Young people and adults
Autism assessments
Completing an Autism assessment can feel daunting or confronting. Our aim is to make the process clear, supportive and useful.
At ConnectEd, assessment is about more than deciding whether Autism is present. We want to understand the person’s strengths, communication, social experiences, behaviour, development, functioning and support needs.
Two assessment pathways
Targeted or comprehensive?
Autism targeted assessment
Designed when Autism is the main question and has been identified as a likely concern by you, an educator, a family member or another health professional.
Autism comprehensive assessment
Recommended when there is a broader range of concerns that may include Autism, ADHD or other learning, developmental or psychosocial difficulties.
Not sure which fits?
The intake process helps clarify the most appropriate pathway.
Choose the assessment pathway
Two ways we assess Autism
The main difference is whether the assessment is focused on Autism specifically or investigates a broader range of possible contributing factors.
Narrower pathway
Autism targeted assessment
Focuses specifically on whether the person’s profile is consistent with Autism, while still considering other factors that may be relevant.
Useful when: Autism has already been identified as the main concern by the family, school or another health professional.
Broader pathway
Autism comprehensive assessment
Assesses for Autism and ADHD, with the option to add cognitive or academic assessment components where broader questions remain.
Useful when: there are multiple possible explanations for the young person’s difficulties or a broader understanding would be helpful.
Why people seek assessment
Autism can look different from one person to another
There can be wide variation in the presence, absence and degree of Autism-related characteristics. Assessment is about understanding the person’s individual profile rather than checking whether they match one particular picture of Autism.
Children & teenagers
Young people
- Differences in communication, social interaction or understanding social situations
- Strong preferences for routines, predictability or particular interests
- Sensory differences involving sound, light, touch, texture, smell or movement
- Developmental or play differences identified by family, educators or health professionals
- Difficulty navigating friendships, group situations or transitions
- School concerns about engagement, communication, behaviour or coping with change
Young adults & adults
Adults
- Longstanding social or communication differences that have become more apparent over time
- A strong need for routine, predictability or recovery time after social demands
- Sensory differences that affect work, study, relationships or day-to-day functioning
- Difficulty interpreting social expectations or maintaining relationships despite significant effort
- A history of masking, compensating or feeling different without a clear explanation
- A GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or other professional has suggested Autism may help explain longstanding patterns
What you can get from assessment
More than a diagnosis
A useful Autism assessment should help you understand the person being assessed and provide practical direction for support.
Understand strengths & challenges
Assessment is not just about finding out what is difficult. It should also identify strengths and help make sense of the person’s overall profile.
Advocate for useful support
A clearer profile can help identify or advocate for support, adjustments and services that match the person’s needs at school, in study, at work or in everyday life.
Know what to do next
The findings are translated into recommendations for support now and as the person’s needs change over time.
Assessment across ages
The assessment process changes with age, not the purpose
For young people, we usually draw heavily on parent/caregiver information and school or early learning context. For adults, the assessment places greater emphasis on developmental history, current functioning, study or work demands, and information from someone who knows the person well where appropriate.
The ConnectEd approach
What is different about ConnectEd Autism assessments?
Our background in learning, development and education gives us a particularly strong understanding of how a person’s profile interacts with family, school, study, work and everyday functioning.
Experienced in Autism assessment
Our psychologists have extensive experience completing developmental and psychoeducational assessments, alongside additional training in Educational and Developmental psychology.
We understand schools
Our deep experience working in and with schools means we understand what information is useful to educators and how recommendations need to work in real classrooms. That same learning-focused perspective also helps us understand study and workplace demands for adults.
Parents are an important part
For young people, we greatly value the role parents and caregivers play. For adults, we draw on developmental history and, where appropriate, information from someone who knows the person well. In both cases, assessment is about building understanding rather than simply answering a diagnostic question.
The whole picture matters
Autism measures are only part of the assessment. We bring together developmental history, current functioning, relevant school, study or work information, wellbeing and observations.
Time to interpret properly
We allocate time to consultation, information gathering, interpretation and report writing so the final report explains how the pieces fit together.
Individualised to your questions
The assessment plan is built around the questions you want answered. We select the components that are likely to be useful rather than using one identical pathway for every family.
