Paediatric Autism Assessment Service

Professionals and agencies

Please complete the local Autism Assessment Referral Pack (available to download below). This is a multi-part referral and requires information from yourself as the initiator, the parents / carers and young person as well as their education / daycare provider. Please ensure that consent is sought from the adult with legal parental responsibility and the YP if appropriate prior to submission.

Parents* and young people

If you believe that your child, young person or yourself (as the young person) may have autism or you are worried about social communication skills, you should discuss this with your health visitor, school nurse or GP. If your child attends a nursery or school, then you should also discuss this with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo).

*including carers

A referral can be made if all of the following criteria is met:

• the child should be registered with a Barnsley GP
• the child or  young person is under the age of 18* 
• an Early Help Assessment (EHA) must be active and reasonable time allowed to fully address the child’s needs (at least one review cycle). The need for a referral to ASDAT should be identified in the EHA review once other causes for the difficulties have been ruled out. What is early help?
• the family give written consent to the referral being made and to the data sharing agreement – verbal consent cannot be accepted

*Once a young person turns 18 years old, their assessment will transferred and taken over by adult services.

An Early Help Assessment (EHA) should be initiated by a professional working with the family, if a GP agrees that autism is a diagnostic possibility. 

The EHA plays an important part of addressing your child or young person’s, needs. It helps to:

• identify your child's strengths
• assess what difficulties your child may be having
• find out what additional support (if any) is needed and who would be the best person to offer this support
• support collating relevant evidence to support the need for an assessment

There are five stages to being assessed via our team*:

1. Initial Autism Assessment Clinic.
2. Independent Communication Assessment - this is requested by our team.
3. Update from educational setting  - and other professionals who may be involved.
4. Autism Assessment Conclusion and Feedback Meeting.
5. Post Assessment follow-up appointment - and then discharged from the assessment pathway.

More detail about these steps will be provided to parents or carers when their child is accepted onto the assessment pathway.

*Please note: the above steps may vary depending on the individual case.

No – If you feel that your child does not need to be assessed (or if you feel the outcome will make no difference to your child’s development), then you do not have to move forward with an assessment. Some children cope well without the need for a diagnosis.

Autism is a lifelong diagnosis. It is important to consider what this diagnosis could mean in the long term for young people as they move into adulthood, rather than focusing on the short term advantages only.

UPDATE: Change to referral paperwork from January 2024.

We have now launched our new referral pack, any referrals received after 28th of February 2024 on the old paperwork will not be considered.

Visit: The Autism Referral Hub

There is no treatment or cure available for autism. It is changes to routine, the environment and the way we communicate with autistic people that may help.

Below are a few ideas of what may be helpful following a diagnosis:

Workshops 

Attending a post diagnosis workshop such as First Steps or Cygnet Programme is recommended as these sessions give an understanding of how a child with autism may see the world and their responses to the world around them. They also give parents the knowledge they need to support these needs.

School support

We suggest meeting with the Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCo) at your child’s education setting to discuss what additional support, resources or reasonable adjustments can be offered.

Support groups 

Support groups can be a good way to meet other parents who understand both the joys and the challenges of supporting a child with autism. These groups, if facilitated correctly can be a positive way of sharing support, tips and resources.

Barnsley Family Information Service

The Barnsley Family Information Service is an excellent resource - they hold a database of all local information, services, groups and events. In addition to this, they can also offer information on:

• early help, family support and family centres
• local and national services including support groups, organisations, charities, local activities and things to do
• short breaks for children with disabilities, including help to apply for a short break and identifying a suitable provider
• childcare, including how to access funded childcare places for two-year olds in receipt of DLA
• accessing health, social care, and education services for your child
• information on the Children’s Disability Register
• a brokering service for parents and carers of children with disabilities, looking for childcare

Online resources

We would recommend sourcing information from credible sources rather than unverified  sources  such  as  social  media groups and forums. Credible sources of useful information that we recommend include:

• National Autistic Society 
• Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) Society
• The Challenging Behaviour Foundation

Post diagnosis booklets 

Post diagnosis booklets are a useful resource, given to all parents following a diagnosis through our service. The booklets identify many services, charities and resources which can be accessed to support specific needs of a child.

Children’s Disability Team

For families of children with more severe and complex difficulties - they can contact the children’s disability team for a needs assessment. 

The Support Hub