A medical doctor who specialises in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions.
They can prescribe medications, order imaging and use a range of medical and psychological approaches to treat mental health conditions.
Some psychiatrists will diagnose autism when it is clear. If not, they will lead a consensus team to gather information to decide whether it is autism or not.
Psychiatrists may be involved to assist with the diagnosis and management of other cooccurring conditions, such as ADHD or complex mental health conditions.
A specialist who is trained in human behaviour, thinking and emotional processes.
Psychologists can use assessments to diagnose mental health and some developmental conditions.
Psychologists with specific training in autism use standardised diagnostic tools to assess for autism.
Some psychologists with specific endorsements can lead a consensus team if a diagnosis is not clear.
Psychologists may also screen and diagnose other co-occurring conditions, such as intellectual disability, and anxiety disorders.
They diagnose and treat communication, language, social, literacy and swallowing differences.
Speech pathologists will assess communication, including speech, and social understanding as part of an autism assessment.
Some speech pathologists may have undertaken additional training to conduct autism assessments.
For Autistic people who have difficulties with eating and swallowing, a speech pathologist may assist with assessments and support.
Occupational therapists work with people to perform daily living tasks. This may be due to disability, chronic health or mental health conditions.
Some occupational therapists will specialise in paediatrics; others will work with adults, or in mental health.
Occupational therapists may provide supporting information on sensory processing differences, and daily living skills.
Some occupational therapists may have undertaken additional training to conduct autism assessments.
Some Autistic people may require an activities of daily living assessment, driving assessments or require assessments related fine motor skills, such as handwriting.
Neurodiversity-affirming or neuro-affirming approaches to assessment and support recognise and respect all ways of thinking. They view autism and other neurodevelopmental differences as part of human diversity that should be respected. These approaches identify a person’s strengths, support needs, and internalised experiences. Neuro-affirming approaches are collaborative and use respectful language during the assessment process, including in reports.
Trauma-informed care is an approach used by health and allied health practitioners to ensure care is safe, respectful and supportive. This approach can be useful in situations where the person has experienced trauma. In many cases, adults seeking an autism assessment may be screened for trauma. The principals of trauma-informed care include making the person feel safe, building trust, and provides a space for choice, collaboration and empowerment.
In autism assessments, a trauma-informed approach can help ensure the process is comfortable and appropriate, particularly for adults who may feel anxious, overwhelmed, or have experienced previous trauma.
To locate psychologists and psychiatrists, you can use Find a Psychologist or Find a Psychiatrist.
You will need a referral from your GP if you see a psychiatrist.
If you are seeking an assessment for a specific purpose, please confirm the suitability of assessing clinicians and the report they will produce. There are many reasons why people seek an autism assessment. Some of them are accessing NDIS funding, employment supports and understanding their strengths and challenges.
There are some Medicare rebates are available for assessment for people under 25 years. It’s important to the gap costs for the appointment. If you are aged over 25 years, you may want to contact a few clinicians to compare costs and waiting times. Some clinicians may offer a payment plan option.
When booking an appointment for an autism assessment, it is worth considering if you require any other assessments. For example, this may be for co-occurring conditions like ADHD, anxiety or depression, or additional assessment from other allied health professions like a sensory profile, that provides more detail about your autism presentation.
If you need further assessments, like cognitive tests, check with the clinician to see if these are offered, the time required and what the additional costs will be.
It is good to know in advance how many appointments are required for an autism assessment, and other information you may need to gather. For example, the psychologist or psychiatrists may have questions about your early childhood development and childhood experiences. For some people, this information may take some time to collect or be difficult to access. Knowing the timings and when you would need certain types of information can help make the process easier.
Some clinicians will offer a post report appointment. This is to help unpack the details of the assessment and assist with planning next steps. This may be financial support to apply for, or the type of therapy approaches that may work best for you.
The goal of post-report appointment is to reduce any stress or overwhelm that a report may produce and help you work out some achievable next steps.
To get more information – including advice tailored to your specific situation – please contact the Amaze Autism Connect advisors on 1300 308 699, email [email protected] or use the webchat on this site.
This service is open from 8am–7pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).