Neurodiversity assessments with Vicandas Psychology
Our neurodiversity assessment is the starting point for everyone coming to Vicandas Psychology. This assessment allows us to build a unique neurodevelopmental profile for individuals and families in order to provide tailor-made recommendations for support, intervention or further assessment. Neurodiversity assessments can be offered online or face-to-face for families living in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire or Staffordshire.
Frequently asked questions
How does it work?
Once registered, you will be asked to complete a preliminary questionnaire detailing the nature of your concerns and for us to start to get an understanding of your unique profile. Depending on the responses given, we may ask you to complete some further standardised questionnaires.
Once your responses have been received and reviewed, we will hold an initial assessment. This is conducted online and takes around 90 minutes. This meeting will allow us to hear more about your concerns and for us to get more detail about strengths and areas of need.
After your appointment, you will receive a report detailing the individual neuro-cognitive profile along with family and wider social factors impacting on the overall presentation. The report also includes tailored recommendations for your next steps.
How long does it take?
Initial enquiries will receive a response within 48 hours.
We aim to offer an appointment within 2-3 weeks of registration. This can be much quicker, but will depend on completion of initial questionnaires and your availability for appointments.
Following the assessment appointment, reports will be completed and shared within 5 working days. We expect the whole process, from registration to receiving your report, to take no longer than 4 weeks.
Who needs to be involved?
This depends a little on the age of the individual being assessed, but, at Vicandas Psychology, we take a family-based approach so would encourage the involvement of parents and child. Assessment meetings are generally broken down to allow us to meet separately with parents; the child or young person; and the whole family. We aim to be flexible and can change the format if individuals are feeling anxious or unsure about the meeting.
What can I expect from the report?
The report details the individual neuro-cognitive profile of the child or young person, including strengths, motivation and risk factors. In addition, any family, educational or social factors impacting on the main concerns will be reported.
Based on these findings, recommendations will be given for actions you can take to manage your concerns and achieve your goals. Although this is not a diagnostic report, diagnostic clusters will be highlighted and options for further assessment will be detailed.
Who will see the report?
The assessment and report is for you and your family to use as you wish. Some families may choose to share it with schools or health providers, but we will not routinely do this.
In very rare circumstances we may have an obligation to share assessment information with third parties. We would always aim to discuss this with families in these situations. Please see our privacy policy for more details.
What happens after the assessment?
That is entirely up to you, but we hope that the assessment report will give you enough information to make an informed decision about your next steps.
At Vicandas Psychology we offer neuro-diversity focused family support and specialist diagnostic assessment. We would be happy to discuss these options following the neurodiversity assessment with you if you feel they may be appropriate.
Some families find that the assessment report gives them enough information to make changes themselves and others choose to share with schools, NHS services or other healthcare providers in order for them to support with further assessment or intervention.
I want an assessment for autism or ADHD. Do I still need this assessment?
We ask that anyone coming to Vicandas Psychology for a diagnostic assessment undergoes this assessment as an initial step. It is best practice in any assessment to gather background and contextual information and our assessment is the most effective way for us to do this.
The assessment may also give us enough information to know that a specific diagnostic assessment is not appropriate, but that a family’s difficulties could be otherwise helped. In these situations we would not wish to continue with a lengthy and costly assessment.
We already have a diagnosis and need support. Is this assessment right for us?
Yes! Our interventions are targeted and focused based on your profile, which we develop through our assessment process. It is essential that we include both parts in order to maximise our clinical effectiveness.
