Child Autism for Colchester and surrounding patients, conducted in person at our Bedford clinic (approximately 90 min via A12/A14 or A120/A10). 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 Colchester 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 Colchester 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 Colchester 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 →
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 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 Colchester 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: Colchester 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 →
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.
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 Colchester 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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