Child ADHD for Colchester and surrounding patients, conducted in person at our Bedford clinic (approximately 90 min via A12/A14 or A120/A10). NICE NG87-aligned, led personally by Tina Fox. £675, family-led pathway in person at bedford. Typically 6–8 weeks from first call, next available soon.
Hello, I'm Tina. I'm the lead clinician at NeuroFX. At our CQC-registered clinic, we offer specialist autism and ADHD assessments for children aged six and over and adults.
So after booking an assessment with us online or in person, you'll then be invited to take part in the onboarding process, and that is for you to be able to tell your story. It will include physical and mental health history, and then after that, you'll be sent some additional screening tools, which can all be completed in digital format online. You can pause at any time, and you can do that in the comfort of your own home. This enables me to better understand your story and your individual needs before we meet.
Next is your ADHD assessment, which is either online or in the clinic, coming to talk to me face to face. The process does take about two to three hours. That'll give you a chance to hopefully feel relaxed in an environment where you can tell me about the impacts and difficulties and how these have affected you. This follows all NICE guidelines.
In some situations, I may be able to tell you the diagnosis on the same day that we meet. In other scenarios, I might have to perhaps gain some more evidence. You might need to talk to other people, employers, family, partners, school, university, for me to be able to get a really good idea of the evidence, perhaps that you can't see yourself, and might help towards that diagnosis. You'll be provided a diagnostic report, provided I have all of that evidence, within 14 days.
So wherever you are on your journey, all the information is available on our website. You could book a call to talk to our team. You can book online. You can also simply email us if you have any questions. We do have payment plans available to pay in three or four instalments. So we look forward to meeting you and working with you on your journey.
Tina Fox is Clinical Lead at NeuroFX. Every child ADHD assessment for Colchester patients is led by her personally. A short video introduction to who we are, why we do this, and what to expect.
Take a couple of minutes with it. The point of the video is to make the room feel less unfamiliar before you even book a conversation.
A few related neurodevelopmental pathways available to Colchester patients.
Family pathway with QbCheck added where the clinical picture would benefit from objective data (NICE-approved for under-18s).
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If autistic traits are evident at your child's ADHD assessment, we can offer a gold-standard ADOS-2 plus ADI-R autism assessment as a £950 add-on.
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Six-month family titration with weekly check-ins in month one, school SENCO loop-in at month five.
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Sleep difficulties are very common in children with ADHD. Tina is a qualified Advanced Paediatric Sleep Practitioner. Sleep hygiene programmes and, where clinically appropriate, melatonin.
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NeuroFX's child ADHD assessment follows NICE NG87 across a full onboarding pack, multi-informant screening, the Young DIVA-5 clinical interview and a careful differential diagnosis. Two to three hours in the clinic, with breaks. Outcome letter within 48 hours, full report within 14 days.
Once booked, you complete a structured onboarding pack: your child's story in your own words, physical and mental health history, developmental milestones, family history, school and other settings, and any previous assessments or support. This is reviewed personally by Tina before the appointment.
~1 hour at homeSNAP-IV ADHD screen completed by you and by your child's school or teachers (NICE requires evidence across multiple settings). The Educational Setting Questionnaire is completed by the teacher or SENCo. Plus the SDQ (emotional and behavioural), the RCADS (anxiety/depression) and our sleep assessment tools.
~2 hours · parent + teacher + SENCoA semi-structured Young DIVA-5 interview, designed specifically for ADHD in children and young people. Not a tick-box exercise. We explore home, school, friendships, hobbies, daily routines and self-care, focusing on the real-world impact of difficulties on your child and family. Breaks built in.
2 to 3 hours · in person at BedfordA careful review of whether your child's symptoms are best explained by ADHD or by another condition (anxiety, autism, trauma-related conditions, learning difficulties, sleep disorders, medical conditions). This is essential to ensure the right support follows. We may recommend a QbCheck (~10-15% of cases, £129) or an ASD top-up (£950) if autistic traits are evident.
Within the appointmentWhere the clinical picture is clear, we discuss the diagnosis with you on the day. Where more information is needed (further screening, school input, QbCheck or ASD screen), we arrange a follow-up clinical update online once everything is in place. Thorough, not rushed.
Same day, or follow-up onlineAn outcome letter within 48 hours of the assessment, followed by a comprehensive written report within 14 days. Report covers the diagnostic conclusions, recommendations, signposting and non-medical interventions. Yours to share with school, GP or other professionals.
48 hours letter · 14 days report
Specialist Neurodevelopmental Practitioner & Independent Prescriber (NISP)
Every NeuroFX child ADHD assessment is conducted personally by Tina. 15 years of specialist mental health nursing experience and extensive neurodiversity specialist care, having conducted hundreds of ADHD and autism assessments. Tina is also an independent prescriber and an advanced specialist paediatric sleep practitioner. Assessments and prescribing follow NICE NG87 (ADHD diagnosis and management).
