Children and young people

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

Neurodevelopmental waiting-list questionnaire

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is contacting people who are currently waiting for an assessment, or for their referral to be screened, to make sure the information we hold is up to date and to check whether they still wish and are eligible 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 the beseen neurodiversity digital platform, provided by Psyomics, so that you can return to continue completing the questionnaire or view your finalised questionnaire responses.

Is the link genuine?

Yes. NSFT is working with Psyomics to provide this online questionnaire through the beseen neurodiversity digital platform. The text message will come from NHS no-reply.

When you select the link in the text message, you will be taken securely to the beseen neurodiversity digital platform, which is provided by Psyomics on behalf of NSFT.

The website you will see after selecting the link will look different from the NSFT or NHS website.

The beseen neurodiversity digital platform is designed to allow people to provide information securely online. Other NHS neurodevelopmental and 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.

Please note: you will receive a separate questionnaire for ADHD and Autism if you are on both waiting lists. Please complete both.

If something about the message or link does not look right, do not select the link or provide any information.

Why are we contacting you?

We understand that people can wait an extended time for a neurodevelopmental (ADHD and/or Autism) assessment and that circumstances can change while they are waiting.

The questionnaire helps us to:

Confirm that you still want to and are eligible to remain on the NSFT waiting list for an ADHD and/or Autism assessment
Check that your contact details and circumstances are up to date
Understand whether you have received, or are waiting for, another NHS-funded ADHD and/or Autism assessment
Identify whether you have moved out of the area
Make sure our waiting lists accurately reflect the people who are still waiting for an assessment from NSFT

NSFT's planned use of the beseen neurodiversity digital platform supports our waiting-list validation process, including identifying changes such as moving out of the area, accessing or waiting for another NHS-funded ADHD and/or Autism assessment, including through Right to Choose, receiving a private diagnosis, or no longer wishing to remain on the NSFT 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 keep our information up to date and helps us ensure we can signpost you to appropriate support while you are waiting, for example ADHD and Autism Recovery College workshops.

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 enable the team to check the information you have told us and update your records accordingly.

If you have received an autism assessment or an ADHD NHS funded assessment (e.g. right to choose) elsewhere, the team will review and update your record, then discharge you as per your update.

If you have not received autism assessment or an ADHD NHS funded assessment elsewhere your position on the waiting-list will not change.

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

If the information you share needs further clarification, the service may contact you to discuss this before any changes are made.

Keeping your information safe

The questionnaire link takes you to the secure beseen neurodiversity digital platform.

Information you provide through the questionnaire is shared securely with the relevant NHS neurodevelopmental (ADHD and/or Autism) 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 or questionnaire does not look right, do not provide any information.

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.

Resources

We have put together a list of resources to support you, covering a range of topics including:

Activities and respite
Health
Advocacy
Bereavement support
Work, employment and benefits
Relationships and sexual health
Social care and housing
Voluntary organisations and easy-read information
Groups for different demographics

View the learning disability and autism resources

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.