Autism

Our Autism Diagnostic Service provides assessments to identify if a person has autism or not. We have a youth team who provide assessments for young people between the ages of 11 and 18. We have an adult team who provide assessments for those aged 18 and over. If we diagnose somebody with autism, we offer advice and short term limited support to help them, and their family, to understand their diagnosis. Our team will explore ways that might help manage difficulties or challenges faced at home, work or in education.

Service Manager Lead: Community Team Manager

Address:
Haymills House, Station Road East, Stowmarket, IP14 1RQ
Reception phone number: 01449 745 200 Option 3
Service hours: Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm

Waiting list

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is contacting some people who are currently waiting for an assessment to make sure the information we hold is up to date and to check whether they still wish to remain on our waiting list.

You may receive a text message from us containing a secure link to a short online questionnaire. This will require you to set up an account with Beseen (Psyomics) so that you can return to continue completing the questionnaire or see the finalised questionnaire responses.

Is the link genuine?

Yes. NSFT is working with beseen to provide this online questionnaire.

When you select the link in the text message, you will be taken securely to the beseen platform, which is provided by an NHS partner (Pysomics) on behalf of NSFT.

It is therefore expected that the website you see after selecting the link will look different from the NSFT or NHS website.

The beseen platform is designed to allow people to provide information securely online. Other NHS mental health services also use the platform to support people to provide information about their care.

You should only access the questionnaire using the link provided in the text message sent to you.

If you are unsure whether a message is genuine, do not select the link. You can contact your NSFT service using the contact details you already have to check before continuing.

Why are we contacting you?

We know that people can wait some time for assessment and that circumstances can change while they are waiting.

The questionnaire helps us:

Confirm that you still want to remain on the NSFT waiting list
Check that your contact details and circumstances are up to date
Understand whether you have received or are waiting for an assessment elsewhere
Identify whether you have moved out of the area
Understand whether there is anything we can do to help you access or engage with our service
Make sure our waiting lists accurately reflect the people who are still waiting for NSFT support.

These purposes align with NSFT's planned use of beseen for waiting-list validation, including identifying changes such as moving out of area, accessing Right to Choose, receiving a private diagnosis or no longer wishing to remain on the waiting list.

What will I need to do?

The questionnaire is a short waiting-list check-in. It is not another assessment.

We will ask you to confirm whether:

You still want to remain on the NSFT waiting list

and whether anything important has changed since you were referred.

Please answer the questions as accurately as you can. Keeping in touch with us and responding when we contact you helps us make sure that we continue to provide the right support while you are waiting.

If you need help completing the questionnaire, have difficulty using digital services, need information in another format or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact your NSFT service. We will support you to respond in another way.

Will completing the questionnaire affect my place on the waiting list?

Completing the questionnaire will not change your position on the waiting list.

Its purpose is to make sure the information we hold is correct and that you still want an assessment from NSFT.

If you tell us that you no longer require an assessment, have received an assessment elsewhere, have moved away, or are unsure whether you still need our service, we may contact you to close your referral or discuss this before any changes are made to your care or waiting-list status.

Keeping your information safe

The questionnaire link takes you to the secure beseen platform.

Information you provide through the questionnaire is shared securely with the relevant NHS team. The existing beseen platform public information similarly explains that questionnaire responses are shared securely with the NHS mental health team.

NSFT will never ask you to provide bank details or make a payment to remain on an NHS waiting list.

If something about a message does not look right, please do not provide any information and contact your NSFT service directly.

What this service offers

When we receive a referral form, we review the information. If there is not enough information to show that an autism assessment is needed, we will not accept the referral. We might return the referral, ask for more information or send the referral to another service for support if we think this would be helpful.

When a referral is accepted the name of the person is placed on a waiting list for an autism assessment. The waiting list is long, but we will see the person as soon as we can. While the person is waiting, we provide information about what happens during an autism assessment and ask for the persons consent. When we are able to see the person, we will contact them or their parent/carer by telephone or letter and arrange where and when to meet.

We try to meet people as close to their home as possible. We have clinics in Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket and Ipswich.

Our teams complete a full assessment, working with the person and important people in their lives, before we decide if autism is the correct diagnosis for the person.

When the assessment is finished, we will write a report and send this to the person and their GP. The report explains our decision and whether a diagnosis of autism has been given.

Find resources, interactive materials, and more here Autism Diagnostic Service | Norfolk and Suffolk NHS (nsft.nhs.uk)

Access this service

If you would like to be referred to the Autism Service you, (or your parent/ carer) can speak to your GP or another professional. This could be a School Nurse, Social Worker or other health professionals like a Speech and Language Therapist. A referral can be made if you, and the professional you speak to, agree it is needed. A referral form needs to be completed by a professional (your GP has referral forms; other professionals can ask the autism service for these)

If a young person is aged between 11 and 25 years old the referral form should be sent to: The Emotional Wellbeing Hub (EWH): 3^rd Floor Landmark House, Ipswich, IP1 5PB

If the person is over 25 years old the referral form should be sent to: The Access and Assessment Team (AAT). (Click here for contact details - Access and Assessment Team (AAT), Mariner House, Handford Road, Ipswich, IP1 2GA.

Visiting and onsite facilities

Our main office is at Haymills House, Station Road East, Stowmarket, IP14 1RQ.

We also have clinics in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich.

All our clinics are accessible and have limited parking available. Reserved parking is available for those with disabilities.

How this service support carers including friends and family

With consent, we ask family and/or important people in the person’s life for information to help in the assessment process.

We can provide information about where to access carer assessments for people aged 18 and above.

We support families and carers to understand a diagnosis of autism and what this might mean. We can provide information about local and national organisations that that can offer short, and longer-term support.

We work with Suffolk Family Carers to offer support sessions and training for families and carers of people diagnosed with autism.

Urgent help

Please be aware this is not a crisis service. If you have urgent concerns about a child/young person's physical condition, please contact 111 or request they attend Accident & Emergency.

The MEED (Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders) Guidance provides a framework for evaluation of physical health risk in individuals with eating disturbance: www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/campaigning-for-better-mental-health-policy/college-reports/2022-college-reports/cr233

For urgent mental health support, call 111 and select the mental health option (24-hours/day). If you are with someone who has self-harmed or attempted to end their life, call 999 and stay with them until the ambulance arrives.

For more information, see Help in a Crisis.