dacorum, Watford, Three Rivers, St Albans and Hertsmere:
- Peace Children’s Centre
- Marlowes Health and Wellbeing Centre
- St Albans Health and Wellbeing Centre
Most children in West Hertfordshire will see a doctor (paediatrician or clinical psychologist) and an autism clinician on the day of their appointment. To help prepare families for the assessment, we have developed videos explaining what to expect at each location:
• What to expect from your autism assessment at Peace Children’s Centre
• What to expect from your autism assessment at Marlowes Health and Wellbeing Centre
• What to expect from your autism assessment at St Albans Health and Wellbeing Centre
These videos are aimed at older children, but most assessments follow the same format and are adapted for younger children.
East and North Hertfordshire
Your child will be seen at one of the two assessment sites in East and North Hertfordshire. East and North Hertfordshire includes East Herts, North Herts, Stevenage, Broxbourne, and Welwyn and Hatfield:
- QEII Hospital, Welwyn Garden City
- Danestrete Health Centre
Most children in East and North Hertfordshire will attend an assessment session with a clinician followed by a feedback session with their paediatrician at a later date.
To help prepare families for the assessment we have developed the following videos:
• What to expect from your autism assessment at Danstrete Health Centre
• What to expect from your autism assessment at QEII Hospital
Some young people in East and North Hertfordshire may be booked to see a doctor and an autism clinician on the same day. The videos below explain what to expect at a joint assessment:
• What to expect at a joint autism assessment and doctor’s appointment at Danestrete
• What to expect at a joint autism assessment and doctor’s appointment at QEII Hospital
Sometimes, we may ask to observe your child in their nursery or school. This could happen at any point in the process and we will always contact you first.
Making a referral
Referrals can be made by a GP, health visitor, social worker (in certain circumstances), speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and consultants from other specialities. In West Hertfordshire, a school nurse can also make a referral.
For a referral to be accepted the service requires three sources of information:
- The referral form
- The parent questionnaire
- The school/nursery questionnaire
It is important that we have information from all three sources in order to determine the most appropriate form of assessment for your child. Our referral forms and information can be found below.
Once complete, the forms should be submitted by the GP or other healthcare professional to the following addresses:
West Herts (Dacorum, Watford, Three Rivers, St Albans and Hertsmere): HCT.CYPSpecialistServices@nhs.net
East and North Herts (East Herts, North Herts, Stevenage, Broxbourne, and Welwyn and Hatfield): refoutpatients.enh-tr@nhs.net
These documents may help you better understand the referral process:
• Parent carer guidance for making autism and ADHD referrals for a child or young person in Hertfordshire
• School education setting guidance for making autism and ADHD referrals for a child or young person in Hertfordshire
If you live in East and North Hertfordshire, all of the required information for a referral is contained within one document, CYP Autism ADHD complete referral form:
Integrated referral form for an autism and/or ADHD assessment (editable version)
Integrated referral form for an autism and/or ADHD assessment (fillable version)
Integrated referral form for an autism and/or ADHD assessment (printable version)
If you live in West Hertfordshire, the required forms are below:
A child and young person's autism and ADHD parent carer questionnaire Herts (editable version)
A child and young person's autism and ADHD parent carer questionnaire (fillable version)
A child and young person's autism and ADHD parent carer questionnaire (printable version)
A child and young person's autism and ADHD school educational setting questionnaire (editable version)
A child and young person's autism and ADHD school educational setting questionnaire (fillable version)
A child and young person's autism and ADHD school educational setting questionnaire (printable version)
Useful information
What to do if your child’s needs change
If your child’s needs have changed and you no longer require an assessment appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can offer the appointment to another family. In West Hertfordshire, you can contact the autism administration team by emailing hct.autism@nhs.net. If your child is under the care of the East and North Hertfordshire paediatricians, based at Lister Hospital, QEII Hospital, Danestrete Health Centre and Hertford County Hospital, please email autism.enh-tr@nhs.net.
Whilst you wait
Whilst you are waiting for an assessment appointment, we suggest you review the information available from the Hertfordshire County Council Local Offer. The Local Offer includes a range of resources to support your child or young person.
The Neurodiversity Support Hub is an advice service offering support, signposting and guidance about a whole range of things relating to ADHD and Autism. The phones are answered by a team of parents and carers of neurodivergent children and young people. Your child doesn't need a diagnosis for you to use this service. You can call them on 01727 833963 (Open Monday to Friday 9am - 1pm, closed bank holidays) or email: supporthub@add-vance.org
The Toolbox from Mindler is a website for young people to access information and support about ADHD and autism. They offer resources like self-help tools, live streams and an anonymous text chat service (no formal diagnosis required).
Post-diagnosis support and resources
The Hertfordshire County Council Local Offer includes a range of materials, bookable courses and workshops which can provide invaluable guidance on supporting your child or young person, both before and after their assessment.
ADD-vance is a registered charity with a team of trainers, coaches and volunteers. Their services include workshops, coaching, a Facebook group, and a helpdesk (01727 833963).
The Neurodiversity Support Hub is an advice service offering support, signposting and guidance about a whole range of things relating to ADHD and Autism. The phones are answered by a team of parents and carers of neurodivergent children and young people. Your child doesn't need a diagnosis for you to use this service. You can call them on 01727 833963 (Open Monday to Friday 9am - 1pm, closed bank holidays) or email: supporthub@add-vance.org
The Toolbox from Mindler is a website for young people to access information and support about ADHD and Autism. Offering resources like self-help tools, live streams and an anonymous text chat service (no formal diagnosis required).
Angels Support Group supports families of autistic children and/or children withs ADHD (and those waiting diagnosis).
Families in Focus offer training for parents of children with and without additional needs.
SPACE is a Hertfordshire-based charity supporting neurodivergent children and young people and their families. They offer a range of training and workshops.
Herts Parent and Carer Involvement (HPCI) register to receive local, regional and national SEND news and information, receive invitations to local and regional events, find out about service changes and developments, and share your views.
The National Autistic Society is a national charity that provides information and resources for autistic people and their families.
Information and support for autistic girls and women:
- The National Autistic Society online training module about women and girls
- Autistic Girl's Network
Contact the service
If you have a query regarding your child or young person’s autism assessment and they are under the care of the West Hertfordshire paediatricians, please email hct.autism@nhs.net or call 01923 471204.
If your child is under the care of the East and North Hertfordshire paediatricians, based at Lister Hospital, QEII Hospital, Danestrete Health Centre and Hertford County Hospital, please email autism.enh-tr@nhs.net or call 01438 737779.
Patient experience
If you would like to share your story, please contact the Patient Experience team on 01707 388036 or email hct.patientexperienceteam@nhs.net
We would also love to hear about your experience on our service, please complete a survey.