Autism targeted assessment
What does the targeted pathway cover?
The targeted pathway focuses specifically on understanding whether the person’s profile is consistent with Autism, while still considering other factors that may affect functioning.
- Autism-specific assessment using structured and standardised measures
- Functional assessment across areas such as social, communication and general cognitive functioning
- Clinical psychosocial assessment to understand additional mental health or psychosocial difficulties
- Review of relevant historical documentation
Focused on the main question
This pathway is designed when Autism is already the clear assessment question and a broader ADHD or learning assessment is not currently indicated.
Additional assessment components can still be recommended if the targeted assessment identifies questions that need further investigation.
Autism comprehensive assessment
What does the comprehensive pathway cover?
The comprehensive pathway assesses a broader range of areas when Autism may be only one part of the picture.
Autism-specific assessment
Structured and standardised measures designed to gather detailed information about Autism-related characteristics and the young person’s strengths.
Functional assessment
Understanding how the person is functioning across areas such as social interaction, communication and everyday adaptive skills.
Psychosocial assessment
Understanding additional mental health or psychosocial difficulties and how these may interact with the person’s functioning.
Attention & hyperactivity
In the comprehensive pathway, ADHD is also assessed using standardised age-normed measures.
Historical information
Review of previous reports, school, study or work information and other documentation that helps build the developmental picture.
Additional components
Cognitive and academic assessment can be added if needed
If there are also concerns about cognitive abilities or academic functioning, additional assessment components can be included to explore these areas for young people or adults.
Important to know
What an Autism assessment cannot promise
The assessment can provide valuable information, but there are limits to what any single assessment can provide.
A diagnosis is not guaranteed
Sometimes the findings meet diagnostic criteria and sometimes they do not. A non-diagnostic outcome can still provide useful information about strengths, challenges and support needs.
One assessment may not answer everything
Assessment may identify further questions or additional information that would be useful. Your psychologist will explain this and discuss possible next steps.
Step by step
What is involved in an Autism assessment?
The broad process is similar across both pathways, but the sources of information vary with age. For young people, parent/caregiver and school information is usually central. For adults, developmental history, current functioning and relevant study or work information are given greater weight.
Targeted assessment
Typical targeted process — young people & adults
Comprehensive assessment
Typical comprehensive process — young people & adults
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Our assessment protocol is based on the national guidelines described by the Autism Cooperative Research Centre (Autism CRC).
Autism-specific measures may include the MIGDAS-2 (Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum – 2), the ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised), and the CARS-2 (Childhood Autism Rating Scale – 2).
The MIGDAS-2 is a structured, strengths-focused and neuro-affirming assessment protocol. The ADI-R is a structured parent/caregiver interview, and the CARS-2 provides a standardised rating of Autism-related features and behaviours.
The overall diagnostic principles are the same, but the sources of information change. For adults, we place greater emphasis on developmental history, current social and occupational functioning, study or workplace demands, and information from someone who knows the person well where this is available and appropriate.
The comprehensive pathway may also include the Conners 4 for attention and hyperactivity, the BASC-3 for a broad range of psychosocial symptoms, and the ABAS-3 for adaptive functioning.
Yes. Where there are concerns about cognitive abilities or academic functioning, additional cognitive and/or academic assessment can be added to either help explain the young person’s difficulties or identify areas requiring further support.
No. The purpose is to understand the person’s profile and determine whether the available information supports an Autism diagnosis. Sometimes the findings meet diagnostic criteria and sometimes they do not.
In some circumstances, another health professional such as a paediatrician or psychiatrist may also need to be involved. Your psychologist will explain any recommended next steps.
Much of the assessment work happens behind the scenes during information gathering, interpretation and report writing. A thoughtful assessment can provide information that guides understanding and support for years, so we aim to complete the components needed to answer the referral questions rather than treating each measure in isolation.
Costs depend on the assessment pathway and components required. Please see our assessment fees for current pricing.
Other assessment pathways
Looking for a different assessment?
If the main question is about ADHD or learning rather than Autism, one of these pathways may be more appropriate.
Next step
Ready to discuss an Autism assessment?
If you are unsure whether targeted or comprehensive assessment is the better fit, the intake and enquiry process can help clarify the most useful pathway.