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On this page A summary for Bedfordshire patients considering child autism assessment.

Child Autism for Bedfordshire 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, next available soon.

Tina Fox, Clinical Lead at NeuroFX, introducing the clinic in a short video for Bedfordshire patients
Tina · 2 min 28
Meet Tina · 2 min 28 "Hello, I'm Tina. I'm the lead clinician at NeuroFX."
Read the transcript

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.

Meet your clinician

Meet Tina, your Bedfordshire child autism clinician.

Tina Fox is Clinical Lead at NeuroFX. Every child autism assessment for Bedfordshire patients is led by her personally, alongside Cheyenne Contreras for ADOS-2. 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.

Related NeuroFX services

For Bedfordshire patients.

Autism rarely arrives alone. A few related neurodevelopmental pathways available to Bedfordshire patients.

Regulated, registered and clinically led
Regulated by the Care Quality Commission
Nursing & Midwifery Council
Royal College of Nursing
NICE , National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
CEDR
Information Commissioner's Office
Awards & recognition

Recognised by industry and the regional business community.

SME National Business Awards 2026 Finalist
SME National Business Awards2026 Finalist
East of England StartUp Awards 2026 Regional Winner
East of England StartUp Awards2026 Regional Winner
SME Bedfordshire Business Awards 2026 Gold Winner, Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce
SME Bedfordshire Business Awards2026 Gold Winner · Bedfordshire Chamber
The Small Business Growth Awards 2026 Regional Runner-up
Small Business Growth AwardsRegional Runner-up 2026 · HSBC × FSB
The assessment

What a child autism assessment in Bedfordshire involves.

Child autism assessment uses the gold-standard ADOS-2 plus ADI-R protocol, family-led, in person at our Bedford clinic. NICE CG128-aligned for under-19s. Not available online because ADOS-2 requires direct observation.

Step 01

Get in touch

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 phone
Step 02

Pre-assessment screening

ASSQ short (parent and teacher) plus a structured developmental history form. Allow up to 2 hours to complete carefully.

~2 hours · parent + teacher
Step 03

ADI-R parent interview

Detailed 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 video
Step 04

ADOS-2 observation with your child

A semi-structured ADOS-2 observation with Tina and our specialist ADOS-2 practitioner Cheyenne Contreras. Calibrated to your child's age and language level.

~1 hour · in person at Bedford
Step 05

MDT review and written outcome

Internal 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 days
Step 06

Written report & EHCP-ready evidence

NICE CG128-aligned written report including ADOS-2 and ADI-R findings, diagnostic formulation, recommendations, and SENCO/EHCP-ready clinical detail.

Within 14 days
Tina Fox, Clinical Lead and Independent Prescriber at NeuroFX
Tina Fox during an assessment at the NeuroFX clinic in Bedford
Your clinician

Tina Fox, your Bedfordshire child autism clinician.

Specialist Neurodevelopmental Practitioner & Independent Prescriber (NISP)

RN · Mental Health PgDip Independent Prescribing NMC PIN · 10B1446E RCN Member CQC Registered

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 Bedfordshire 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 →

How Bedfordshire patients are seen

In person at our Bedford clinic.

Bedfordshire 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.

Single route · In-person at Bedford

Our Bedford clinic, right here in Bedfordshire.

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.

ParkingPay & display next door (1 min walk)
Step accessOne short flight of steps
Book in-person at Bedford →
Your local NHS context

Bedfordshire autism waiting times and your NHS options.

You are served clinically by NHS Central East ICB. A private NeuroFX assessment is typically 6 to 8 weeks (next available soon).

News, waits and support in your area

Across Bedfordshire (Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton), NHS ADHD and autism assessments are now commissioned by NHS Central East Integrated Care Board, which went live on 1 April 2026 after the former Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB merged with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and the Hertfordshire area into a single board serving about 3.5 million people. The county-wide adult autism pathway is run by East London NHS Foundation Trust's Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Autism Service, which accepts self-referrals and GP referrals but reports that people are "waiting approximately 14 months for a Pre-Assessment (initial appointment) and 3 and a half to 4 years for a Diagnostic Clinic appointment" (ELFT, accessed May 2026, figures for clinician sign-off), while children's neurodevelopmental assessments go through Bedfordshire and Luton Community Paediatrics by professional referral.

NeuroFX is a CQC-registered private clinic based in Bedford that offers ADHD and autism assessments to Bedfordshire patients, in person at its Bedford clinic or online, typically completed in 6 to 8 weeks, and this sits alongside NHS care rather than replacing it. Because this is England, patients also have the NHS Right to Choose, a legal right at the point of GP referral to choose any clinically appropriate provider holding a qualifying NHS contract for an ADHD or autism assessment.

Any shared-care arrangement for medication after a private assessment remains at the GP's sole discretion, so it is worth speaking to your GP first if shared care matters to you. Families across the county can also draw on genuinely county-wide support such as Autism Bedfordshire and the three local parent carer forums covering Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton.

