We offer assessment of children and young people between the ages of 5 – 18. Autism assessments are carried out by our team of specialist clinicians at our assessment centre based at the school.
Assessments are led by a Clinical Psychologist and Speech and Language Therapist who both specialise in and have many years of experience working with and assessing young people with social communication disorders.
Our assessment suite is both spacious and welcoming to help settle your child.
We allow plenty of time for your child to relax and we carefully consider their anxiety levels when assessing them.
Our clinicians are sensitive to the needs of the children and young people they assess and try their best to build rapport and trust to enable them to build a true picture of each child and to best understand their presenting needs.
The Assessment Process includes meeting with parent(s) or carers to obtain a detailed developmental history, this can take 2-3 hours. The assessment may include the child being observed in the school setting or at home if the child is currently out of school.
We use the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) as a key part of the assessment process. For this the child is invited to our assessment centre where they will undergo a series of play-based observational assessments.
The ADOS takes about an hour to administer. Additional assessments may be conducted dependent on the child’s presentation such as standardised speech and language therapy tests and sensory assessments carried out by our Occupational Therapist.
We aim to provide a thorough assessment of each child and produce a detailed report that summarises the assessment, its outcomes and most importantly offers advice and recommendations on how to help support and better understand the needs of the young person.
Once the report has been written we invite parents back for a feedback session in which we talk through the findings of the assessment and provide opportunities for questions.
Cognitive assessments are carried out by our Clinical Psychologist. We use the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC V).
The assessment process includes taking background information about the young person’s general presentation, needs and academic progress.
A cognitive assessment will typically take about an hour to administer.
We will provide a comprehensive report with recommendations that will help support the child and better inform others trying to support the young person at home and in school.
Dr Chris Morrell is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with an Honours Degree in Psychology, a Masters Degree in Health Psychology and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Universities of Coventry and Warwick.
He is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPS).
Dr Morrell has worked at Swalcliffe Park School for many years providing advice and consultation in his specialist area of autism. Dr Morrell has a lead role in the school’s Autism Assessment team and offers training on behalf of the school. Dr Morrell has delivered training and workshops at many schools and colleges in the West Midlands.
Prior to joining the team at Swalcliffe Park School, Dr Morrell worked for the NHS for nearly 15 years. The last 9 years were spent working for Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Worcestershire. In his time working for the NHS, Dr Morrell’s work focused specifically on assessing and supporting children and adolescents on the autistic spectrum and with learning difficulties and learning disabilities.
He has facilitated adolescent Asperger clinics, sibling groups, taken a lead role on the neurodevelopmental assessment team and was responsible for assessment and diagnosis of social communication conditions. He also took a lead role in developing an award-winning disability service within Worcestershire CAMHS.
Sue Moon qualified from Birmingham City University with a First Class Degree in Speech and Language Therapy in 2012. She is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and is a Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
Since qualifying, Sue has specialised in working with children and young people with social communication difficulties including autism spectrum conditions. She has worked in mainstream schools and as an independent therapist with a particular interest in identifying and supporting girls with autism. Sue has seen first-hand the importance of the correct diagnosis and the significant impact on mental health that misdiagnosis or under-identification can have.
Sue has also worked as a Consultant Therapist to St Andrew Healthcare since 2015 as a member of their multi-disciplinary Adult Complex Autism Assessment Service. As part of this service Sue works with Psychologists and Psychiatrists to provide autism assessments for adults who also have a range of other difficulties, including mental health conditions or a history of offending.
Sue is on the Strategy Group of the Specialist Women with Autism Professionals Network (SWAP), an innovative group of Professionals working in female autism. This network includes a number of autistic adults and holds regular events which are designed to enable professionals to mix with autistic people in order to better understand the lived experience of people with autism, particularly around issues relating to assessment and diagnosis.
My assessment with Chris was a really positive experience and his report was really interesting for me to read, clearly explaining my difficulties and the areas in which I need support.