Child Autism for Bedford and surrounding patients, conducted in person at our Bedford clinic. NICE CG128-aligned, led personally by Tina Fox. £1,200, family-led in person at bedford. Typically 6–8 weeks from first call.
Tina Fox is Clinical Lead at NeuroFX. Every child autism assessment for Bedford patients is led by her personally, alongside Cheyenne Contreras for ADOS-2.
You will know exactly who you are seeing before you book. Tina leads the clinical conversation from your first call through to your written report.
Autism rarely arrives alone. A few related neurodevelopmental pathways available to Bedford patients.
Family-led NICE NG87 pathway. Young DIVA-5 plus SNAP-IV (parent and teacher), SDQ, RCADS and sleep screen. Outcome letter within 48 hours.
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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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NICE CG142-aligned ADOS-2 plus ADI-R autism assessment. In person at Bedford. Two structured sessions with MDT review and follow-up video call.
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Take the validated AQ-10 (adults) or ASSQ short (parents) self-screen in your browser. The short autism screeners NICE cites for first-pass screening. Not a diagnosis.
Take the screen
Child autism assessment uses the gold-standard ADOS-2 plus ADI-R protocol, family-led, in person at our Bedford clinic. Aligned to NICE CG128, for children aged 6 to 17. Not available online because ADOS-2 requires direct observation.
Parent or carer referral. We discuss whether NeuroFX assessment is the right fit and what existing evidence would be useful (school, SENCO, previous reports).
Referral or phoneASSQ short (parent and teacher) plus a structured developmental history form. Allow up to 2 hours to complete carefully.
~2 hours · parent + teacherDetailed informant-led ADI-R interview with parents (child not present). Covers early development, social reciprocity, language and restricted/repetitive behaviour.
~2.5 hours · in person or videoA semi-structured ADOS-2 observation with Tina and our specialist ADOS-2 practitioner Cheyenne Contreras. Calibrated to your child’s language level, for ages 6 to 17.
~1 hour · in person at BedfordInternal MDT review of all evidence. The diagnostic outcome comes to you in writing within 7 days, and if a follow-up video call would help, we arrange one to talk it through in a calmer setting than the assessment day.
Outcome within 7 daysNICE CG128-aligned written report including ADOS-2 and ADI-R findings, diagnostic formulation, recommendations, and SENCO/EHCP-ready clinical detail.
Within 14 days
Specialist Neurodevelopmental Practitioner & Independent Prescriber (NISP)
Every NeuroFX child autism 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 CG128 (autism in under-19s).
For Bedford patients in particular, child autism is multidisciplinary by design. Tina leads your assessment and report; Cheyenne Contreras, NeuroFX's specialist ADOS-2 practitioner, co-conducts the ADOS-2 observation. After the session both clinicians attend the internal MDT case review before your follow-up video call. Meet Cheyenne on the About page →
Bedford 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 Central East ICB. A private NeuroFX assessment is typically 6 to 8 weeks (next available soon).
Bedford is its own busy neurodiversity story, not just an NHS waiting list. In April and May 2025 the borough council and the Bedford Borough Parent Carer Forum filled the town centre with the Neurodiversity Umbrella Project, closing with a Festival of Inclusion at Russell Park, and in February 2025 a new SEND school, Rivertree Free School in Kempston, opened for children aged 2 to 19. The local picture also has genuine bright spots: an Ofsted and CQC inspection of Bedford Borough's SEND services (carried out in November 2024) reported that waiting times in many health services had decreased, which aids the prompt identification of need.
Even so, waits remain long; NHS England data reported by Bedford Today in August 2025 put the average wait for an autism assessment across the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes area at 15 months (with under-18s waiting on average 11 months), while the area's adult autism service, run by East London NHS Foundation Trust, currently estimates roughly 14 months to a pre-assessment appointment and 3.5 to 4 years to a diagnostic clinic. From 1 April 2026, the area's NHS commissioning moved to the new NHS Central East Integrated Care Board, a merger of the former Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and Hertfordshire boards, although where people are seen has not changed.
For children, autism and ADHD concerns are usually raised through a school's SENCO rather than the GP, so families often look for clarity while they wait. A private assessment with NeuroFX sits alongside that NHS care rather than replacing it, and where ongoing medication and shared care matter, prescribing remains at the GP's sole discretion, so it is worth speaking to the GP before booking.
Adult autism 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.
Autism has no NICE-recommended pharmacological treatment, so the conversations after diagnosis are different to ADHD. Here is what to expect for Bedford patients.
Right to Choose lets eligible patients pick any NHS-contracted provider. For autism specifically, the list of RTC providers is shorter than for ADHD, and most published waits are still measured in years.
NeuroFX is a fully private autism assessment outside the RTC framework. We can be quicker (typically 6 to 8 weeks), but you pay the fee directly.
There is no NICE-recommended pharmacological treatment for autism itself. After diagnosis we focus on:
Onward signposting: Bedford community autism services, the National Autistic Society's local peer network, and any free workshops or peer-led groups in the area.
School and study evidence: Your report is written to support SENCO conversations, EHCP applications and Equality Act 2010 reasonable adjustments at school.
Co-occurring conditions: If ADHD is also suspected, we book a separate child ADHD assessment, which can be added at the £950 top-up rate.
Read our autism pathway →
Bedford sits on the River Great Ouse at the heart of England, a market town with deep roots and a genuinely mixed, multicultural character that sets it apart from its more uniform neighbours. The Embankment -- a long, tree-lined riverside walk -- is one of the great underappreciated green spaces of the East Midlands, and on any given weekend it is full of families, runners and anyone who needs an hour of open air.
The town has grown considerably in recent years with the Wixams development and ongoing regeneration, and there is a sense of a place finding its own confident identity. Bedford is close to everything -- London is under an hour, Cambridge forty minutes -- but it does not feel like a commuter dormitory; it feels like somewhere people actually choose to be.
This page is for Bedford, Kempston, Wixams, Clapham, Brickhill, Biddenham, Oakley, Bromham, Stevington and surrounding villages.Schools, universities, employers and parent-carer networks in the Bedford 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 Bedford Borough 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.
Practical ADHD and autism support for home, school and family life. Every NeuroFX patient gets 12 months of FamilyFX membership included. Your team will send your access code after your assessment. It does not renew automatically and we take no payment details.
Specific service variants for Bedford patients. Same clinic, same clinician, different pathway.
Anything not here? See our full FAQ page or just call us.
School support for autistic children in England: SEN Support versus an EHCP, adjustments under the Equality Act, and what to do when help is thin.
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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