The Ealing Adult Autism Assessment Service (EAAAS) provides specialist diagnostic Autism assessments for adults living in Ealing.
This service is suitable for those who:
- Do not have a significant learning disability
- Are aged 18 and over
- Are registered with a GP located in the Ealing borough
- Do not already have a diagnosis of Autism or have previously received an assessment for Autism.
The National Autistic Society describes autism as a “lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world. One in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and there’re around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK”.
Visit the National Autistic Society website
Autism can be diagnosed at any point across the life-span. For many people, they may not have received a diagnosis in childhood, their differences may have been missed. As societies understanding of Autism has developed, many more adults may suspect they are autistic.
Autism is characterised by differences in Social Communication and Interaction, including the presence of restricted/repetitive behaviours and interests, which can include sensory processing needs.
The team consists of clinical psychologists, who are specially trained and have expertise to conduct diagnostic assessments.
The team work closely with other services such as:
- The Ealing Autism Hub
- CTPLD (Learning disability :: West London NHS Trust)
- Ealing Talking Therapies (formerly IAPT)
- NHS Mental health services.
The EAAAS service does not provide long term management for mental health issues.
The team provides post-diagnosis support sessions for those who receive a diagnosis in this service, that tend to consist of psychoeducation, strategies and further signposting/advice. The team may also offer training and advice to other health and social care services, so they can better meet the needs of autistic people.
Referrals can only be made by healthcare professionals such as; GPs, care co-ordinators, Mental Health Practitioners, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and other practitioners in community or acute services.
Referrals for this service are screened by the Ealing Autism Hub.
Referrals can emailed directly to wlm-tr.ealingautismhub@nhs.net. We will accept referrals using the standard SPA referral form.
If the referral meets the criteria, service users will receive a letter of acceptance onto the waiting list. If the referral doesn’t meet the criteria, service users will receive a letter that will explain the reasons for this. Referrers will also be copied into correspondence.
A clinician from the Autism Hub may contact you to conduct a screening questionnaire if this wasn’t already conducted by the referrer.
Service users will be advised of the current waiting times and may access further support and advice via the Autism Hub whilst they are awaiting their assessment.
Service users who are accepted onto the waiting list will be provided with further information from the Ealing Autism Hub, regarding what to expect from the assessment process and how to prepare for this.
Service users who are accepted onto the waiting list will be provided with further information from the Ealing Autism Hub, regarding what to expect from the assessment process and how to prepare for this.
The assessment takes around 4 hours and consists of questions regarding childhood development. As part of the assessment process, we'll request to speak with someone who knows the service user well, to provide secondary information. This person could be a relative, partner, friend, family worker, etc. However, ideally, they would be able to comment regarding the service user’s development throughout childhood.
Following an assessment, if the service user receives a diagnosis of Autism, they will be offered three sessions of post-diagnostic support with the Ealing Adult Autism Assessment Service (EAAAS).