NHS context
NHS Central East ICB

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.

Two visitsADI-R then ADOS-2
£1,200NeuroFX fee
6–8 wksTypical wait
NeuroFX Clinic Bedford Consulting Rooms, 4 Goldington Road
Bedford MK40 3NF
After diagnosis

After your autism diagnosis.

Autism has no NICE-recommended pharmacological treatment, so the conversations after diagnosis are different to ADHD. Here is what to expect for Bedfordshire patients.

Right to Choose · autism in Bedfordshire

Right to Choose for autism, plainly explained.

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.

If RTC is your priority, check the tracker first. If you want a clear diagnosis in weeks, that's what NeuroFX is for.
Open the ADHD UK tracker →
After diagnosis · onward support

What happens after diagnosis.

There is no NICE-recommended pharmacological treatment for autism itself. After diagnosis we focus on:

Onward signposting: Bedfordshire community autism services, the National Autistic Society's local peer network, and any free workshops or peer-led groups in the area.

Workplace and study evidence: Your report is designed for DSA applications and Equality Act 2010 reasonable adjustment requests.

Co-occurring conditions: If ADHD is also suspected, we book a separate adult ADHD assessment, which can be added at the £950 top-up rate.

Read our autism pathway →
Inside the NeuroFX Bedford clinic where Bedfordshire patients are seen
About the Bedfordshire patients we see

In and around Bedfordshire.

Bedfordshire is one of England's smaller counties and one that sits comfortably between the dramatic and the practical, offering gently rolling countryside of the greensand ridge and the chalk downs alongside the flat Great Ouse valley that runs through its heart. The county town of Bedford sits on the river with the Embankment as its green centrepiece; the market towns of Ampthill, Leighton Buzzard and Biggleswade each have distinct characters reflecting different histories and geographies; and the RSPB headquarters at Sandy Lodge reflects the fact that this is genuinely excellent countryside for wildlife.

Bedfordshire also holds two of the UK's most visited safari parks, Woburn and Whipsnade, drawing millions of visitors to a county that gets relatively little attention from the wider world.

This page is for Bedfordshire, Kempston, Wixams, Ampthill, Flitwick, Biggleswade, Sandy, Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable and surrounding villages.
Local, practical, named

Local Bedfordshire autism support & resources.

Schools, universities, employers and parent-carer networks in the Bedfordshire area all have routes you can use, some free, all helpful while you wait or after a diagnosis.

Education & SEND

For children and young people in this area, the LEA is Bedford Borough Council / Central Bedfordshire Council / Luton 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.

Universities & workplace

Our reports are designed to support DSA applications and Equality Act 2010 reasonable-adjustment requests at universities, colleges and employers in the area.

Support while you wait

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.

More from NeuroFX for Bedfordshire

Other Bedfordshire ADHD & autism pages.

Specific service variants for Bedfordshire patients. Same clinic, same clinician, different pathway.

Common questions from Bedfordshire patients

Bedfordshire autism FAQs.

Anything not here? See our full FAQ page or just call us.

Do you have an autism clinic in Bedfordshire?
We do not currently have a physical clinic in Bedfordshire itself. Bedfordshire patients are seen in person at our Bedford clinic.
How do I get from Bedfordshire to Bedford?
Direct train access available from many Bedfordshire towns. Biggleswade, Sandy, St Neots, Flitwick, Leighton Buzzard and Luton all have direct or near-direct Thameslink services to Bedford Midland. Pay and display car park next door at clinic for all in-person appointments.
What is the NHS autism waiting time near Bedfordshire?
BLMK adult autism service: pre-assessment approximately 14 months, diagnostic clinic 3.5–4 years.. A NeuroFX private assessment is typically 6 to 8 weeks from first call.
What is the fee for child autism assessment in Bedfordshire?
Child Autism Assessment is £1,200 family-led in person at bedford. Fees can be split across three interest-free monthly payments.
Will my Bedfordshire GP accept a NeuroFX autism diagnosis?
Yes. NeuroFX is CQC-registered and our reports follow NICE CG128 (autism in under-19s). They are routinely accepted by GPs in the Bedfordshire area and SENCO teams for EHCP processes.
How quickly can NeuroFX see me?
Typically 6 to 8 weeks from first call to assessment. After the assessment, you receive the written report within 14 days.
Can I have an autism assessment online from Bedfordshire?
No. The ADOS-2 observation that sits at the heart of a NICE-aligned autism diagnosis requires direct in-person observation, so we cannot deliver it over video.
NeuroFX Resources

Read first, decide later.

All library articles

Also serving patients near Bedfordshire.

Nearby towns with their own NeuroFX assessment page, same Bedford clinic, same fee, same NICE-aligned pathway.

Take your time

Talk to us.

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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