For Colchester patients in particular, having one clinician end-to-end means no diagnostic hand-offs and no inconsistency between assessment and prescriber. Same person, all the way through.
Colchester patients are seen in person at our Bedford clinic. This service is in-person only because it requires direct clinical observation or measurement that video cannot replicate.
Bedford Consulting Rooms on Goldington Road is a calm, residential-style space, not a hospital. Pay and display car park immediately next door (1 minute walk). Central rail station 8 minutes walk.
You are served clinically by NHS Essex ICB. A private NeuroFX assessment is typically 6 to 8 weeks (next available soon).
If you live in Colchester, your NHS neurodevelopmental care now sits within NHS Essex Integrated Care Board, which became legally established on 1 April 2026 and took on commissioning for North East Essex (Colchester and Tendring) when the former NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB was disestablished and split, with the Suffolk part moving to the new NHS Norfolk and Suffolk ICB. Local demand remains high: the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust North East Essex Adult Autism service describes unprecedented demand and lengthy waiting lists and says it cannot offer precise timescales, while East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs children's community paediatrics for the area, lists initial neurodevelopmental appointments at 38 or more weeks and ADOS autism assessment at 75 or more weeks (ESNEFT, fetched May 2026). The pressure is national too; Autism Anglia, the Colchester-based charity, reported in November 2025 that NHS England data showed 227,813 people in England with an open referral for suspected autism and over 90 per cent waiting longer than the 13-week NICE benchmark (figure for England, not Colchester specifically).
NHS Essex ICB has commissioned additional specialist providers and supports NHS Right to Choose so eligible patients can choose a provider, with a GP referral, to access an assessment more quickly while remaining NHS-funded. A NeuroFX assessment is offered by secure online or remote appointment and sits alongside this NHS care rather than replacing it; for medication, shared care with your GP remains at the GP's sole discretion, so it is sensible to speak to your GP first if ongoing prescribing matters to you.
Local support is available through Autism Anglia's free Community Connect service across Colchester and North East Essex, the Essex SEND Local Offer and the independent Essex SENDIASS advice service.
Adult ADHD services commissioned via this ICB. Right to Choose is available to some patients in this area.
Figures reflect the trust's own published service page at time of last review. Re-check before relying on it for any decision.
Two things every Colchester patient asks about. We've separated them clearly here so you can decide your route with full information, rather than discovering the catch after you have booked.
Right to Choose is an NHS England policy letting eligible patients choose any NHS-contracted provider for ADHD assessment, including some private providers funded by the NHS. It is not a NeuroFX service.
It exists, has helped people, and has been overwhelmed in turn: published waits at many RTC providers are now measured in years. The ADHD UK tracker is the single best place to compare current RTC provider waits.
Entering into a shared-care agreement after private titration is entirely at the individual GP's sole discretion, and is also affected by NHS Essex ICB policy. We cannot guarantee any GP will take on prescribing responsibility following a private assessment or titration.
If shared care after titration is a priority for you, speak to your Colchester GP before booking to understand their position. We will provide a structured handover designed to make that conversation as easy as possible.
Colchester makes a quiet but insistent claim to being Britain's oldest recorded town, a Roman colonia established in the first century AD that still has sections of its original Roman wall standing in the town centre alongside modern shops and coffee houses, as if the two thousand years between them is nothing unusual. The castle, built on the foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius, houses an excellent museum and is still one of the most impressive Norman keeps in England.
Colchester has grown considerably as a garrison town and is now also home to a growing university. The surrounding Essex countryside, particularly the Dedham Vale to the north, is Constable country in the most literal sense.
This page is for Colchester, Ipswich, Chelmsford, Braintree, Bury St Edmunds, Halstead, Witham, Clacton-on-Sea, Mersea Island and surrounding villages.Schools, universities, employers and parent-carer networks in the Colchester area all have routes you can use, some free, all helpful while you wait or after a diagnosis.
For children and young people in this area, the LEA is Essex County Council. Your child's SENCO is the right first call about how a private assessment is used in an EHCP application or annual review.
Our reports are designed to support DSA applications and Equality Act 2010 reasonable-adjustment requests at universities, colleges and employers in the area.
National organisations that are well-researched, neurodiversity-affirming, and free at the point of access. We recommend them whether you're a NeuroFX patient or not.
Specific service variants for Colchester patients. Same clinic, same clinician, different pathway.
Anything not here? See our full FAQ page or just call us.
How school support for ADHD works in England: SEN support versus an EHCP, what the SENCo does, and how to push for what your child needs.
What an adult or paediatric autism assessment involves: the structure, the ADOS-2 and ADI-R, what the clinician asks about, and what happens after.
Adult ADHD assessment uses rating scales, checklists and a detailed history: what these tools do, what they cannot do, and how diagnosis really works.
Nearby towns with their own NeuroFX assessment page, same Bedford clinic, same fee, same NICE-aligned pathway.
Book direct, send a referral, or call the clinic during office hours. We come back to every referral within one working day. No pressure, no obligation.
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