Child Autism for Rushden and surrounding patients, conducted in person at our Bedford clinic (30 min via A45/A6). 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.
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 autism assessment for Rushden 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.
Autism rarely arrives alone. A few related neurodevelopmental pathways available to Rushden 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. NICE CG128-aligned for under-19s. 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 age and language level.
~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 Rushden 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 →
Rushden 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 Northamptonshire ICB. A private NeuroFX assessment is typically 6 to 8 weeks (next available soon).
Rushden sits in North Northamptonshire, where the local NHS and council have been under sustained pressure on neurodevelopmental assessment. Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) runs the children and young people's ADHD and ASD service for the area, and its own service page states the current average wait for a first appointment is 93 weeks (updated April 2026).
In response, the NHS in Northamptonshire funded more than 500 extra autism and ADHD assessments for young people through an independent online provider during 2025/26, prioritising those moving between school stages or into adult services (NHFT update, 5 August 2025). The strain has been formally recognised: a joint Ofsted and CQC inspection of the North Northamptonshire local area SEND partnership, published in March 2024, found widespread or systemic failings and set four priority areas needing urgent improvement plus six others.
Commissioning sits with Northamptonshire ICB, which remains in place for 2026 (it is clustered with Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland but not due to merge before April 2027). A private assessment with NeuroFX, a CQC-registered clinic, is intended to sit alongside NHS care rather than replace it; in Northamptonshire ADHD medication is classed as Amber and shared care agreements run with the NHFT team rather than with Right to Choose or private providers, so any move to shared care for medication remains at the GP's sole discretion and it is worth speaking to your GP first if shared care matters to you.
Families in Rushden can also draw on local provision such as Rowan Gate Primary School (which has sites in the town) and county-wide parent support through Northamptonshire Parent Carer Voices.
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 Rushden 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: Rushden 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 →
Rushden is a North Northamptonshire town whose identity was shaped entirely by the boot and shoe industry -- at its peak in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the town had dozens of factories and a workforce whose skills were specific, valued and passed down through families. The Rushden Historical Transport Society maintains a small museum and railway at the old station, itself an unusually fine piece of Victorian railway architecture for a town of this size, and offers a glimpse of the industrial self-confidence that the boot trade brought.
The town is finding its place in a post-manufacturing economy with the resilience that places with strong working-class heritage typically carry.
This page is for Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Wellingborough, Irthlingborough, Raunds, Kettering, Northampton, Finedon and surrounding villages.Schools, universities, employers and parent-carer networks in the Rushden 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 North Northamptonshire 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 Rushden 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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